Jason Staudt

Warriors Notes: Thompson, Santos, Staudt

Former NBA player Mychal Thompson says his son, Klay Thompson, is in great shape ahead of the 2023/24 season, he tells Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.

“He’ll be back hungrier than ever,” Mychal said of Klay. “He’s two years removed from his serious injuries. He’s been working out like crazy. He looks good, lean and ready to go. I expect him to be at a high All-Star level again. It’s possible. But the West is so loaded with guards. You’re going to have to be hooping out of your mind because all of these guards in the West could make the All-Star team.”

The longtime Warriors guard is entering the final year of his contract, which will pay him $43.2MM this season. Will that be a distraction for Klay?

He’s not worried about that,” Mychal Thompson told Medina. “He knows he has a job to do with coming into camp in the best shape and having a great year. Everything else will take care of itself.”

The elder Thompson also talked to Medina about Klay’s future with the Warriors, the possibility of his son representing either Team USA or the Bahamas ahead of next year’s Olympics, and other topics. The interview is worth checking out in full if you’re a Golden State fan.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • Brazilian forward Gui Santos, who is currently competing at the 2023 World Cup, was the No. 55 overall pick last year by the Warriors. He wound up signing an NBA G League contract in 2022/23 and spent his first season in the U.S. playing for the team’s affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. The 21-year-old added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason and had a strong Summer League showing, but he’s expected to once again play for Santa Cruz in ’23/24, reports Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.
  • According to Johnson, Santos is currently ineligible for a two-way deal with Golden State because he’s still under contract with Brazilian team Minas. The Warriors could buy out his current deal — which ends after ’23/24 — in order to give him a standard contract, but that isn’t expected to occur, Johnson writes. In other words, Santos likely won’t be making his NBA debut until at least ’24/25.
  • The Warriors are hiring Wizards scout Jason Staudt to join their front office, league sources tell veteran reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link). Staudt has worked in various roles with several NBA organizations, including the Magic, Blazers, Rockets and Suns.

Suns Rumors: Bridges, Free Agency, Coaches, Williams

The addition of Mikal Bridges gives the Suns a logjam at the forward spots and they still need to address their point guard situation, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic writes.

After the draft-night trade with the Sixers to acquire Bridges’ rights, the Suns now have five recent first-rounders – Josh JacksonT.J. WarrenDragan Bender and Marquese Chriss being the others – angling for playing time in the frontcourt. GM Ryan McDonough said he might add a stretch four in free agency, Bordow continues, so they could use that depth in a trade, with Chriss and Warren the most likely to be dealt.

Despite selecting Frenchman Elie Okobo with the first pick of the second round, the Suns still need another veteran at that spot, and McDonough confirmed they could pursue a floor leader in free agency, Bordow adds.

We have more on the Suns:

  • The Suns consider Bridges a “special player” and that’s why they were willing to deal the No. 16 pick and the Heat’s unprotected 2021 first-rounder for him, Bob Baum of the Associated Press reports. ‘‘We weighed the pros and cons of trading it heavily and carefully,” McDonough said. ”We were only going to put it in play if we had a chance to get a special player and that’s how we feel about Mikal.”
  • With $15-$20MM available to pursue free agents, the Suns will be proactive in free agency, Baum adds in the same piece. ‘We’re going to continue to be aggressive for the next couple of weeks in free agency,” McDonough said. “We’ve got some money to spend and we’re looking to spend it on the best players we can get.”
  • Joe Prunty, Corliss Williamson, Jamelle McMillan, Jason Staudt and Cody Toppert have officially signed up as assistants for new head coach Igor Kokoskov, Bordow tweets.
  • It’s hard to imagine the Suns will retain center Alan Williams on his current deal, Bordow adds in another tweet. Williams, whose $5.52MM salary is not guaranteed, would get a full guarantee if he’s still on the roster through July 6. He’d be a third-string center behind Deandre Ayton and Tyson Chandler if he sticks.

Suns Notes: Trades, Bagley, Coaching

Deandre Ayton is expected to be the selection for the Suns with the No. 1 pick, but Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic believes there’s a case to be made for the team to select Marvin Bagley III either with the top selection or as a result of trading down.

Moore suggests the team could send the No. 1 pick to Atlanta for the No. 3 and Dennis Schroder if Phoenix wants to get creative. In addition to the top choice, the Suns own the 16th, 31st, and 59th overall selections.

Here’s more from the franchise:

  • Suns GM Ryan McDonough recently compared Bagley to four-time All-Star Shawn Marion, Moore relays in the same piece.“We’ve seen a lot of that in our in-person scouting and on film,” McDonough said. “He’s really bouncy.” 
  • The Suns will add Jason Staudt as an assistant coach, John Gambadoro of Arizona’s 98.7 FM reports (Twitter link). Staudt has previously worked in various roles with the Magic, Blazers, and Rockets.
  • Devin Smith will join the Suns as a player development coach, Gambadoro adds in the same tweet.
  • We learned over the weekend that Phoenix won’t consider including the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft in any attempts to acquire Kawhi Leonard. The 2016/17 MVP candidate reportedly wants to the Spurs to trade him.