Pacific Notes: Cook, Chandler, Durant, James
Warriors guard Quinn Cook took the place of Stephen Curry against the Nets on Saturday, with Curry out due to a left adductor strain. Cook was red-hot in his first start of the season, finishing with 27 points on 11-16 shooting and registering a plus-16 rating in 29 minutes.
He played exactly the way Golden State needed him to play in Curry’s absence, and it resulted in the team’s 11th win of the season.
“He did the Stephen Curry imitation tonight,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell (Twitter link). “He hit a lot of tough shots, he’s a heck of a competitor.”
Cook showcased his talents and made the most of his opportunity, with the 25-year-old receiving inconsistent playing time when the team is healthy. He’ll likely stay in the starting lineup until Curry returns, then head back to the bench for backcourt depth.
“More than anything, I’m just impressed with Quinn’s professionalism,” coach Steve Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “To not play at all for a while and be able to perform all of a sudden, out of nowhere, when we need him, that’s the mark of a pro. He’s a great fit for us and always prepared and always ready.”
Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers center Tyson Chandler has impressed in his first full week with the team, Matt Eppers of USA TODAY writes. Chandler tipped back a clutch offensive rebound to help seal a win against the Timberwolves Wednesday, then grabbed 12 rebounds off the bench on Saturday.
- Kevin Durant toured the Chase Center arena this week, which is under construction and set to open for the Warriors next season, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant will likely enter free agency on July 1. “I’m thinking about a lot of points being scored,” Durant said as he toured the facility. “The fans are going to love it.”
- Bleacher Report’s Ken Berger explores the influence LeBron James has on the Lakers and their roster decisions, despite only being with the team for four months. James held similar influence with the Cavaliers and Heat during his first 15 NBA seasons, and requested the Lakers sign Chandler when he reached free agency last week.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/10/18
Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Grizzlies rookie Jevon Carter was on the move today, being recalled from the Memphis Hustle, reassigned for the G League team’s practice, then recalled again for tonight’s NBA game, according to a tweet from the Grizzlies.
- The Thunder recalled Abdel Nader from Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in an email.
- The Magic sent rookies Isaiah Briscoe and Melvin Frazier to their Lakeland affiliate for tonight’s home opener, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
- The Pistons recalled Henry Ellenson and Khyri Thomas from their Grand Rapids affiliate, according to an email from the team.
- The Suns recalled rookie De’Anthony Melton from their affiliate in Northern Arizona, the team announced on its website.
- Jacob Evans has been recalled from Santa Cruz, according to a story on the Warriors‘ website.
Stephen Curry Suffers Adductor Strain
2:02pm: Kerr said today that the Warriors were encouraged by the results of Curry’s MRI, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Curry won’t play on Saturday and it will be at least a few days before he gets back on the court, but the club is glad it’s not more serious, tweets ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
8:40am: Warriors guard Stephen Curry left Thursday’s loss to Milwaukee in the third quarter with an injury that was later diagnosed as a left adductor strain, according to the team (Twitter link). Head coach Steve Kerr confirmed after the game that Curry will undergo an MRI on Friday (Twitter link via Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group).
We’ll have to wait until after that MRI is completed and the Warriors provide an update to get a sense of whether Curry will miss time. However, as a point of comparison, Rockets guard Eric Gordon suffered an adductor strain last week and has missed Houston’s last three games.
“I’m not nervous,” Curry told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link) on Thursday night after the game. “I have nothing to go off of. If this was an ankle I could tell you four days, 12 days. But I will see tomorrow… I’ve honestly never done this before so I have nothing to go off of.”
If Curry has to miss some time, Quinn Cook‘s role in the Warriors’ rotation should expand. Golden State has also been missing Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston due to injuries, but Spears tweets that Green could get back on the court Monday vs. the Clippers, while Livingston may also return in the “near future.”
The Warriors do still have an open spot on their 15-man roster if they need to add some backcourt depth, but it seems unlikely to come to that.
NBA Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2018/19
The Designated Veteran Extension, as we explain our glossary entry on the subject, is a relatively new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows players with 7-9 years of experience, who would normally qualify for a maximum starting salary of 30% of the cap, to qualify for a “super-max” contract that starts at 35% of the cap, a level normally reserved players with 10+ years of experience.
A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.
The performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):
- The player was named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
- The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.
- The player was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
With those criteria in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on several players who could qualify for a super-max veteran contract with their play this season. Let’s dive in and examine a few of those guys…
Players who already qualify for a super-max contract:
- Anthony Davis (Pelicans)
Davis can’t yet sign a Designated Veteran Extension, but his All-NBA appearances over the last two seasons have ensured that he’ll qualify, even if he somehow doesn’t earn another All-NBA nod in 2018/19.
As of next July, the Pelicans will be able to offer Davis a contract extension that tacks an additional five years onto his $27.09MM salary for 2019/20. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection for 2020/21 ($118MM), that five-year extension would be worth a staggering $239.54MM.
