Wizards Express Interest In Bob Myers
The Wizards, who are in the market for a new head of basketball operations after parting ways with Tommy Sheppard last month, have registered “formal interest” in Warriors executive Bob Myers, Marc Stein reports at Substack.
Myers, Golden State’s general manager since 2012, is taking some time this spring to weigh his future with his contract set to expire. He and the Warriors are said to be far apart on a new deal, opening the door for Washington reach out and gauge his interest in the Wizards’ job.
While it’s hard to blame the Wizards for trying, Stein says the expectation in Golden State is that Myers won’t work in the NBA next season if he doesn’t remain with the Warriors.
As Stein explains, Myers has close relationships with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and core players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. If he chooses to leave them, it would likely be to take a break and to spend more time with his family rather than to jump right into a high-ranking position in another organization.
The Wizards are moving deliberately as they search for a new top basketball executive. By all accounts, they’ve only formally met with two candidates so far: Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon and Clippers general manager Michael Winger. With the NBA draft just over a month away, Washington will presumably accelerate the process soon and make a hire sometime before June 22.
As for Myers, Stein says that the Warriors’ lead exec is expected to hold his end-of-season media session with Bay Area media at some point in the coming week. It’s unclear whether Myers will be prepared to offer clarity on his plans for next season at that time.
2023 NBA Offseason Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
After acquiring CJ McCollum at the 2022 trade deadline, the Pelicans went on an impressive late-season run, earning a playoff spot with a pair of play-in tournament victories and then giving the top-ranked Suns a scare in the first round by pushing the series to six games.
With former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson healthy to begin the 2022/23 season, there was optimism that New Orleans could make the leap to top-six playoff team and legitimate title contender. And as long as Williamson was on the court, that belief looked entirely warranted. Through the end of December, the Pelicans were 23-13, putting them in a tie for the No. 2 seed in the West, and their +4.8 net rating was the best in the conference.
Unfortunately, the Pelicans’ first game of 2023 was the last one of the season for Williamson, who suffered a hamstring injury that ultimately sidelined him for the remainder of the winter and spring. New Orleans went into a tailspin later in January, ultimately finishing the season on a 19-27 run and then losing a play-in game at home to the 10th-seeded Thunder.
While the Pelicans’ early-season success was encouraging, their reversal of fortunes once Williamson went down was a reminder that they don’t have enough talent to consistently win without him and that they can’t rely on him to stay on the court — he has played more than 29 games just once in his first four NBA seasons.
The Pelicans aren’t trading or waiving Williamson, so all they can really do with Zion is hope for better injury luck. But they can at least take matters into their own hands with the rest of the roster, seeking out upgrades that will allow them to remain more competitive when the star forward isn’t available.
The Pelicans’ Offseason Plan:
With nearly $144MM in guaranteed money committed to eight players, the Pelicans won’t have cap room this offseason. However, once they lock in low-cost team options and non-guaranteed salaries for players like Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado, and Naji Marshall, they should remain comfortably below the luxury tax line, giving them the flexibility to go shopping in free agency using most of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
New Orleans also has a bevy of trade chips available to seek out roster upgrades. Even if the Pelicans aren’t inclined to move any of their valuable young role players – Jones, Alvarado, Dyson Daniels, and Trey Murphy – they control all their own future first-round picks, including a 2023 lottery pick (No. 14). They also own the Lakers’ 2024 first-rounder (unprotected, with the option to defer it to 2025), the Bucks’ unprotected 2027 pick, and swap rights with Milwaukee in 2024 and 2026. In other words, they have the draft assets necessary to build a strong trade package around picks rather than players.
As they evaluate potential targets free agency or via trade, the Pelicans will have to consider what their plans are at center. Jonas Valanciunas, who started all but three games for New Orleans this past season, will earn $15.4MM in 2023/24 on an expiring contract.
As effective as Valanciunas is as a scorer and rebounder, he’s not a switchable defender, and head coach Willie Green often turned to Larry Nance Jr. at center in crunch-time minutes during the second half of the ’22/23 season. If Valanciunas isn’t in New Orleans’ long-term plans, his contract makes him an ideal salary-matching piece in any major trade, since McCollum ($35.8MM), Brandon Ingram ($33.8MM), and Williamson ($33.5MM) almost certainly aren’t going anywhere.
