Last Game 7 Loss Helped Secure Kerr
As the Warriors prepare for Monday’s Game 7 with the Thunder, Marc Berman of The New York Post offers a reminder that the results of Golden State’s last Game 7 prevented Steve Kerr from coaching the Knicks. After the Warriors lost to the Clippers in 2014, owner Joe Lacob decided to fire coach Mark Jackson. The team contacted the agent for Kerr, who had a verbal agreement with New York but nothing on paper. Kerr met with the Warriors and decided that was a better opportunity for him. With the expected hiring of Jeff Hornacek, the Knicks are now on their third coach since Kerr’s change of heart.
Warriors Save On Luxury Tax
- The Warriors saved $4MM in luxury tax penalties as a result of Andrew Bogut not being named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (on Twitter). Golden State’s tax bill for 2015/16 is now $14.9MM and Bogut’s cap hit for next season drops to approximately $11MM, Marks adds.
Warriors To Interview Tibbetts For Top Assistant Job
The Warriors will interview Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts today for their top assistant coaching job, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Tibbetts and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas are two of the serious candidates to replace new Lakers coach Luke Walton as Steve Kerr’s right-hand man, Wojnarowski continues. Silas will also be interviewed by the Warriors today during their stay in Oklahoma City for the Western Conference Finals.
Tibbetts interviewed for the Grizzlies head coaching job, while Silas is under strong consideration for the Rockets’ head coaching opening. Tibbetts has been an assistant with the Blazers since 2013 under coach Terry Stotts. He was also an assistant coach with the Cavaliers, as well as head coach of the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers for two seasons.
The Rockets are mulling a coaching partnership with Silas in the top spot and former Grizzlies and Nets head coach Lionel Hollins as associate head coach, Wojnarowski adds. The Rockets are interviewing Magic assistant Adrian Griffin and Spurs assistant James Borrego today, and Sixers assistant coach Mike D’Antoni is also a prime candidate for that job.
Portland also was granted permission Sunday to talk to Silas about being its top assistant, league sources told Wojnarowski.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Blatt, Shaw, Crawford
Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has earned a raise, but the Warriors can’t afford to renegotiate, writes Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Curry will receive a little more than $12.1MM next season in the final year of his contract, about half of what other top stars make. Working out a new deal over the summer would prevent Curry from reaching free agency, but it would also upend the team’s salary structure, Leroux warns.
Curry is eligible for a new contract because he will be entering the fifth year of his current deal. However, any raise he receives — and it would surely be a maximum contract starting in the neighborhood of $25.9MM — would drain Golden State’s cap space. The Warriors plan to operate under the cap this summer, and a new contract for Curry could cost the team Harrison Barnes or Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli. Also, the NBA limits renegotiated extensions to four seasons, which would include 2016/17. If Curry waits until free agency next summer, he can receive a five-year contract that would run through 2021/22, and he could receive even more money if max deals are increased as part of a 2017 labor renegotiation.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- David Blatt is not on Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s short list to become his top assistant, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Kerr was interested in Blatt for the position two years ago.
- Brian Shaw is nearing a return to the Lakers as lead assistant, but the rest of Luke Walton’s staff is uncertain, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Shaw, who was an assistant in L.A. under Phil Jackson from 2005-11, was also rumored to be a candidate for assistant posts with the Pacers and Magic, Oram reports. He adds that no one knows if any members of former head coach Byron Scott’s staff will be retained, as Walton may seek coaches with ties to the Lakers or he may try to lure other assistants from Golden State, where Walton had been serving as lead assistant.
- Shaw’s hiring is imminent, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, who says the two sides are finalizing the contract.
- It wouldn’t take a playoff team to pry free agent combo guard Jamal Crawford away from the Clippers, tweets Noah Coslov of CineSport. “Definitely money, situation, could be a team on the rise,” Crawford said in listing his priorities in an interview on Bleacher Report Radio. “Doesn’t have to be contender.”