Players who could qualify for a super-max contract by meeting the criteria in 2018/19:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards)
- Andre Drummond (Pistons)
- Draymond Green (Warriors)
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
- Klay Thompson (Warriors)
- Kemba Walker (Hornets)
Technically, any player who earns an All-NBA spot in 2018/19 and meets the contract criteria can qualify for a super-max, but the players listed above are probably the only legitimately viable candidates. And even in this group, guys like Beal and Drummond are a real stretch — if they were to improbably make an All-NBA team, their clubs still probably wouldn’t put Designated Veteran Extension offers on the table, since they’re not bona fide superstars.
Thompson and Walker will both be unrestricted free agents in 2019, so if they meet the DVE criteria, they’d be eligible for five-year contracts with their respective teams worth up to a projected $221.27MM. Lillard and Green are still under contract for at least one more year beyond this season, but they’d qualify for super-max extensions if they meet the criteria — Lillard could get an extra four years, while Green could get five.
A team can only give Designated Veteran Extensions to two players, so the Warriors wouldn’t be able to offer both Thompson and Green super-max contracts, since Stephen Curry already has one. On the plus side, Kevin Durant won’t figure into this equation for Golden State, since he has 10+ years of experience. A deal starting at 35% of the cap for Durant wouldn’t count toward the Dubs’ super-max limit.
Finally, while Antetokounmpo can qualify for a super-max by earning All-NBA honors this season, he wouldn’t actually be able to sign such a deal until 2020, since he’ll only have six years of experience at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. Essentially, he’d be in the same spot that Anthony Davis is in now.
Players who can no longer qualify for a super-max contract because they were traded:
- Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves)
- Kyrie Irving (Celtics)
- Kawhi Leonard (Raptors)
Butler, Irving, and Leonard are probably more worthy of a super-max investment than most of the players in the above group, but they no longer qualify because they were traded while on their second contracts — Butler from the Bulls, Irving from the Cavaliers, and Leonard from the Spurs. They’ll need to reach 10 years of NBA experience before qualifying for a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Can Anyone In The West Challenge The Warriors?
- Dieter Kurtenbach of The San Jose Mercury News examines the challengers in the Western Conference and wonders if any of them presents a legitimate threat to the Warriors.
Draymond Green Dealing With Toe Sprain
- X-rays on the injured right foot of Warriors big man Draymond Green came back negative, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com relays. However, while Green appears to have avoided a serious injury, having been diagnosed with a right toe sprain, he won’t be available for Golden State’s Thursday game against Milwaukee (Twitter link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic).
McCaw Remains In Discussions With Warriors, Others
- The NBA’s lone remaining restricted free agency, Patrick McCaw, remains in discussions with multiple teams, including the Warriors, Charania reports.
[SOURCE LINK]
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/6/18
Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Warriors have assigned Jacob Evans III to the team’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to the team’s website. Evans, who was the No. 28 overall pick in the 2018 draft, has played in seven NBA games this season, seeing just 6.3 minutes per contest.
Warriors Notes: Green, Casspi, McKinnie
Draymond Green is eager to win the Defensive Player of the Year award and with good reason — he would be eligible for a super max extension, Nick Friedell of ESPN relays. Citing fellow ESPN contributor Bobby Marks, Friedell notes that Green could receive a five-year, $235MM extension that would start in 2020 if he captured the prize, though Golden State could only sign one more player to a Designated Veteran Contract because Stephen Curry already has that type of deal.
“I need that bad. Real bad,” Green said of the Defensive Player of the Year award. “I made second team All-Defense last year. I’m (ticked) about that still. I’ll be (ticked) until I right that, so that’s a serious goal of mine this year.”
We have more from the Warriors:
- Forward Omri Casspi didn’t play at all during the Warriors’ postseason run but the franchise will honor him anyway during a ring ceremony on Monday, Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News reports. Casspi, now a member of the Grizzlies, was waived just before the playoffs to open up a roster spot for guard Quinn Cook. Casspi appeared in 53 games with the Warriors after signing a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal but was sidelined by an ankle injury before he was waived.
- Alfonzo McKinnie acknowledges that the impasse between Patrick McCaw and the Warriors helped him land a standard contract, as he told Anthony Slater of The Athletic in a lengthy Q&A session. McKinnie, a 6’8” forward, is averaging 6.1 PPG and 4.3 RPG off the bench and recorded a double-double against the Bulls last week. McKinnie originally came in on a two-way deal but received a two-year contract in training camp, though his salary for this season won’t fully guaranteed until January 10th. “The McCaw stuff, I guess, was good for my situation,” McKinnie said. “But it’s not something I can control. Just went through training camp, worked my butt off and they liked what they’ve seen.”
- The Warriors remain hopeful of retaining DeMarcus Cousins beyond this season. Get the details here.
Warriors Haven't Given Up On Keeping Cousins
- DeMarcus Cousins is expected to have a one-year stay with the Warriors, but GM Bob Myers isn’t giving up on the idea of extending their arrangement, relays Chelsea Howard of The Sporting News. During a recent appearance on the team’s pre-game show, Myers said “options are open” when it comes to keeping the All-Star center. “These type of predictions — good or bad — are pretty fruitless because you just don’t know,” he said. “You don’t know what’s going to be going on on July 1, 2019. You don’t know if it’s going to be better than you think … but it’s not going to be what you think. So, with a guy like DeMarcus, who knows? If he wants to come back, let’s bring him back.” If Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both re-sign, Golden State would be well above the cap and would be limited to offering Cousins its mid-level exception again.