Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Notes: Markkanen, George, Collier, Williams

October 14th, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lauri Markkanen‘s contract situation was a major story during the offseason. Markkanen and the Jazz chose to renegotiate and extend his contract for four seasons. In addition to having his salary for this season bumped from $18MM to $42MM, Markkanen tacked on another $196MM across four new years.

He told Marc Stein in a Subtack interview that he was relieved to get that done, rather than having increased uncertainty over his future, along with the possibility of being traded.

“Obviously I wasn’t a free agent, but it was more I had the ability to do the contract and kind of had the choice,” he said. “I don’t have to do it, but that was something I wanted to get done to stay with the team.”

The Warriors were prominently mentioned as a possible destination and Markkanen took the trade interest from other teams as a positive. “I think [it means] you’ve done things right — that teams want you. … I was able to kind of zone it out and really wait for my agent for what’s real,” he said.

We have more on the Jazz:

Markkanen doesn’t want his All-Star appearance to be a one-shot deal, he told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda.com. “You don’t want to just be a one-time All Star. The goal is always to improve and show the new things you’ve been working on in your game,” he said. “I’m always trying to take that next step in my development, but it all starts with team success. Everything else comes from there.”
Keyonte George underwent an MRI on his left knee and the results were negative, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. George has resumed on-court activities and is expected to be available for the team’s game against Sacramento on Tuesday. Isaiah Collier also underwent an MRI that revealed a right hamstring strain. He will be reevaluated in 10 days. Collier was the 29th pick of the draft.
Lottery pick Cody Williams had his best outing of the preseason on Saturday, Larsen notes. Williams scored 17 against San Antonio after contributing a total of 13 points in the previous three preseason games. He added five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.

Pacific Notes: Warriors Lineup, Hield, Dunn, Jones

October 14th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were the only players who entered Warriors camp with guaranteed starting jobs. ESPN’s Kendra Andrews takes a look at the battles for the other starting spots.

As Andrews details, De’Anthony Melton and Brandin Podziemski are fighting for the shooting guard spot with Buddy Hield pegged as a sixth man. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kevon Looney are the candidates to play up front next to Green. Jonathan Kuminga is pushing for the starting small forward job with Andrew Wiggins sidelined by an illness during training camp.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Hield made a nasty remark about Sacramento in a “hot mic” moment two seasons ago after the Kings traded him to the Pacers, but the Warriors swingman told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee that he harbors no ill toward the organization or the city. “I’ll always love Sacramento,” Hield said. “Sacramento is kind of where my career started. I always thank (former GM) Vlade (Divac) and (team owner) Vivek (Ranadive) for reaching out and giving me an opportunity to come play for the city and this organization. My comments are my comments. I can’t take them back, but when you have a mic open, friendly conversation with your friends, and a hot mic catches you, you can’t take that back. I’ve got to take that on the chin, but I love Sacramento.”
Rookie wing Ryan Dunn has opened some eyes during Suns training camp and could be the steal of the draft, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Dunn only made a dozen three-pointers in 51 attempts during two seasons at Virginia, but has knocked down 12 on 27 attempts this preseason. Dunn’s strength entering the draft was his defense, so if he can continue to make threes, the 28th overall pick will be a valuable addition.
Kai Jones didn’t appear in an NBA game last season after two disappointing years with the Hornets. Jones is competing for a roster spot on the Clippers after signing a training camp contract this summer. Head coach Tyronn Lue‘s advice to him hit home, he told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “(Lue) told me when I got here, that everything that I did in the past (I needed to) forgive myself, you know, just learn from it, grow from it and just be better,” Jones said.

And-Ones: Harrell, Parity, Projections, Season Previews

October 14th, 2024 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

After reaching a deal in September with the Adelaide 36ers to join the team as a short-term replacement for injured forward Jarell Martin, veteran big man Montrezl Harrell is now in advanced talks with the Australian club to sign a rest-of-season contract that would allow him to stick around after Martin returns, reports Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

According to Uluc, the 36ers and Harrell’s agent have been talking for the past few weeks about a possible full-season deal, and the expectation is that the two sides will get something done. If they do, the 36ers will have to deactivate a local player in order to keep Harrell active.