Warriors To Interview Stephen Silas
SUNDAY, 12:26pm: Silas will meet with Golden State coach Steve Kerr Monday in Oklahoma City to discuss the top assistant’s position, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
FRIDAY, 4:56pm: The Warriors are in need of a replacement for Luke Walton as top assistant and are targeting Hornets assistant coach Stephen Silas, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Golden State requested permission from Charlotte today to discuss the post with Silas, Wojnarowski notes. The team is feeling pressure to ramp up its timetable regarding Silas because of his growing candidacy to become the Rockets next head coach, the scribe adds.
Silas, 43, is the son of longtime NBA coach Paul Silas. He has served as an assistant for the Hornets, Pelicans (prior to the team being re-named), Warriors and Cavaliers, as well as serving a brief stint as an advance scout for the Wizards. He was in Houston for a second interview Thursday and met with team owner Leslie Alexander. If the Rockets hire Silas, they would reportedly like to add former Nets coach Lionel Hollins as his top assistant.
Former NBA head coach Brian Shaw is eyeing the Warriors post should Silas not join the team, Wojnarowski relays. Shaw was reportedly offered the top assistant slot on Walton’s staff in Los Angeles, but the coach prefers the Warriors given that he is a Bay area native, the Vertical scribe writes.
Six Prospects Working Out For Warriors
- The Warriors are still alive in the postseason, but that doesn’t mean they’re not partially focused on the draft as well. According to Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), Golden State is bringing in prospects Josh Adams, Nick Faust, Brannen Greene, Max Hooper, Fred VanVleet, and David Walker for a pre-draft workout.
Draft Combine Update: Friday Afternoon
The Celtics have a tentative workout scheduled with Duke small forward Brandon Ingram, a prime contender to become the No. 1 pick, reports Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The outcome of the lottery will determine whether it takes place, according to Murphy, and presumably, the Celtics will have to land one of the top two selections. Ingram is the top prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and second in the listings Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles.
See more draft news on day three of the combine:
- Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson and Kansas forward/center Cheick Diallo have told teams they’ve decided to stay in the draft rather than pull out by May 25th to retain their college eligibility, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Pacers, Warriors, Spurs, Wizards, Rockets and Mavericks are among the teams that have spoken with Syracuse swingman Michael Gbinije, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson has interviewed with the Suns, Spurs, Kings, Trail Blazers and Bucks, observes Rod Beard of The Detroit News, who also cites Jackson’s previously reported interview with the Pistons.
- Villanova shooting guard Josh Hart has worked out for the Clippers and has another workout scheduled with the Hawks on May 24th, as Zagoria relays. He’ll also work out for the Celtics and Spurs, and his previously reported workout with the Sixers takes place Monday, Zagoria reveals. The Knicks, Wizards, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Pacers, Grizzlies and Jazz interviewed Hart at the combine, according to Zagoria.
- Purdue big man Caleb Swanigan has the Pistons, Hawks, Wizards and Suns among the teams on his interview list, Zagoria tweets.
Draft Combine Update: Friday Morning
Skal Labissiere‘s impressive private workout on Wednesday didn’t quite measure up to the hype, contends Chad Ford of ESPN.com in an Insider-only piece, who pegs the draft range for the Kentucky big man as No. 9 to No. 20. The Suns and Kings are among the teams Labissiere has interviewed with at the combine, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, echoing previous reports about interviews with Philadelphia and New Orleans. Ford’s sources remain solidly in the camp of Ben Simmons over Brandon Ingram for the top overall pick, while it appears it’s a battle between Jamal Murray and Kris Dunn for the No. 3 pick, Ford hears. Still, no one had a more impressive combine showing Thursday than Cheick Diallo, a high second-round prospect, according to Ford. Both his strengths and weaknesses were on display, as Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress detail. The Kansas center/forward says he’ll probably remain in the draft, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv details, adding the Warriors, Mavericks, Nets, Sixers, Knicks and Raptors to the list of teams he’s interviewing with at the combine.
See more updates as the combine continues:
- The Lakers interviewed Ingram, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- The Bulls, Hawks, Kings, Spurs and Rockets are among the teams interviewing Cal swingman Jaylen Brown, as he told reporters and as Basketball Insiders relays in a video. Also on the list are Boston and Minnesota, as we passed along earlier.
