Western Notes: Topic, Rockets, Podziemski, Suns
The rotation the Thunder use this fall will look awfully similar to the one that won a championship earlier in the year, but there could be one notable new addition. Nikola Topic, the 2024 lottery pick who missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL, has impressed his teammates in training camp as he makes a bid for regular playing time, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscription required).
“It really stands out the way he sees the game,” Chet Holmgren said of the Serbian point guard. “Even without the ball in his hands, the way he cuts and finds open space. Sees plays up ahead of him and gets the ball out of his hands early. It’s impressive for a young guy, but that’s what got him noticed in the first place is his ability to see and read the game.”
Teammate Jaylin Williams also expressed admiration for Topic’s court vision and awareness: “You can see he really reads the game. Great passer, great facilitator out there.”
All 12 players who averaged at least 16 minutes per game for the Thunder last season are still on the roster, and all 12 except for Kenrich Williams (knee surgery) are healthy, so it remains to be seen whether Topic will be able to crack the regular season rotation.
However, he should get plenty of opportunities to show what he can do during Oklahoma City’s preseason schedule, which tips off on Sunday, Mussatto notes. According to head coach Mark Daigneault (Twitter video link via Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer), several of the Thunder’s top players didn’t travel to South Carolina for Sunday’s preseason opener, the first game in a back-to-back set.
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- The Rockets will likely deploy different starting lineups during the preseason as head coach Ime Udoka gets a feel for how certain groups look in game settings, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Udoka also said that forward Tari Eason and center Steven Adams will sit out Wednesday’s game vs. Utah after playing on Monday vs. Atlanta for precautionary reasons. Both players returned last season from major injuries.
- Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about a variety of topics, including how he’d evaluate his 2024/25 season, what he focused on this offseason, and why he thinks incorporating newcomers like Al Horford will make for a “seamless transition.”
- Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic shares his key takeaways from the Suns‘ victory over the Lakers in their preseason opener on Friday, including the fact that second-year wing Ryan Dunn started as the team’s de facto power forward.
Warriors Notes: Seth Curry, Injury Risks, Butler, Jackson-Davis, Podziemski
At a news conference following Thursday’s practice, Seth Curry explained why he decided to join the Warriors after resisting the idea of teaming up with older brother Stephen Curry throughout his career, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Seth told reporters that he was trying to “create my own path” in the NBA, and playing in his brother’s shadow would have interfered with that.
Coach Steve Kerr agreed with that reasoning, saying it would have been awkward to have both brothers on the team earlier in their careers.
“I don’t know if the timing was right (for Seth to join us) over recent years,” Kerr said. “We probably didn’t have playing time for him. He was in a place where he was going to teams and playing a lot, making money. It just feels like (Stephen and Seth are) both at a point in their careers where this makes a ton of sense. I’m thrilled to have Seth.”
While Steph became a legend in the Bay Area, the younger Curry faced a different journey, working his way up through the G League and playing for nine teams over the past 11 years. He has been a deadly outside shooter wherever he has gone, and Gordon notes that his career percentage of 43.3% from beyond the arc is slightly better than his brother, who is considered possibly the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history.
Seth holds a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, and he’s expected to be waived before the start of the regular season. The plan is for him to rejoin the team at some point during the season on a pro-rated veteran’s minimum deal due to the Warriors’ hard-cap situation.
“Everybody’s excited about it,” he said. “Instead of watching more games, it should be just easier to watch my game, which is easier on everybody. Everybody is excited about it, except maybe my dad (Dell Curry). He didn’t want me to leave Charlotte.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Golden State will likely become the first team in NBA history with four starters who are at least 35 years old, so Kerr will have to be cognizant of playing time to minimize injuries, Gordon states in a separate story. Thirty-nine-year-old Al Horford joins Stephen Curry (37), Jimmy Butler (36) and Draymond Green (35), and the team has reserves Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield who will both turn 33 during the season. “We don’t want to be in a position where you’re chasing (a playoff berth) down the stretch of the season,” Curry said. “It felt like every game was a playoff game for two straight months and then you transition into a very tough seven-game series and then you’re 48 hours from a round two, Game 1. It was a very condensed high level of basketball.”
- Butler missed practice Friday and Saturday while recovering from a rolled ankle and Kerr considers him a “question mark” for Sunday’s preseason opener, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Trayce Jackson-Davis has a taped right thumb and is also considered questionable.