The NBA’s former Sixth Man of the Year is off to a strong start in Adelaide, averaging a double-double (15.7 points, 10.3 rebounds) during his first five games in Australia’s National Basketball League. While Harrell is interested in returning to the NBA, there’s a sense that’s more likely to happen in February or March after the NBL season ends, Uluc explains.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

When the Celtics won the NBA title in the spring, they became the sixth different team in the last six years to claim a championship. That’s just the second time in league history that has happened, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who takes a closer look at the current era of NBA parity, exploring why it happened and what it means going forward.
John Hollinger of The Athletic previews the season for the seven teams he projects to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, from the Wizards at No. 15 to the Hawks at No. 9. Using his BORD$ formula, Hollinger forecasts just 14 wins for Washington, seven fewer than any other team in the conference. He also has the Pistons moving up to 11th place, with the Raptors claiming the second play-in spot at No. 10.
Zach Kram of The Ringer previews the coming season by sharing one defining statistic for all 30 teams, such as 23.4 for the Thunder (the average age of their roster) and 31.2 for the Nuggets (their three-point attempts per game last season, last in the NBA).
Tim Bontemps of ESPN identifies 10 individuals who will help define the 2024/25 season, ranging from players like Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns to front office executives such as Calvin Booth of the Nuggets and Mike Dunleavy Jr. of the Warriors. Bontemps’ list also includes a top prospect (Cooper Flagg), an analyst (Charles Barkley), and a head coach (J.J. Redick), among others.

Updates On Curry, Wiggins, Starters

October 13th, 2024 at 2:55pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors star Stephen Curry sustained a jammed right index finger in the second quarter of Friday’s victory and was held out for the remainder of the game, but he was able to go throughout his typical post-game workout, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays (Twitter links). Curry underwent an X-ray, which came back negative, and he’s considered day-to-day.
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was sidelined by an illness during training camp and will miss his fourth straight preseason game on Sunday vs. Detroit. However, the former No. 1 overall pick has recovered from the unspecified illness and is expected to suit up for Tuesday’s contest vs. the Lakers, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters, including Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
Kerr continues to experiment with the Warriors‘ starting lineup in preseason, Slater notes (Twitter video link). On Friday, Kerr went with a small-ball approach, with Curry, Gary Payton II, Moses Moody, Kyle Anderson and Draymond Green as the starting five. While they’re taking a “game-by-game” approach right now, in part due to Wiggins’ absence, Kerr downplayed the possibility of that continuing into the regular season. “We want a starting lineup to form, and to establish some continuity, for sure,” he said.

Warriors Notes: Thompson, Threes, Stotts, Lineup

October 11th, 2024 at 9:43am CST by Earnest Marshall

One of the longest-tenured players in Warriors history switched teams this summer when Klay Thompson departed for the Mavericks. Franchise icons Stephen Curry and Draymond Green honored Thompson’s request to not go to management to try to intervene in his decision, but it finally hit them that their former long-time teammate wouldn’t be joining them this season when they got to training camp, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes.

“[Klay] would usually enter the practice facility coming off of his boat,” Curry said. “With his Dockers on, whatever outfit he had on. He just had a presence about him, a lightness when he came in the room. And his one-liners were always great. … [I’m] talking about him like he died, [which is] super weird. … Life throws a lot of curve balls in sports. You’re used to seeing people change places and teams. [However] up until but a week before he decided to sign Dallas, we never really thought it was going to end.”

The Warriors added a trio of veterans to help replace Thompson’s impact from beyond the arc and on the perimeter, signing Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson as free agents. Those three will compete for minutes and a spot in the starting rotation.

