And-Ones: Free Agents, D-League, Bennett, Oden
Several under-the-radar players who will be free agents this summer are improving their bargaining position with their performance in the playoffs, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He identifies six players, starting with Golden State big man JaVale McGee, who is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through five games despite playing just 11.8 minutes per night. McGee signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Warriors for the veteran’s minimum and could be in line for a huge pay raise in July. The others that Kennedy singles out are Serge Ibaka of the Raptors, Joe Ingles of the Jazz, Nene of the Rockets, Andre Roberson of the Thunder and Deron Williams of the Cavaliers.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- The Texas Legends, the Mavericks‘ affiliate in the D-League, have given coach Bob MacKinnon a two-year extension, tweets D-League Digest. The D-League veteran is in his first season with the Legends.
- Invitations have been issued for the D-League’s Elite Mini Camp, which will be held May 8-9 in Chicago, relays Chris Reichert of FanSided. Many players have used this showcase to earn spots on summer league rosters, with alumni such as Jonathon Simmons, Hollis Thompson and DeAndre Liggins. Among the best-known names at this year’s camp will be Russ Smith, JaKarr Sampson, Ray McCallum and Cliff Alexander.
- Former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, who played 23 games for the Nets this season, has been replaced on his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Bugra Uzar of Eurohoops. Taking his spot on the roster is Pero Antic, who played for the Hawks from 2013 to 2015. Bennett will remain with the club and is expected to be part of the upcoming EuroLeague Final Four.
- Greg Oden, another former No. 1 pick, is hoping to be part of The Basketball Tournament this summer on ESPN, relays Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. Oden’s team is called Scarlet and Gray and is made up of Ohio State alumni. “We think we’re a team that can win it,” he said. “We look at the talent we’ve had here in the last 10 years or so, and we can match up with anybody. We want the state of Ohio supporting us. We’re called Scarlet and Gray, but this team is a representation of the whole state.”
Details On Warriors’ Recruitment Of Kevin Durant
When Kevin Durant spurned the Thunder to come to the Warriors, many assumed it was in part, because he had formed a friendship with Stephen Curry during Team USA competition. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case, as Draymond Green was the catalyst for the 2013/14 MVP’s arrival, Ethan Sherwood Strauss writes in his last article for ESPN.
Owner Joe Lacob reportedly told friends and ex-colleagues about Green’s efforts during a speech at his old venture capital firm. “Draymond Green started off hard sell, and he was great,” Lacob said of Green’s pitch to Durant. “He gave the heavy pitch, which no one else there would have done, except for me, because I’m basically the Draymond Green of the business side.”
Strauss adds that Lacob is a huge advocate of Green and while the owner doesn’t regularly visit the locker room, if he does, chances are it’s to congratulate Green.
Sources tell Strauss that the Warriors had to approach Curry and ask him to join the recruitment efforts in free agency last summer. Curry obliged and he reportedly sent a text to Durant explaining how it didn’t matter who the face of the franchise was going to be and it certainly didn’t matter who sold more shoes. Curry has a deal with Under Armour, while Nike has Durant.
Curry’s been exceptionally adaptable during Durant’s first year with the squad. He didn’t take exception when Nike sent the entire team a pair of Durant’s kicks, which is why you’ll find more Golden State players wearing Nikes than UAs. Strauss notes that Curry doesn’t get recognition from ownership, citing Lacob’s previous “It’s not just Steph Curry” comment as well as Curry’s absence from the organization’s ground-breaking ceremony. Both the Warriors and Curry insist the point guard wasn’t there because of a scheduling conflict. However, it’s worth noting that Lacob thanked a list of people, including Kevin Durant, but left out Curry— who’s below market contract was paramount to the franchise’s ability to construct its super team.
Curry may not have quarterbacked the Durant pitch, but Strauss contends that his off the court actions were critical to team’s success over the past year. Green was the most aggressive in the recruitment efforts, but Curry’s acceptance of a marginalized role facilitated the making of a juggernaut.
Warriors Wanted To Play Clippers
The Warriors will face the Jazz in the conference’s semifinals, though Golden State was rooting for the Clippers to beat Utah in the previous round, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com writes. Were the Warriors concerned about the opposition’s slow pace, Gordon Hayward‘s perimeter game, or Rudy Gobert‘s defensive presence? None of the above. They were worried about being bored.
The small forward hasn’t played yet in the postseason because of ankle and foot issues, though it appears he’s getting set to play in Game 1 against Utah, according to Golden State’s Twitter feed. Shaun Livingston, who has a hand injury, is considered questionable for the contest.