Valanciunas’ salary, for instance, would be a logical match for Raptors forward OG Anunoby ($18.6MM), who has been repeatedly linked to a New Orleans team that could use another two-way wing. Toronto won’t necessarily be eager to reunite with Valanciunas if Jakob Poeltl re-signs, and I’d expect the Raptors to push for players over picks in any major trade, since they don’t control their own 2024 first-round pick. Still, Anunoby is the sort of player the Pelicans figure to target on the trade market — and they have the pieces to get him if they’re willing to be aggressive.
If Valanciunas is moved for an upgrade at another position, it would leave the Pelicans without an obvious starting center on the roster. Former lottery pick Jaxson Hayes will be eligible for restricted free agency and hasn’t shown in his four NBA seasons that he’s ready to step into a starting role. Even if they plan to lean more on players like Nance, Williamson, and Jones as small-ball fives, the Pels would need to address the center position in some form if they were to trade Valanciunas and let Hayes walk. The mid-level exception could come in handy in that regard.
Of course, there’s no guarantee the Pelicans will do anything significant on the trade market this summer. Re-signing Josh Richardson would help fortify the team’s wing depth, and the hope is that youngsters like Murphy, Daniels, and Jones will continue to get better. Internal improvement and a healthy season from Williamson could make New Orleans a contender even without any real outside additions — and it would give the organization an opportunity to take a longer look at which pieces fit best around Zion.
Until they see Williamson play something close to a full season though, it’s hard for the Pelicans to count on that happening. The time might be right for David Griffin and the front office to work on a contingency plan that boosts the floor of this roster, with the hope that a healthy Zion will take its ceiling to new heights.
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
CJ McCollum ($35,802,469)- Brandon Ingram ($33,833,400)
- Zion Williamson ($33,500,000)
- Note: Williamson’s salary will be 25% of the 2023/24 salary cap. This is a projection based on a $134MM cap.
- Jonas Valanciunas ($15,435,000)
- Larry Nance Jr. ($10,375,000)
- Dyson Daniels ($5,784,120)
- Kira Lewis ($5,722,116)
- Trey Murphy ($3,359,280)
- E.J. Liddell (two-way)
- Dereon Seabron (two-way)
- Total: $143,811,385
Dead/Retained Salary
- None
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Willy Hernangomez ($2,559,942): Bird rights
- Naji Marshall ($1,930,681): Bird rights
- Herbert Jones ($1,836,096): Early Bird rights
- Total: $6,326,719
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Garrett Temple ($5,401,000)
- Note: Temple’s salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before June 30.
- Jose Alvarado ($1,836,096)
- Total: $7,237,096
Restricted Free Agents
- Jaxson Hayes ($7,744,600 qualifying offer / $20,409,036 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $20,409,036
Two-Way Free Agents
- None
Draft Picks
- No. 14 overall ($4,246,200)
- Total: $4,246,200
Extension-Eligible Players
- Willy Hernangomez (veteran)
- Brandon Ingram (veteran)
- Herbert Jones (veteran)
- Naji Marshall (veteran)
- Garrett Temple (veteran)
- Jonas Valanciunas (veteran)
- Kira Lewis (rookie scale)
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2023/24 season begins. Hernangomez and Jones would only become eligible if their team options are exercised. Valanciunas will become eligible on October 20, which will be right around the start of the regular season.
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Josh Richardson ($18,294,141 cap hold): Bird rights
- Tony Snell ($1,989,698 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Gary Clark ($1,774,999 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Jared Harper ($1,774,999 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- James Nunnally ($1,774,999 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $25,608,836
Note: The cap holds for the players listed in italics remain on the Pelicans’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $12,220,600
- Bi-annual exception: $4,448,000
Note: The Pelicans would lose access to the full mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception if their team salary surpasses the tax apron.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Mavs, Whitmore, Wembanyama, Pelicans
Rival NBA executives anticipate that both the Rockets (No. 4) and Mavericks (No. 10) will dangle their first-round picks in trade talks, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports within a post-lottery mock draft. Both clubs have playoff aspirations in 2023/24 after missing out this season.
Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News explores what a Mavericks trade involving the No. 10 pick might look like, speculating that Suns center Deandre Ayton and Raptors forwards OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam may be targets. While those players make some sense from Dallas’ perspective, I’d expect Toronto to seek a more substantial return for either of their forwards, while Phoenix likely won’t be prioritizing draft assets in an Ayton trade.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Which player might the Rockets select at No. 4 if they end up keeping their lottery pick? Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) explores whether Villanova wing Cam Whitmore might be the choice, noting that adding the 18-year-old would make a young Houston roster even younger. Whitmore said at this week’s combine that he can envision himself playing alongside Rockets guards Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. “They’re athletic-type guards who can score offensively and are the type of people who can get guys involved, guards who can rotate one through five,” Whitmore said. “I think it’s a great fit with athletic-type young guys who can get the job done.”
- In a column for The San Antonio Express-News, Mike Finger digs into the comparisons between former Spurs big man Tim Duncan and the team’s next franchise player, Victor Wembanyama. As Finger observes, even though Wembanyama has the potential to match what Duncan did on the court, it will be impossible in the social media era for him to stay out of the spotlight to the extent that Duncan and the Spurs did in the early 2000s.
- Christian Clark of NOLA.com identifies five prospects who could be fits for the Pelicans with the No. 14 pick in the draft, including Kansas wing Gradey Dick, Duke big man Dereck Lively II, and Central Florida forward Taylor Hendricks.
Nets Notes: Bridges, C. Jones, Kalkbrenner, Holmes, Bates
There has been speculation that Nets forward Mikal Bridges will be a target for the Trail Blazers if and when they shop the No. 3 overall pick, but John Hollinger of The Athletic is skeptical that a deal centered around that pick would appeal to Brooklyn.
As Hollinger points out, the Nets don’t control their own first-rounders in any of the next four drafts, so they have little incentive to take a step back in the short term. Plus, Bridges is signed to one of the NBA’s most team-friendly contracts through the 2025/26 season.
Alex Schiffer of The Athletic (Twitter link) says he has heard the same thing as Hollinger at the draft combine in Chicago. According to Schiffer, any rumors linking Bridges to Portland are “all talk,” since Brooklyn isn’t interested.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Many prospects in this year’s draft class have cited Bridges as a player they want to emulate at the NBA level, according to Schiffer. Iowa’s Kris Murray, Villanova’s Cam Whitmore, Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis, and Frenchman Rayan Rupert are among the prospects who likened themselves to Bridges. “I want to have the same trajectory and same process he did,” Rupert said. “Mikal Bridges is a big inspiration for me.”
- Xavier guard Colby Jones told Schiffer that he’s scheduled to work out for the Nets in the coming weeks. Jones is the No. 28 prospect on ESPN’s big board, while Brooklyn owns the Nos. 21 and 22 picks in next month’s draft.
- Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II are among the draft prospects who worked out for the Nets prior to the draft combine, Schiffer writes for The Athletic. Kalkbrenner, who has also auditioned for the Bulls, said that his session with Brooklyn went well, but Holmes wasn’t as positive about his workout in Brooklyn. “I didn’t do too well, I feel like, at the Nets,” Holmes said. “I feel like I could have stepped it up a bit, but it was good to learn. Great players there.”
- Former five-star recruit Emoni Bates has been linked to the Nets and said he’ll work out for them at some point in the coming weeks, according to Schiffer. An Eastern Michigan forward, Bates added that he also has workouts lined up with the Thunder, Suns, Cavaliers, Blazers, and Pistons.
- In case you missed it, Ben Simmons‘ agent said earlier this week that the former No. 1 overall pick is “progressing really well” in his injury rehab process. We have more details here.
Draft Notes: Miller, Podziemski, Vukcevic, Prosper, More
Based in part on the Hornets‘ roster needs, Jonathan Givony of ESPN believes Alabama wing Brandon Miller is slightly more likely than G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson to be the pick at No. 2, telling ESPN’s Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post podcast that he’d put the odds of Charlotte drafting Miller at 60%. However, according to Givony, Miller isn’t necessarily acing the pre-draft process so far.
“Every team in the NBA is looking for this type of player,” Givony said (hat tip to RealGM). “Six-nine, big guard, can handle the ball. Pass out of pick and roll. Make shots off the dribble. Defend multiple positions. Rebound. That’s what people are looking for. At the same time, he is not in great shape right now, so I don’t know how great his workout’s going to be. His interviews have not been great, I’ve been told — both publicly and privately with NBA teams.”