“One of the reasons we are excited to get Buddy Hield is because we will run some of the same stuff that we ran for Klay for Buddy,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Draymond and Steph will be looking for him on the perimeter when they’re playing with him. And then the other new guys, Melton, Kyle Anderson — there’s a reason we targeted them too. They fit any lineup, such smart tough players that they’re easy to play with.

“So I don’t anticipate a really difficult transition basketball-wise. It’s more just the emotional void of Klay being gone after being so close with him and going through so much with him. That part is really sad. But you have to move on.”

We have more from the Warriors:

The new-look Warriors continued their habit of hitting fast threes and playing in transition when they made 28 of their 52 attempts in a Wednesday preseason game against the Kings, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews writes. That would have been a franchise record for threes in a regular season game. The Warriors were fairly good at making outside shots a priority last season, ranking fourth in the league in attempts at 38.9 per game. But as Anthony Slater of The Athletic points out, the teams that ranked first (Boston) and second (Dallas), both reached the Finals. Slater reports that the Warriors are talking like they want to lead the league in three-point attempts. “I feel like it’s a little different in that we have more guys who can shoot the three besides Klay and Steph,” Brandin Podziemski said.
While the on-court additions for the Warriors look strong already, new assistant coach Terry Stotts is also making his impact felt this preseason, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Hield in particular should thrive with Stotts, who helped the Trail Blazers make the conference finals in 2019 behind hot three-point shooting from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. “The stuff that we’re putting in with Terry, the Portland stuff, you saw some of that in the second half,” Kerr said. “The flares, Buddy is built for that.“
The Warriors have been cycling through several lineup combinations and possibilities in training camp and the preseason, Slater tweets. On Thursday in practice, the starters appeared to be Curry, Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Anderson and Green. The lineup changed across both preseason games as well, with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Melton starting alongside Curry, Kuminga and Green in the first game before Kevon Looney and Podziemski took over in the second.

Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Harris, Crawford, James Duo, Suns

October 7th, 2024 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jonathan Kuminga has high expectations for himself this season. The Warriors forward has set an individual goal of making his first All-Star appearance, he told Marc Spears of Andscape.

“That is my trajectory. That is what I’ve been working towards,” Kuminga said. “I did as much as I could working out, getting my body ready, learning the game, working on things on defense. It’s just a matter of when we start playing now and I can show what I’ve been working on and how my game has grown.”

The Warriors and Kuminga have an Oct. 21 rookie scale extension deadline and the forward will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension.

“My agent is taking care of that. I need to focus on what I’m trying to accomplish. The more I accomplish, the more things like that handle themselves,” Kuminga said.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings’ NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, have named Gabriel Harris as general manager and Quinton Crawford as head coach, according to a team press release. Harris, 33, served as the assistant GM for Stockton last season. Crawford, 34, was an assistant coach with the Suns. He also served as an assistant with the Mavericks in 2022-23 and the Lakers from 2019-2022.
LeBron James and Bronny James made history Sunday night as the first father and son to play together in an NBA game. They were on the court together at the start of the second quarter during the Lakers’ preseason game against the Suns. It coincided with Bronny’s 20th birthday. “For a father, it means everything,” LeBron said, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “For someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son. Be able to have moments with your son. And ultimately, to be able to work with your son. I think that’s one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for.”
The Suns shot 41% on 3-point attempts in their 118-114 win over the Lakers on Sunday. Kevin Durant saw some good signs offensively, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “I liked that we generated good shots. We are able to get (21) 3s up in the 1st half,” he said. “Defensively, pick-and-roll coverage, it’ll get better. That’s where we struggled at the most.”

Buzzer-Beater From Lindy Waters Lifts Warriors In Preseason Opener

October 6th, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Lindy Waters, who’s in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, won the game for the Warriors with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Waters described the moment as the “cherry on top” after a long week of training camp. “I had already hit a couple of them, so that rim gets bigger and bigger,” he said. “So I just let it fly, and I knew it was good as soon as it left my hand.”