- Brandin Podziemski was used as a starter at Thursday’s practice, but Kerr said nothing has been decided yet, per Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Horford, Green, Podziemski, Butler
Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency remained unresolved when the Warriors took part in their media day on Monday, but it was a major topic of discussion. Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler all addressed the standoff in their respective media sessions, with Green predicting that “everyone will forget (the situation) and move on” if Kuminga signs a contract and “plays great” in 2025/26 (Twitter video link).
“As leaders on the team, you have to acknowledge what’s going on and don’t make it more than what it is, other than a team trying to figure out the situation that’s front of us and the challenge that’s front of us,” Curry said, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Knowing JK’s situation, knowing the new faces that we’re adding to the roster, we talk about it every year going into a training camp what it’s going to take for that particular team to win.
“This is a little different because you have a guy that’s trying to figure out his situation, and we respect that process. It’s going to play out, and when he’s here, ready to work, like we expect him to be locked in on doing what he needs to do to help us win.”
Although the Warriors have reached a multiyear contract agreement with Al Horford, that deal almost certainly won’t be finalized until after Kuminga’s free agency wraps up, which will allow the team can maximize its cap flexibility. That meant Horford wasn’t in attendance at media day either, though Golden State’s veterans expressed excitement about the impending addition — without mentioning Horford by name.
“If we’re talking about a guy like that, he’s won it, which I really, really respect,” Butler said, per Poole. “And he’s been in this league for a long time for a reason. Elite defender. Can make shots. Plays basketball the right way. Super smart. More than anything, he wins. So, wherever that guy ends up, I know he’s going to help that team.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Only five players in NBA history – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Scottie Pippen – have made at least 10 All-Defensive teams, Green, who has earned the honor nine times, will be looking to join that group in 2026, Poole writes for NBC Sports Bay Area. “That’s my motivation,” Green said. “To go and try to make another All-Defensive team and join that list. It’s an amazing list. All first-ballot Hall of Famers. To try to put myself, my name, in the hat with those guys … that would be a dream come true.”
- Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski underwent procedures on his wrist and his core in the spring. However, Podziemski is not expected to miss time this fall as a result of those surgeries — he was back on the court as of August 1 and was fully cleared for all basketball activities a couple weeks ago, tweets ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
- The Warriors are looking forward to their first full season with Butler on the roster, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who looks at the mini-camp the star forward hosted at his home in San Diego earlier this month. “It was important for me to welcome those guys, like my family, into my home and have a good time and let them in a little bit of my life,” Butler said.
- While it has taken a while to set the roster for the coming season, Curry is optimistic about the Warriors’ ability to compete in 2025/26, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “We’re just trying to carry the momentum that we have from last year,” the two-time MVP said. “Getting through an 82-game season is a challenge for every team, but especially a veteran team. But the way that we finished and the record that we had — obviously, before I got hurt during the second round (of last year’s playoffs), we were a relevant threat, and I think we’ve gotten better.”
Warriors’ GM Addresses Kuminga, Draft, Trade Options, Injuries
Meeting with reporters on Monday, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said Jonathan Kuminga will be “a main priority” heading into free agency, but he didn’t offer any hints on what the team plans to do, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Kuminga will be a restricted free agent after not reaching an extension prior to the start of the season. The 22-year-old forward has shown flashes of stardom during his four NBA seasons, but he has also been frustrated by inconsistent playing time, which became more pronounced after Golden State traded for Jimmy Butler in February.
Dunleavy told reporters that he would like to “figure something out sooner than later” with Kuminga, whether that turns out to be a new contract or a sign-and-trade. The Bulls and Heat have been mentioned as teams that might be potential trading partners.
Kuminga will be free to negotiate with anybody once free agency begins next Monday, but Brooklyn is currently the only team with enough cap space to make a competitive offer. If Kuminga were to get an offer sheet, the Warriors would have the option to match it, and Dunleavy pointed out that restricted free agency “can drag out a little bit.”
He added that management is comfortable “with who JK is as a player and what he can do for our organization” and said the Warriors will try to give him a more defined role if he remains with the team.
“I think those conversations (about a role) will need to happen — especially the way this season kind of unfolded last year,” Dunleavy added. “There were some moments where he wasn’t playing as much, and then the role is bigger. He’s injured. All this up-and-down. … (His role) will probably be necessary to clarify.”
Dunlevy addressed a few other topics during the press conference:
- The Warriors hold the 41st pick in Wednesday’s draft, and Dunleavy indicated that he’s more likely to trade down than to try to move up into the first round, Gordon adds. Dunleavy will be hoping to repeat his late-draft success after finding Trayce Jackson-Davis with the 57th pick in 2023 and Quinten Post at No. 52 last year. “You’d be lucky to draft a guy in the second round who can make it at all,” Dunleavy said. “I think we have to be realistic about what it is. … We’re going to analyze this (draft), look at it and try to find the best player we can find that’ll contribute to this franchise.”