Warriors Not Counting On Postseason Return For Kerr
Steve Kerr is battling complications stemming from back surgery and it has forced him to miss Golden State’s last two playoff games. Mike Brown took over duties in his place and the Warriors are preparing as if Brown will lead them for the rest of the postseason.
“We plan on Steve not to come back,” Draymond Green said (via Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Gate. “That’s the way we’re approaching this thing. We’re not going to sit around and say, ‘Oh, man, if we can get to the conference finals Steve may be back!’ Nah. Mike Brown is our coach.”
Kerr remains involved in the team’s strategy, though it’s unclear exactly how much input he is giving. Brown, who has been friends with Kerr for nearly 17 years, is preparing to be the head coach for as long as Golden State has basketball left to play, but he’s doing so by communicating regularly with the 2015/16 Coach of the Year.
“My whole deal is I’m going to coach the team until Bob [Myers] and Steve tell me otherwise,” Brown said. “I’m not putting a timetable on it, just taking it one day at a time. The reality of it is, Steve and I talk a couple times a day.”
Warriors Notes: Fraser, Kerr, Barnes, Livingston
Having to get by without Steve Kerr for the first 43 games of last season has made the transition easier this year, assistant coach Bruce Fraser tells Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Ongoing complications from Kerr’s 2015 back surgery forced him to miss Games 3 and 4 of the Trail Blazers series and have put his availability in question for the next round and beyond. Former NBA coach Mike Brown has taken over the team on an interim basis and “has been really good with letting our culture stay intact,” Fraser said.
Fraser adds that helping Kerr get healthy is the organization’s primary concern. “I used to ask him a lot at the beginning how he was doing and I could tell after a while he just didn’t like that question,” Fraser said. “He hides it from everyone. I’m no different. But he also doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t want it to be a crutch for himself or a hindrance to the team or us. He learned how to manage it pretty well. So he was really good with it all–some moments better than others. It just got worse. We just need to get him back.”
There’s more Warriors news this morning:
- Brown brings a different tone to Golden State’s huddles, but he is maintaining the same philosophies that Kerr employs, Kevin Durant says in the same piece. “They’re two different voices, two different personalities,” Durant said. “They work well with each other and they learn from each other I can tell. But we play a certain way and we’ve been playing that way the whole season. It’s not like coach Brown is coming in trying to change anything up. He’s coaching us within the flow of the game and whatever he sees he’s going to help us out.”
- The Warriors are hoping to have Matt Barnes and Shaun Livingston available when their second-round series starts Tuesday, relays the Associated Press. Barnes, who has been out since April 8th with a foot injury, has been upgraded to probable for Game 1. Livingston remains questionable with a sprained finger on his right hand that he suffered in the opener against Portland. Durant is expected to play without the minutes restriction that was imposed when he returned from a strained left calf for Game 4 against the Blazers.
- Center Zaza Pachulia talks the experience of being surrounded by mega-stars in the “Warriors Plus-Minus” podcast with Kawakami.
Steve Kerr’s Condition Continues to Worsen
The physical problems that caused Warriors coach Steve Kerr to miss the final two games of the first-round series have gotten worse over the past week, reports Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News. Kerr’s indefinite absence from the team may stretch well into the second round or even beyond.
Kerr was at Stanford Medical Center today getting further tests and had to miss the first practice in preparation for the next round of playoffs. Interim coach Mike Brown was in charge and said he will plan to coach the rest of the postseason unless GM Bob Myers tells him differently.
Brown talked to Kerr Tuesday night about strategies for facing the Jazz or Clippers in the next round. Brown refused to comment on Kerr’s condition, referring all those questions to Myers.
Kerr is still dealing with the effects of surgery that he had in the summer of 2015 to repair a ruptured disk in his back. That created a fluid leak in his spine, and a follow-up operation was needed. Kerr missed the first 43 games of last season and still hasn’t returned to full health.
Myers addressed his coach’s condition after today’s practice in an interview on 95.7 The Game. He said the organization hasn’t set a timetable for a return, and he wants to see Kerr have several good days in a row before he comes back to the bench.
“For him to live the life that he wants to live, we need to figure it out,” Myers said. “I think we will.”
The Warriors won’t play again until Sunday, and maybe not until Tuesday if the Jazz-Clippers series goes to a seventh game. Brown plans to continue having strategy sessions with Kerr and will try to handle his absence as smoothly as possible.