Warriors Notes: Frontcourt, Kuminga, Wiggins, Green, Payton, More

October 4th, 2024 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Draymond Green will be part of the Warriors‘ starting lineup this fall, but his exact role has not yet been determined. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the team’s decision on whether to use Green as a power forward or center will have a ripple effect on the rest of the starting five and the rotation beyond that group.

According to Slater, head coach Steve Kerr has expressed that he doesn’t love the idea of Green playing heavy minutes at the five, especially against teams using bigger lineups. And Green still considers power forward his true position.

However, starting Green alongside a center like Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney may push rising forward Jonathan Kuminga to the bench, since Kuminga hasn’t yet proven to be a reliable floor spacer and Kerr has spoken in the past about viewing the former lottery pick as more of a four than a three. For what it’s worth, Kuminga disagrees with that assessment but is willing to accept whatever decision the club makes.

“At the end of the day, I know I’m a small forward,” Kuminga said, per Slater. “I can do it. I can play it at the highest level. But going forward, it’s all about what the team wants me to do. It don’t matter, small forward or whatever.”

As Slater observes, Kuminga and Green would make more sense as the Warriors’ starting forwards alongside a big man who could stretch the floor, but Jackson-Davis and Looney don’t really possess that skill set. And even though Golden State drafted a player – Quinten Post – who could develop into that sort of stretch five, he likely won’t see much action with the NBA team as a rookie.

“He’s got a ways to go,” Kerr said of Post. “I’m not anticipating it this year. I think he’ll be in Santa Cruz a lot.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Andrew Wiggins is the best bet to open the season as Golden State’s starting small forward, but he has yet to participate in training camp due to an illness and has been ruled out for Saturday’s preseason opener, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
With Wiggins unavailable, the Warriors used a first unit of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Kuminga, and Green in a Friday scrimmage, tweets Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. However, asked if that would be the starting group on Saturday, Kerr advised reporters not to read too much into it. “No,” he replied, per Slater (Twitter link). “In fact it’s safe to assume that will not be the starters.”
While the Warriors aren’t generally viewed as a legitimately title contender entering this fall, Green appreciates the challenge of trying to get the team back to that level and has no desire to leave his longtime team to try to win another championship elsewhere, Thompson writes for The Athletic. “When you’ve built this s–t up from the laughingstock of the NBA, it feels a little different,” Green said. “I said to (team owner) Joe Lacob two years ago, like, ‘You should understand I think about this organization like it’s mine.’ No disrespect to them that own this, but I take a great deal of pride in what we built here. This is home for me. This is like Michigan State for me. Most people don’t have an NBA home. I care what this organization looks like in 10 years. That’s going to matter to me.”
The Warriors announced on Friday in a press release that Jonnie West has received a promotion to senior director of pro personnel, while Maclean Osborne and Michael Salame have been named scouts. Osborne and Salame previously worked in basketball operations for Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Warriors guard Gary Payton II spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about a wide range of topics, including his decision to exercise his 2024/25 player option to stick with Golden State and his favorite Curry and Green stories.
The Warriors liked Bronny James‘ skill set heading into June’s draft and weighed the possibility of selecting him at No. 52, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. However, Golden State ultimately decided to respect LeBron James‘ desire to join forces with his son in Los Angeles and passed on Bronny.

Warriors Notes: Offseason Moves, Curry, Kuminga, Starters

October 2nd, 2024 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

After being linked to big-name trade targets like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen during the offseason, the Warriors ended up not making a major deal and focused instead on bringing in a handful of role players at mid-level prices, including De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson. The team’s defensive anchor, Draymond Green, told reporters this week that he was on board with that decision, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN relays.

“One move in this league, it can pretty much set you up for how the next 10 years of your organization is going to go. Sometimes the best deal you can make is to not make a deal, and I think we did a great job in going out and getting pieces that are going to help this team grow,” Green said. “… Championships are won six through 10. Championships aren’t won one through five.”