As David Aldridge of The Athletic writes, teams meeting with Miller will have questions about his connection to the death of Jamea Jonae Harris in Tuscaloosa. Miller brought former Alabama teammate Darius Miles the gun that was used in the killing, though he has insisted that he didn’t know the gun was in the car. The 20-year-old wasn’t charged with a crime and executives who spoke to Aldridge don’t think it will materially affect Miller’s draft stock.
“I don’t believe there will be any impact unless he lies in his interviews,” one exec said. “Integrity is more relevant than criminal friends; one we can fix, the other, we can’t.”
Here are more notes on the NBA draft:
- Santa Clara sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski has opted to keep his name in the 2023 NBA draft, formally announcing his decision on Twitter. Podziemski is the No. 31 prospect on ESPN’s big board and has reportedly had a strong showing at the combine, per Givony (Twitter link), so he’s a legitimate first-round candidate.
- After performing well in Wednesday’s scrimmages at the draft combine, Serbian big man Tristan Vukcevic and Marquette wing Olivier-Maxence Prosper withdrew from Thursday’s scrimmages, tweets Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a more in-depth look at Prosper, who had 21 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes during Wednesday’s scrimmage.
- In addition to working out for Atlanta, Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan had workouts with the Spurs, Pistons, and Celtics prior to the draft combine, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Evbuomwan was initially only invited to the G League Elite Camp, but earned a spot at the combine after making a strong impression last weekend.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic considers which lottery picks might be in play on the trade market, starting with the Trail Blazers‘ and Rockets‘ selections at Nos. 3 and 4.
Heat Notes: Strus, Vincent, Heat Culture, Yurtseven
Max Strus has started every single one of the Heat‘s 12 playoff games so far and has scored at least 14 points in each of his last six appearances, averaging 15.8 PPG on .493/.375/.875 shooting in 31.0 minutes per night during that run. As Sean Deveney of Heavy.com writes, Strus is strengthening his case for a solid multiyear contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“It does not happen much that guys get paid off playoff runs, like it used to 20 years ago,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “But what he is doing is making a point to the Heat that they should bring him back. They are looking at some pretty big tax problems, and that makes it tough. But he has been showing how valuable he is to what they do.
“He is going to have teams willing to pay him the tax exception (worth a projected $7.55MM) but maybe that goes higher, maybe to the full MLE ($12.22MM). He is not all that young (27 years old), but he does not have a lot of wear and tear and he probably has another 10 years in the league, so some of these rebuilding teams like Orlando or San Antonio, they’d have to take a good look at him as a polished guy who can spread the floor.”
According to Deveney, there had been a belief that Strus might end up commanding a deal similar to the one Caleb Martin signed with the Heat last offseason: three years and about $20MM. But if his strong postseason run continues, he could end up exceeding that projection.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- The years the Heat spent developing undrafted players like Strus and Gabe Vincent are paying dividends in this spring’s postseason, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Just because you’re undrafted doesn’t mean you’re a bad basketball player,” said Vincent, the team’s starting point guard since February 4. “We’re talented and we come in here and we work and we grind, and the organization, the coaching staff puts in the time, as well, with us and they believe in us.”
- While the much-lauded “Heat culture” became the butt of some jokes when Miami was struggling, the team’s performance during this year’s playoffs has proven that the term isn’t just a buzzword, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “It’s real,” Jimmy Butler said prior to the start of the Eastern Conference Finals. “More than anything, it’s the belief we have in one another, the belief you must have in yourself to realize how special you can be in this league, in this moment, in this organization. I think everybody has bought into that. Everybody is confident. The confidence that Heat culture instills in every one of us is very real.”
- Heat center Omer Yurtseven suffered a nose contusion during a Thursday scrimmage, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Yurtseven is listed as questionable for Game 2 on Friday, though he hasn’t been part of the club’s playoff rotation anyway, appearing in just two games in garbage-time minutes.
- Although it nearly cost his team a playoff spot, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is a fan of the NBA’s play-in tournament, telling reporters on Thursday that the battle for play-in positioning forced Miami to play more competitive games during the second half of the season. “I do know the play-in helped,” Spoelstra said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “There are far less teams tanking. Everyone was fighting for it those last two months. Every game was must-see TV and that was in both conferences. So I think (for) the league, that’s probably the best thing that’s happened in the last decade.”