- UNLV shooting guard Patrick McCaw listed the Raptors, Bucks, Hornets, Cavaliers and Heat, as well as a previously reported meeting with Boston, among his interviews, as Basketball Insiders relays in another video.
- Wisconsin power forward Nigel Hayes will work out for the Suns, Celtics and Knicks, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link). Ford heard some negativity surrounding his performance Thursday.
- The Pelicans, Knicks, Mavericks, Hornets and Lakers are the previously unreported teams on the interview list for Maryland point guard Melo Trimble, as J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic relays. Ford heard from NBA types down on Trimble’s showing Thursday.
- Former Iona combo guard A.J. English met with the Pelicans and will do so with the Wizards and Nets, Zagoria tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- The Spurs, Warriors, Nuggets and Grizzlies are the previously unreported teams interviewing Seton Hall shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead, Zagoria relays (Twitter link). He’ll work out for the Sixers on Monday, the Pacers on Wednesday, the Celtics on May 20th and the Bulls on May 23rd, a source tells Zach Braziller of the New York Post (Twitter links). Boston, Indiana and Chicago are particularly interested in him, Braziller hears.
Stephen Curry Wins MVP Unanimously
Stephen Curry has won the MVP award by a unanimous vote, the NBA announced via press release. He’s the first-ever unanimous winner. Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James each fell one vote shy of winning MVP unanimously in 2000 and 2013, respectively. Curry collected 130 first-place votes from writers and broadcasters as well as the fan vote, according to the league.
It’s the second straight MVP award for the 28-year-old Curry, whose salary of less than $11.4MM makes him only No. 63 among the highest-paid players in the NBA, as The Vertical’s Bobby Marks notes (on Twitter). Next season will be the last on the discounted extension he signed amid concerns over the health of his ankles in 2012.
Curry exploded for 17 points in overtime to lead the Warriors over Portland in Game 4 of their series Monday, setting a new NBA record for the most points scored in either a regular season or playoff overtime. It was just the latest astounding performance for Curry, who came off the bench in that game. His 402 total 3-pointers made this season shattered the previous record of 286, a mark he set just last season. Just the seventh pick in the 2009 draft, Curry’s game has since blossomed in ways no one thought possible, epitomizing the NBA’s increasing emphasis on the 3-pointer. He was the NBA’s leading scorer at 30.1 points per game this season, 6.1 points better than his previous career best, and he finished fourth in Most Improved Player of the Year award voting.
The 6’3″ Curry isn’t just a one-way player, either. He led the NBA with 2.1 steals per game and finished sixth among point guards in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus Minus metric.
Perhaps most importantly, Curry stood out as the best player on the team that compiled the best regular season record in NBA history, as the Warriors went 73-9 this year. Golden State has lost twice thus far in the playoffs, both in games that Curry missed because of injury. His performance Monday erased any doubt about his ability to be at full strength going forward, however.
Kawhi Leonard finished second in the voting, followed closely by LeBron James. Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were fourth and fifth, respectively. The balloting system awarded 10 points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, five points for a third-place vote, three points for a fourth-place vote and one point for a fifth-place vote. To see a ballot-by-ballot breakdown, click here.
All of this year’s vote-getters are listed below, along with their point totals.
- Stephen Curry (Warriors) — 1,310
- Kawhi Leonard (Spurs) — 634
- LeBron James (Cavaliers) — 631
- Russell Westbrook (Thunder) — 486
- Kevin Durant (Thunder) — 147
- Chris Paul (Clippers) — 107
- Draymond Green (Warriors) — 50
- Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) — 26
- James Harden (Rockets) — 9
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors) — 6
Warriors Wanted R.J. Hunter In 2015 Draft
- The Warriors would have drafted R.J. Hunter at No. 30 last June had the Celtics not snagged him at No. 28, sources told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Golden State drafted Kevon Looney instead after the C’s took Hunter even though he canceled a workout in Boston because he wasn’t feeling 100%, as Bulpett details.