Warriors, Draymond Green Expected To Discuss Multiyear Deal
The Warriors intend to discuss a multiyear contract with Draymond Green this offseason, according to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Green holds a $27.6MM player option for 2023/24, so if he were to agree to a longer-term deal with Golden State, he could either opt in and complete an extension or opt out and sign a brand new contract.
Green told Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link) after a season-ending Game 6 loss to the Lakers on Friday that he has yet to make a decision on his player option and will take some time to weigh his options with agent Rich Paul.
Green wasn’t on the floor for the final 10 minutes of the Warriors’ season on Friday night, having exited the game early in the fourth quarter due to foul trouble and then being ruled out because of right calf tightness (Twitter link). But he doesn’t want that to be how his tenure in Golden State ends, telling reporters after the game that he hopes to remain with the Warriors for years to come.
“I want to be a Warrior for the rest of my life,” Green said, per The Athletic. “I want to ride out with the same dudes I rode in with.”
Head coach Steve Kerr stated after Friday’s loss that this year’s version of the Warriors was “not a championship team,” as Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports tweets. However, Slater and Charania say there’s still an internal belief within the organization that a roster built around Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Green can compete for titles, so there will be a desire to keep that core together going forward, despite the fact that they’re 35, 33, and 33 years old, respectively.
The new restrictions for taxpaying teams that will be phased in over the next couple seasons as part of the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it more difficult for the Warriors to carry a substantial payroll indefinitely. That will be a factor the club will have to take into account when negotiating with Green and when exploring a new deal for Thompson, who is extension-eligible this offseason.
According to The Athletic’s reporters, if Thompson is going to sign an extension with the Warriors this offseason, the expectation is that he’ll have to take a pay cut in order to secure a longer-term deal and more overall guaranteed money. He’s set to earn $43.2MM in 2023/24 in the final season of his current contract.
Slater and Charania suggest that Andrew Wiggins‘ extension could serve as a point of comparison for Thompson’s next deal — Wiggins earned $33.6MM in 2022/23 and agreed to a four-year extension that will be worth $109MM ($27.25MM per year). A new contract for Thompson could be worth more than that, but would presumably require a similar reduction in annual salary. The same thinking could apply for Green’s next contract as well.
Schröder Replacing Vanderbilt In Lakers’ Game 6 Starting Lineup
Guard Dennis Schröder is replacing forward Jarred Vanderbilt in the Lakers‘ starting lineup for Friday’s Game 6 versus Golden State, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
It will be the first change head coach Darvin Ham has made to L.A.’s starting lineup in the 2022/23 postseason. Vanderbilt had gotten the nod in the previous 11 playoff games.
After a solid first-round series against Memphis and a strong defensive performance in Game 1 against the Warriors, Vanderbilt has struggled mightily over the past four games against the defending champions, averaging just 2.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG and going a combined 2-of-15 from the field in 14.4 MPG.
He has been particularly ineffective over the past two contests, recording a minus-23 plus/minus in his 22 minutes of action after the Warriors went small by inserting Gary Payton II into the starting lineup. Now the Lakers will match the guard-heavy approach with one of their own.
Schröder, on the other hand, had a quiet first-round series against the Grizzlies, but has come to life against the Warriors, averaging 11.8 PPG, 2.6 APG and 1.0 SPG on .476/.333/.778 shooting over five games. The team is plus-28 in his 64 minutes over the past two contests.
The Lakers currently lead the series 3-2 and have a chance to eliminate Golden State tonight at home. In case you missed it, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins will be active despite dealing with a left costal cartilage fracture.
Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins Available For Game 6
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who was previously listed as questionable after sustaining a left costal cartilage fracture (the area of the rib cage that connects the ribs to the sternum), has officially been upgraded to available for Friday’s Game 6 against the Lakers, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
Andrews reported earlier today that Golden State was hopeful Wiggins would be able to suit up despite dealing with the injury. He went through his pregame routine and felt good enough to play.
According to Andrews, the Warriors believe Wiggins suffered the fracture in the fourth quarter of Game 5, which the team won in no small part due to his efforts. Wiggins was clearly in pain after the game and tried to downplay the severity of the injury by saying he’d be OK, but an MRI later revealed the fracture, sources tell Andrews.
Wiggins is wearing a protective pad on his chest, telling Andrews (via Twitter) that he’s feeling better today than he was yesterday.