Rockets Reportedly Expect To Land James Harden
The Rockets expect to reunite with James Harden this offseason, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
According to Pompey, the belief among executives across the NBA is that Harden will return to Houston. Sources tell The Inquirer that the 33-year-old’s interest in rejoining the Rockets is genuine and not a negotiating tactic to get a bigger contract out of the Sixers. Houston has the cap room necessary to offer him a maximum-salary deal.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta “loves” Harden, according to Pompey, who hears that coaching candidates during Houston’s search for Stephen Silas‘ replacement were asked during their interviews about their thoughts on coaching Harden.
For his part, the veteran guard still has family and business ventures in the city, where he spent eight-and-a-half years of his NBA career. He also visited Houston multiple times this past season when time permitted, says Pompey.
Very little from Pompey’s report is new information.
Word of a possible reunion between the Rockets and Harden first broke on Christmas Day and was corroborated a couple months later. Jake Fischer reported last week that Harden’s name came up frequently during the Rockets’ interviews of head coaching candidates, while Adrian Wojnarowski said the draft lottery outcome wouldn’t affect Houston’s level of interest in the former MVP. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Zach Lowe agreed in a podcast that the Rockets “think he’s coming.”
Still, even if Pompey’s report isn’t surprising, it’s noteworthy to see a Philadelphia beat writer state in such strong terms that a return to Houston is the expected outcome for Harden.
The Rockets have been one of the NBA’s worst teams since trading Harden to Brooklyn in January 2021, but they’re motivated to turn things around in 2023/24 since they’ll send their ’24 first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it lands outside of the top four. Multiple reports have indicated that the organization wants to acquire veteran talent this summer.
Although Harden missed out on All-Star honors this year for the first time since 2012, he still posted strong numbers during the regular season, averaging 21.0 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game with a .441/.385/.867 shooting line in 58 appearances (36.8 MPG).
His playoff production was inconsistent — his overall averages of 20.3 PPG, 8.3 APG, and 6.2 RPG were solid, but he shot just 39.3% from the field during the postseason and averaged only 12.5 PPG in four losses to Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
We still have nearly a month-and-a-half before free agency officially begins, so even if Harden declines his 2023/24 player option with the Sixers, as he reportedly will, things could change in the next six weeks.
Philadelphia will have the ability to offer him more money than the Rockets, though Houston can afford to be aggressive, with the ability to create approximately $60MM in cap space. Harden’s projected maximum salary will be $46.9MM.
Given that the Rockets have the cap room necessary to sign a Harden outright, they’d have little incentive to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal with Philadelphia. The 76ers, meanwhile, wouldn’t be in position to create meaningful cap room if Harden left in free agency, so they could be left in a tough spot in that scenario.
As Pompey notes, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told reporters this week that the team’s priority is re-signing Harden.
“Scenario A would be to bring James back,” Morey said. “Scenario B, if he’s not back, we’ll have to get creative.”
Nick Nurse Expected To Meet With Bucks, Suns
In addition to interviewing with the Sixers, Nick Nurse is expected to meet with the Bucks and Suns to discuss their head coaching positions, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
According to Charania, Nurse is expected to be in “high demand” this spring and could end up having one more than one job offer to choose from.
There are currently five NBA teams with head coaching openings. Besides Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Phoenix, the Raptors and Pistons are in the market for coaches. But Toronto just parted ways with Nurse and Detroit is believed to be in the final stages of its search.
Nurse won a championship in 2019 with the Raptors and was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2020, earning praise for his creative defensive schemes. Across five seasons, Nurse had a 227-163 (.582) regular season record and a 25-16 (.610) playoff mark as Toronto’s head coach.
As our head coaching search tracker shows, the Bucks are conducting a wide-ranging search as they seek a replacement for Mike Budenholzer — reports have indicated that they’ve interviewed or will interview at least 13 candidates. Nurse is the fifth candidate said to be meeting with Phoenix.
Draft Decisions: Gueye, Jackson, Bates, Hunter, Omier, More
Washington State sophomore big man Mouhamed Gueye will keep his name in the 2023 NBA draft, a source tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Gueye has been taking part in the draft combine this week in Chicago, so the feedback he has received there presumably factored into his decision.