Green compared the summer additions to the ones the Warriors made in 2021 when they brought in Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, and Nemanja Bjelica to bolster their depth ahead of a championship season. That doesn’t mean that Golden State will be a title team in 2024/25, but Stephen Curry believes the newcomers can help the club move toward that goal.

“All three guys we brought in all are veterans,” Curry said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Established veterans that know how to play the game. Good pieces that you need to be a championship-type team. Does that mean we’re there? I don’t know.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

After a disappointing 2023/24 season that saw Golden State finish 10th in the West and bow out of the postseason in the first play-in game, Curry said he’s coming into training camp with an “open mind of how we’re supposed to play” and that he’s embracing the idea of “evolving and pivoting” to figure out what works best for the current group. “I know there’s a Warriors mentality and culture of how we do things, there’s a system that we ran for a decade plus that has worked,” Curry said, according to Andrews. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how this team needs to play. We have to have kind of antennas up and an openness to accept what this team’s strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and kind of lean into those.”
Jonathan Kuminga, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 21, said he will “hopefully” reach a deal with the Warriors but that he won’t be worried if it doesn’t get done this fall, Slater writes. Kuminga would be a restricted free agent in 2025 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before the season begins. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s not my concern,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here, happy to start a new season. Fourth year. I’d love to have it, but I’m not really concerned about it. If I get it, if I don’t, it’s cool. I’m still going to be me. I’ll just go out there and perform.”
In a separate story for The Athletic, Slater evaluates the candidates for the starting shooting guard position, noting that the Warriors could go the defensive route with Melton, the floor-spacing route with Hield, or the long-term route with Brandin Podziemski.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stressed on Tuesday that shooting guard isn’t the only opening in the Warriors’ starting lineup, telling reporters that there’s an open competition for basically every spot besides point guard, where Curry will start. “There is competition across the board,” Kerr said (story via Andrews at ESPN). “It’s not as simple as, ‘Who is going to be the two?’ It’s got to be — ‘Who is going to be the five? Who’s the four?’ We know that Steph is the one. But what’s the combination? … The starting lineup is going to have to be dependent not only on the first five fitting, but the second fitting as well. We’ve got a lot of work to do to figure out lineups. All the guys can do is compete, play their ass off.”

Texas Notes: Klay, Doncic, Adams, Rockets

September 29th, 2024 at 4:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban recently spoke with Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast (Twitter link) about a variety of topics, including Klay Thompson‘s to depart the Warriors for Dallas in free agency.

“Klay Thompson’s got a lot to prove,” Cuban said. “Klay was ready for a move. All the grief he got last year – particularly the way it ended. So the timing was right.”

Thompson agreed to a three-year, $50MM deal with Dallas as part of a six-team sign-and-trade.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Five-time All-NBA Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has had a busier-than-normal offseason in 2024. Since guiding Dallas to its first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years, Doncic suited up for the Slovenian national team for the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, but was eliminated by Greece before making the cut. Doncic subsequently remained in his homeland to prep prior to the Mavericks’ own training camp, as Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal details at his Substack (subscription required).
Veteran Rockets center Steven Adams didn’t suit up for Houston last season while recovering from a right knee surgery he underwent while he was a member of the Grizzlies. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle explores how the 31-year-old will be deployed in Ime Udoka‘s system in 2024/25. As Feigen writes, Alperen Sengun enjoyed a breakout run last year and seems likely to preserve his starting spot, and he and Adams likely won’t play together often. Still, Adams – who is on an expiring $12.6MM salary – could earn increased playing time in certain matchups.
The Rockets finished with a solid 41-41 record, but in a talented Western Conference it wasn’t enough to even make the play-in tournament. Instead, Houston finished with the West’s No. 11 seed. As Feigen writes in another story for The Chronicle, team owner Tilman Fertitta hasn’t clearly expressed what would constitute a successful season for the club in 2024/25, declaring that he has “high expectations” but not explicitly stating that he expects a playoff berth.