- Dunleavy plans to be “opportunistic” in the trade market and hopes to improve the depth in the middle of the roster. With Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green combining to make $170.5MM next season, Dunleavy acknowledged that the team can’t add another big contract. “We’ll look at players that we really like. It’s just almost impossible for us to add players in the salary range of guys we were looking at last season since we’ve added Jimmy,” Dunleavy said. “That would be the only limiter. But in terms of finding talent and improving this team, we’re going to look under every rock to try to do that.”
- Dunleavy provided medical updates on Moses Moody (thumb surgery) and Brandin Podziemski (wrist and core muscle surgeries), saying they will “definitely be ready by training camp and even have a good portion of their summer for player development.”
Brandin Podziemski Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery
Brandin Podziemski underwent a second offseason procedure this week, according to the Warriors, who announced in a press release that the guard had surgery on Tuesday to repair a core muscle injury.
Podziemski had undergone left wrist debridement surgery two weeks earlier. Golden State indicated at the time that he was expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of training camp. The team repeated that message in the wake of his latest procedure.
Podziemski averaged 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 26.8 minutes per game across 64 regular season outings during his second NBA season in 2024/25.
Although the 22-year-old posted a solid shooting line of .445/.372/.758 in the regular season, he struggled with his shot in the playoffs, making only 36.4% of his attempts from the floor, including 32.8% of his three-point tries.
Podziemski’s wrist and core issues may have played a part in that postseason drop-off, though it sounds like he was probably dealing with the latter for much of the season. He missed 12 consecutive games in December and January due to what the team referred to at the time as a right abdominal injury.
The Warriors guard will earn a salary of roughly $3.7MM next season, with a decision due on his 2026/27 team option (worth $5.7MM) by the end of October. Assuming that option is exercised, which looks like a lock, he’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2026 offseason.
Brandin Podziemski Has Wrist Debridement Surgery
Brandin Podziemski underwent left wrist debridement surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). He’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready when training camp opens this fall.
There had been no indication that Podziemski was dealing with a wrist injury before Wednesday night’s announcement. He appeared in all 12 of Golden State’s playoff contests and led the team with 28 points in the Game 5 loss to Minnesota two weeks ago.
The second-year guard struggled with his shot during the postseason, which could have been a result of the wrist ailment. After connecting at 44.5% from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc during the regular season, those numbers dropped to 36.4% and 32.8% in the playoffs.
According to the San Jose Mercury News (subscription required), the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Surgery states that the debridement procedure “involves thoroughly cleaning the wound and removing all hyperkeratotic (thickened skin or callus), infected, and nonviable (necrotic or dead) tissue, foreign debris, and residual material from dressings.”
Podziemski quickly made an impact with the Warriors after being selected out of Santa Clara with the 19th pick in the 2023 draft. He immediately earned a spot in coach Steve Kerr‘s rotation and finished fifth in the 2024 Rookie of the Year race.
He turned 22 in February and appears to be a long-term fixture for a Golden State team that needs more production from its younger players to ease the burden on Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler.
Draymond Green Discusses Decision On Jonathan Kuminga, Offseason Plans
Warriors forward Draymond Green addressed several topics related to the team in his latest podcast, including an upcoming decision on restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga (hat tip to BasketNews).
Kuminga was an impact player for Golden State early in the season, but his role diminished after the team traded for Jimmy Butler in early February. His minutes declined once he returned from an extended absence caused a severe right ankle sprain, and he was barely used in the playoffs until injuries to Butler and Stephen Curry opened up opportunities.
The fourth-year forward is only 22 and provides athleticism and physicality that the Warriors need. However, there are concerns about playing him alongside Green and Butler because none of them are accomplished three-point shooters.
Green admitted it would be a “huge financial commitment” to bring back Kuminga, who is likely to get a significant offer if he reaches the open market. He also singled out Kuminga for dealing with the uncertainty surrounding his playing time and for thanking coach Steve Kerr in his exit interview for helping him develop as a player.
“I love the way he handled it … that was such a responsible, great, well-thought answer,” Green said. “He will get paid here, or he will get paid somewhere else.”
Green talked about the team’s collection of young talent in general, also mentioning Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gui Santos and Quinten Post. He said they all made progress during the season, but acknowledged that several of them may not return.