Gueye enjoyed a breakout season in 2022/23, averaging 14.3 points and 8.4 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game across 33 appearances. He currently comes in at No. 47 on ESPN’s big board, making him a solid candidate to be drafted.
Here are a few more updates on early entrants who are deciding whether or not to remain in the draft:
- Although UConn junior guard Andre Jackson is still technically testing the draft waters, his comments at the combine strongly suggest he’s planning to stay in this year’s draft, as Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com writes. Discussing UConn’s chances of repeating as NCAA champions next season, Jackson said that he’s “probably going to be out.” He’s currently the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
- Butler forward Manny Bates doesn’t show up on ESPN’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects, but he has decided to remain in the draft and go pro, agent Marquiest Gadson tells Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Texas guard Tyrese Hunter has opted to return to the Longhorns for his junior season, he announced on Instagram. He tested the draft waters after averaging 10.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG as a sophomore.
- Miami forward Norchad Omier is pulling out of the draft and returning to the Hurricanes for his senior season, reports Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Omier was among the prospects who took part in the G League Elite Camp last weekend.
- Senior center Qudus Wahab is withdrawing from the draft and will transfer from Georgetown to Penn State for his final year of NCAA eligibility, tweets Rothstein. Wahab put up 9.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG as the Hoyas’ primary starting center last season.
- Purdue big man Zach Edey may take his draft decision down to the wire, gathering as much information as he can before making a call, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “I really won’t know my answer for what I’m doing until basically the deadline,” said Edey, who is considered a candidate to be picked in the second round.
Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Dunleavy, Myers, CBA
Although Jonathan Kuminga showed promise in an increased role during his second NBA season, the young forward wasn’t part of the Warriors’ playoff rotation, receiving three DNP-CDs in the postseason and playing more than 10 minutes in just one game. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays, head coach Steve Kerr explained the thinking behind that decision in his end-of-season media session earlier this week.
“The biggest thing was with (Andrew Wiggins) and Gary (Payton II) in place again, it lessened the need for what JK’s strength is right now, which is on-ball defense,” Kerr said. “The best way for Jonathan — and I told him this — the best way for him to get more playing time is to become a more versatile player.
“… The more things you can do, the more easy it is to fit into a five-man lineup. Rebounding is a huge thing for JK. If he’s going to be a great player in this league, he’s got to rebound. A four-man with that kind of size and athleticism, that’s the next step, and continuing to work on all the things that he’s working on already, the shooting and the ball handling and the court vision, understanding what’s happening on the floor. It’s all going to get better because he’s so young and because he’s willing to work.”
A report last week indicated that Kuminga’s representatives would talk to the Warriors about the 20-year-old’s role going forward and may prefer a change of scenery for their client if his minutes continue to be inconsistent. However, Kerr’s comments suggested that he’s looking forward to incorporating the former lottery pick into his rotation in 2023/24 — he expressed confidence in Kuminga’s potential to break out in his third NBA season.
“If you look at Jonathan’s regular season, he did some great things,” Kerr said, per Slater. “I tell him all the time, he’s got 15 years ahead of him. He’s got such a long career ahead. He’s got a lot of ability and he’s just in the process of learning the NBA game.”
Here’s more out of Golden State:
- After Marc J. Spears of Andscape reported that Mike Dunleavy Jr. represented the Warriors at this week’s general manager meetings in Chicago, Slater cautioned (via Twitter) that it wasn’t necessarily a hint at Bob Myers‘ plans for his future, since Dunleavy has stood in for Myers in other capacities in the past. Slater points out that Dunleavy’s role as Golden State’s “backup” GM is one reason why he’s widely viewed as Myers’ eventual successor.
- If Myers does decide to remain in his president/GM position with the Warriors, the expectation is that his annual salary will surpass $10MM, says Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. A report this week stated that the two sides hadn’t engaged in real negotiations in months and remain far apart.
- Tim Kawakami and Danny Leroux of The Athletic take a closer look at how the Warriors will be affected by the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, with Leroux noting that many of the more punitive restrictions for teams above the new second tax apron won’t go into effect right away. However, Leroux believes that teams over the second apron – including Golden State – will be prohibited from using the taxpayer mid-level exception and signing buyout players in 2023/24.