Head coach Steve Kerr said he hadn’t discussed a minutes restriction for Wiggins, but added he would be monitoring the former No. 1 overall pick based on “his movement, his feeling, how effective he can be,” per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Through 12 playoff games (34.5 minutes) in 2022/23, the 28-year-old is averaging 17.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on .468/.311/.698 shooting. The defending champions trail their second-round series with the Lakers 3-2, so it’s another must-win game for the Warriors.
Western Notes: Landale, Grizzlies, Towns, Gobert
Backup center Jock Landale, who will be a restricted free agent if Phoenix gives him a qualifying offer, hopes to remain with the Suns long term.
“This is a city and a fanbase and an organization I’d love to be a part of for the rest of my career if I could,” Landale said (Twitter video link via PHNX Suns).
The 27-year-old Australian had relatively modest numbers in the regular season, averaging 6.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 69 games (14.2 MPG).
However, after making just one brief appearance in Phoenix’s five-game series against the Clippers, Landale made his mark against Denver, as Phoenix was plus-34 over his 106 minutes in the series, with a positive plus/minus in five of his six games despite the club losing four of those contests and ultimately getting eliminated.
Here’s more from the West:
- Tyus Jones, Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, David Roddy and Jake LaRavia are among the players who could be on the move if the Grizzlies decide to go after a major upgrade at small forward, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who notes that general manager Zach Kleiman said the team plans to be aggressive in looking for roster reinforcements.
- In another story for The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Cole lists five small forwards the Grizzlies could target in free agency with their mid-level exception. Those five players are Caris LeVert, Kelly Oubre, Jae Crowder, Harrison Barnes and Bruce Brown.
- On the Podcast P podcast with Paul George, Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns said he was taken aback by last summer’s Rudy Gobert trade. “It was definitely something I wasn’t ready for,” Towns said, per Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. “I remember being in London and getting that call. I didn’t actually have no idea that was happening. I was told by social media like everybody else, so that was something.” Towns added that he had already been preparing as though he was going to be playing center, so moving to power forward was “definitely an adjustment.”
Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Quickley, Raptors, R. Williams, Harris
There was a general perception that the Knicks may have overpaid point guard Jalen Brunson last summer when they signed him to a four-year, $104MM contract. Instead, he has been outperforming his nine-figure deal to an extent that’s rare for New York sports stars, according to Howie Kussoy of The New York Post (subscriber link).
Kussoy points to the contracts signed by various players across the four major North American sports leagues as examples, writing that most haven’t lived up to the lofty expectations of their enormous paydays.
Brunson, meanwhile, had an All-Star-caliber debut season with New York and has been the Knicks’ best player in the playoffs, averaging 26.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals on .457/.300/.915 shooting through 10 games (39.8 minutes). Kussoy states that Brunson has the “inside track” on becoming the best free agent addition in team history.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Knicks reserve Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out of Friday’s Game 6 in Miami, head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). The third-year guard is still battling a left ankle sprain and had previously been listed as doubtful. Quickley will miss his third straight game with the injury.
- The 2023 free agent class isn’t the strongest, particularly the group of players who might be available for the Raptors‘ mid-level exception or less, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who lists 25 players Toronto could target. Among the top candidates Koreen considers realistic are Bruce Brown, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (for part of the MLE, not full) and Josh Richardson. Brown and DiVincenzo hold team-friendly player options for 2023/24, while Alexander-Walker will be restricted if Minnesota gives him a qualifying offer — only Richardson is an unrestricted free agent at the moment.
- Celtics guard Marcus Smart was thrilled with head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s adjustment of inserting Robert Williams into the starting lineup for Game 6, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “I was ecstatic about it,” Smart said. “To have Rob in there, he changes the game a lot … that just goes to show you, Joe is learning. Just like all of us. I know he’s been killed a lot. Rightfully so. He needs to make some adjustments, and he did that. And that’s all you can ask for, just continue to be the best he can be. It takes everybody; it’s a full team effort.” Williams recorded 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and the Celtics were plus-18 in his 28 minutes.
- It was reported in April that Sixers owner Josh Harris had reached an agreement to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Harris and the team released a joint statement on Friday officially announcing the sale, as Sam Robinson of Pro Football Rumors relays. The agreement still has to be approved by the other NFL owners, but that’s considered a formality.