“You hope it’s seamless,” Brown said. “I’ve been coaching a long time and even though Steve’s older than me — a lot older than me (laughs) — he’s been coaching for three years now and I’ve learned a ton from him. Not just X’s and O’s. Maybe [Gregg Popovich] rivals it, but he’s by far the best communicator I’ve been around. There’s no way I’ll be able to emulate that. Just being here a year, having the veterans we have, the staff we have, it’s made it, in my opinion, seamless.”
Blazers Notes: Lillard, Durant, Draft
The Blazers made the playoffs this season, but Damian Lillard doesn’t consider that a success, as Chris Haynes of ESPN.com relays.
“We got tested, and I think we answered the bell,” the point guard said. “I felt like we showed our true colors by the way we fought. But I wouldn’t say successful. I think it was growth. A year of growth for us.”
The Warriors swept the Blazers in the opening round of the playoffs and Lillard understands that his team needs to beat Golden State if it’s going to win the Western Conference.
“You also got to understand that if you ever want to get out of the West, you’re going to have to go through them,” Lillard said. “And for me, I understand that’s what it is. It’s always been that way in the NBA. I think about when the Pistons were just beating up on [Michael] Jordan. [They] were just kicking his butt every year, and he had to get through them if he wanted to get to where he wanted to get to. That’s just what it is.
“[The Warriors are] going to be there. They’re going to be there every year. We have to look at that and understand that we got to be better. We have to go get better, and come back better as a group if we want to move past them.”
Here’s more from Portland:
- Kevin Durant believes the Blazers are a few pieces away from contending for the conference’s crown, as Haynes passes along in the same piece. “I think they want somebody on the wing that can take the pressure off those two guards [C.J. McCollum and Lillard], somebody that’s big for their position. But they’re right there, man,” Durant said.
- Breaking up McCollum and Lillard might be the only way the Blazers bring home the title, Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer contends. The scribe sees parallels in Portland’s current team and Golden State’s in 2012. The Warriors knew Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry couldn’t defend opposing backcourts at a top level and the team decided to trade Ellis away.
- The Blazers acquired the No. 20 overall pick in the upcoming draft in the Jusuf Nurkic deal and that selection could be more important than the center, O’Connor argues in the same piece. Portland needs to find another piece to take the team from good to great and without cap space, the team will likely need to add that player through the draft. In addition to No. 20, the franchise also owns the No. 15 and No. 26 overall picks.
Kevin Durant To Play In Game 4
Kevin Durant will play in tonight’s matchup against the Blazers, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post tweets. Shaun Livingston and Matt Barnes will remain sidelined.
Golden State will be without Steve Kerr as well. Kerr is experiencing health issues which stem from the back surgery he underwent in 2015. He and Durant both missed the Warriors’ Game 3 win on Saturday.
Durant missed 22 games this season, including the two games he was sidelined for in this series. In his first postseason game with the Warriors last weekend, Durant scored 32 points and pulled down 11 boards before exiting the game with a calf injury.
Steve Kerr May Miss The Rest Of First-Round Series
The Warriors are concerned about the health of head coach Steve Kerr, who may not be available for the remainder of their first-round series, writes Marcus Thompson II of The San Jose Mercury News.
Golden State won Saturday’s Game 3 without Kerr, who was held out with an illness that was only described in vague terms. A source tells Thompson that Kerr has been ailing since the series started. He has been suffering excruciating pain and at times can barely walk.Kerr’s health has been an issue since he underwent surgery in July of 2015 to fix a ruptured disk in his back. That operation created a fluid leak in his spine, and he needed a second procedure two months later.
He missed the first 43 games of last season before returning to his spot on the Warriors’ bench, but his health problems never fully went away. Thompson writes that the spinal fluid leak left him with “debilitating headaches and nausea,” along with other ailments.
The team hired Mike Brown as its lead assistant over the offseason because of his extensive experience as an NBA head coach. Thompson notes that the Warriors passed over younger candidates such as Stephen Silas because of fears that Kerr might not be able to coach the entire season.
Kerr was able to gameplan with Brown before Saturday’s game, but it remains uncertain when he might coach again. Kerr will undoubtedly want to return as soon as possible, but GM Bob Myers may insist that his friend get healthier first.
Kevin Durant Won’t Play In Game 3
The Warriors will hold Kevin Durant out of tonight’s contest as he recovers from a calf injury, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Durant missed Game 2 against the Blazers with the same ailment and at the time, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Groups reported that the small forward could miss Game 3 as well.
Durant suffered the injury in the opening game of the series. He scored 32 points in that contest but needed to ice his leg toward the end of the game.
Golden State has gone 17-4 without Durant in the lineup this season, which includes the team’s win over Portland last Wednesday. Steve Kerr will also miss tonight’s tilt and Mike Brown will coach in his place.