Stein’s Latest: Kings, Vezenkov, Pistons, Ollie, Mavs, Lindsey, Ayton
Kings draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Vezenkov is seriously considering the possibility of making the move to the NBA for the 2023/24 season, reports Marc Stein in his latest Substack story. In fact, Stein says one source believes a deal between the two sides is “trending toward inevitable.”
The No. 57 pick in the 2017 draft, Vezenkov had his NBA rights acquired last offseason by Sacramento. A year later, both the Kings and Vezenkov are coming off hugely successful seasons and may be in a better position to team up than they were in 2022.
The Kings snapped a 16-year playoff drought by posting their best record since 2004/05, while Vezenkov had an MVP-caliber season in the EuroLeague. The 6’9″ forward averaged 17.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game on .546/.398/.857 shooting in 33 games (28.7 MPG) for Olympiacos and is attempting to lead the Greek club to a EuroLeague title.
Vezenkov is under contract with Olympiacos beyond this season, but has a buyout clause in his deal that’s believed to be worth approximately 1.5 million Euros.
Stein shared a few more tidbits from around the NBA at Substack. Here are the highlights:
- Pistons general manager Troy Weaver is believed to be a major supporter of head coaching candidate Kevin Ollie, according to Stein, who says the belief in coaching circles entering this week’s interviews with finalists was that Ollie was the frontrunner for Detroit’s open position. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic first suggested last week that Ollie may be in the lead for that job.
- After reporting last month that the Mavericks were in advanced negotiations with former Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey, Stein says Lindsey has joined the Mavs as a special advisor to general manager Nico Harrison and will be part of Dallas’ front office contingent at next week’s draft combine in Chicago.
- In the wake of the Suns‘ elimination from the postseason, a league-wide consensus that Deandre Ayton has played his last game for the team is “quickly forming,” Stein writes. We wrote earlier today about the expectation that the former No. 1 overall pick will be on the trade block this offseason.
Southeast Notes: Lowry, Heat, Hawks, Lang, Wizards
When the Heat explored the trade market for Kyle Lowry at the trade deadline, teams reportedly sought at least one first-round pick just to take on the veteran guard, who is on a pricey multiyear contract and was dealing with a knee injury at the time. But Lowry is rebuilding his value with his performance so far in the postseason, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Four years removed from being the starting point guard on a Toronto team that won a championship, Lowry has accepted a bench role during this season’s playoffs and has registered no complaints, having told reporters that as long as the Heat are winning, he doesn’t care what his role is.
“He is an ultimate winner,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So what drives him more than anything is winning. And there were just unfortunate circumstances how we got to this. His injury shut him down for five weeks and the plan, as we’ve talked about quite a bit, it just made the most sense initially to bring him off the bench.
“And then it just got so late, we didn’t have a lot of time. He’s been fantastic about it. One of the things we found, you’re bringing a Hall of Fame mind off the bench. And our second unit was struggling for much of the year. You shift him into there, a lot of these things that we were working on endlessly just kind of get taken care of.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Brian Lewis of The New York Post takes a look at how the Heat‘s ability to turn undrafted players into rotation pieces has helped the team withstand injuries and given Miami an advantage in its second-round series vs. New York. As Lewis notes, the Heat have seven undrafted players on their roster, the most of any team in the playoffs.
- The Hawks will hire Antonio Lang as one of Quin Snyder‘s lead assistant coaches, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). A Cavaliers assistant for the last four seasons, Lang previously worked on Snyder’s staff in Utah from 2014-19.
- If the Wizards were to win Tuesday’s draft lottery and the rights to French phenom Victor Wembanyama, it wouldn’t just change the direction of the franchise — it would alter the entire D.C. sports landscape, according to David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. While Wembanyama wouldn’t necessarily make the Wizards an instant contender, he’d provide much-needed hope for a “depressed fan base,” The Athletic’s duo writes.
Pacific Notes: Payton, Looney, Suns, Clippers
The impact that Gary Payton II is having in the postseason is validating for certain members of the Warriors‘ front office who were adamantly opposed to letting the guard walk in free agency last summer, says Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
Payton has entered the Warriors’ starting lineup for the last two games of the team’s series vs. the Lakers and has scored double-digit points in both contests. Besides totaling 28 points on 11-of-14 (78.6%) shooting in those two games, Payton is a plus-28 in approximately 51 minutes of action and has helped the Dubs shore up their defense.
“Gary’s a game-changer and we knew that last year,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “We don’t win the championship without Gary. So to get him back has completely changed our defense. … And then offensively, he’s so unique with his speed and his ability to finish around the rim. So it’s just, we’re a different team now that he’s back with us.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- ESPN’s Kendra Andrews takes a deep dive into how Kevon Looney, who once had his fourth-year rookie scale team option declined, has become such a crucial part of the Warriors‘ rotation.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines what’s next for the Suns after their second-round exit, noting that the team will need to prioritize improving its depth this summer after having too top-heavy a roster this spring.
- Rival executives are curious to see which Clippers veterans may end up on the trade block this summer and are skeptical about the team’s ability to break through and win a title with its current core, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “I’m not sure what they can do,” one source told Bulpett. “They’re not going to get value for (Paul George or Kawhi Leonard) in any sort of deals. They just miss too many games, and that’s ruined the culture. It’s ruined the culture of the Clippers. Not knowing from night to night if you’re going to have PG or Kawhi just killed them. They didn’t know who was playing on any given night. It’s a train wreck. They’ve got some really good character guys on their team, but the culture is bad.”
- In a pair of mailbags for The Athletic, Law Murray makes the case for why the Clippers shouldn’t blow up their roster this offseason, explores the likelihood of Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee re-signing in Los Angeles, considers which young Clippers might be in line for increased roles in 2023/24, and answers several more questions from readers.
Fischer’s Latest: Bucks, M. Williams, Lue, Ayton, Suns
Monty Williams‘ name has been “gaining steam” when rival personnel discuss possible candidates for the Bucks‘ head coaching vacancy, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. League sources tell Fischer that Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is also on Milwaukee’s radar.
Previous reporting from Adrian Wojnarowski and Eric Nehm indicated that the Bucks are keeping an eye on coaches currently employed by rival franchises, a point which Fischer reiterates. This is the first time we’ve heard which specific targets Milwaukee may be eyeing.
Williams remains under contract with the Suns for multiple seasons and Lue isn’t a free agent either, so if the Bucks hope to get an opportunity to hire one of those coaches without sending out some form of compensation, they’ll have to hope they part ways with their respective clubs this spring.
Here’s more from Fischer, with a focus on the Suns:
- In a look at Deandre Ayton‘s possible market, Fischer names the Mavericks as a team that’s frequently mentioned as a potential suitor for the Suns center. While the Pacers, who signed Ayton an offer sheet last summer, have since extended center Myles Turner, Turner’s new contract is considered one of the more movable deals in the NBA due to its declining salary structure, Fischer observes.
- Even before they acquired Kevin Durant at the in-season trade deadline, the Suns gave rival teams the impression they were seeking a long-term replacement for Chris Paul at point guard, per Fischer, who adds that Phoenix has been linked to veterans like Fred VanVleet and Terry Rozier.
- One rival team strategist is skeptical that the Suns have a path to make major roster upgrades this offseason, given their cap position and lack of valuable trade assets. “I think they’ll have to leverage veteran minimums and hope they can get something good in return for Ayton,” the strategist told Fischer.
- Suns associate head coach Kevin Young is viewed as a strong candidate to get a head coaching job with an NBA team sooner or later, according to Fischer, who notes that Young has received consideration from Houston and Toronto this spring.
Raptors Interview Sergio Scariolo For Coaching Job
The Raptors interviewed Sergio Scariolo on Thursday for their head coaching position, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, who relays reports from multiple Italian outlets, including Il Resto del Carlino and Corriere di Bologna.
Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster reportedly traveled to Italy to meet with Scariolo.
A veteran coach who has spent the majority of his career in Europe, Scariolo is the current head coach of Virtus Bologna in Italy, as well as the Spanish national team. He has previously coached European teams such as Baskonia, Olimpia Milano, Khimki, and Real Madrid.
Perhaps most notably, Scariolo had a three-year stint as an assistant in the NBA, serving as a member of Nick Nurse‘s staff in Toronto from 2018-21, so the Raptors were already familiar with him. He won a championship with the franchise in 2019 and was briefly the club’s acting head coach when Nurse tested positive for COVID-19 in 2021.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports first reported that Scariolo might get an interview as part of the Raptors’ head coaching search.
Toronto is casting a wide net and considering outside-the-box candidates as it seeks a replacement for Nurse, having also spoken to ESPN analyst JJ Redick among many others.