“When I look at our young guys, they all show promise,” Green said, “… but just off sheer numbers and the way this business works, probably not all will be back.”
It was an up-and-down season for the Warriors, who started off slowly, then surged once they acquired Butler. They narrowly missed a top-six spot in the West, then defeated Memphis in the play-in tournament and Houston in the first round before being ousted by Minnesota in five games.
Green expects his team to be back in title contention next season and said he, Curry and Butler will provide input to management on possible offseason moves.
“You just got to have a conversation … what can be seen from the stands or from some numbers — it ain’t always what it seems,” he said. “We’ll be in the weeds … trying to make it all make sense. The goals will be the goals — trying to win a championship. I stand on that 100%.”
Warriors Notes: Curry, Butler, Green, Kuminga, Podziemski
The Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday, falling to the Timberwolves in Game 5 of their second-round series. After taking Game 1, Golden State was without Stephen Curry for all four of its losses in the Western Conference semifinals. Would the outcome of the series have been different if Curry hadn’t been sidelined by a strained hamstring?
“I am pretty positive that if we had Steph, we’d have won this series,” team owner Joe Lacob told Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic after the game.
“I don’t even have to think what (if),” head coach Steve Kerr said when asked whether he’ll wonder what the Warriors could have done with a healthy Curry (story via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). “I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldn’t have, but it doesn’t matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time?”
As Slater and Thompson note, the sentiment expressed by Lacob in particular is notable, since it suggests the Warriors believe in this group and don’t intend to seriously shake up the roster. Team sources tell The Athletic that the conversations within the front office entering the summer have been about how best to complement Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, not about trying to acquire another star.
“On the surface, that’s why (Butler) signed for two more years — our belief we can make it work,” Curry said. “And we’ve proven that the last three months. Just gotta figure out what is going to get us to the next level as a whole. One guy can’t win it. Two guys can’t win it. It’s gotta be a team.”
The plan is for Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to return as well, per Slater and Thompson, who write that Warriors ownership remains fully confident in its coaching staff and front office.
“I have a great coach and I have a great GM,” Lacob told The Athletic. “I have no problems with anything in respect to them. Mike made a fantastic trade (for Butler). Before we made that trade, we were one game under .500 and it didn’t look like we were going anywhere.
“We won a first-round series against a very good up-and-coming team with a lot of athleticism and size. I thought it was a hell of a win. Got us pretty tired probably for this series, and maybe that was just too much to overcome. In that first game (against Minnesota), Steph looked like he was going to cook, right? But what are we going to do? Stuff happens.”
For his part, Kerr also expressed enthusiasm about the Warriors going forward: “I’m excited. We’ve got Jimmy and Dray and Steph all coming back. Our young players performed really well. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Here’s more on Golden State:
- Lacob remains one of Jonathan Kuminga‘s biggest fans, according to Slater and Thompson, who say it’s “nearly impossible” to believe the Warriors owner would let the restricted free agent forward sign an offer sheet with another team and leave for nothing this summer. A new deal for Kuminga and the Warriors is still on the table, sources tell The Athletic, though both sides are also expected to consider sign-and-trade scenarios.
- “There are certainly things he has to improve on, but he’s 22 years old,” Lacob said of Kuminga. “He’s got a hell of a lot of potential, and I would think he would be a part of our future plans. Now we’ll have to see how the market all shakes out. We have a lot of evaluating to do. Not me necessarily. But everybody — from coaching staff to basketball operations. We’ll kind of sit around and talk about how we want to construct the team for next year and what the situation is with respect to him.”
- The Warriors’ decision to resist trade offers for Brandin Podziemski last offseason wasn’t unanimous within the organization, per Slater and Thompson. Some of the people who were in favor of gauging Podziemski’s market believe the team needs “more of a Jordan Poole-type play-maker,” The Athletic’s duo says. The front office also believes Golden State needs more positional size at multiple spots, Slater and Thompson add.
- Green said after the Game 5 loss that he’s “100 percent” confident the Warriors’ young players are capable of taking “the next step,” writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Lacob also said he thinks Golden State’s younger contributors can take “yet another leap” and defended them from online criticism. “I get very upset when I read all this crap on the internet, these comments by people, you know, ‘This guy’s crap. That guy’s crap. The drafts were terrible.’ Bull—t!” the Warriors’ owner told The Athletic. “Our drafts were not bad at all. These guys are very young. They’ve had to fit into a very difficult situation with experienced players. It’s not like they can just go out and put up numbers. So I think we’ve drafted very well. We’ve got some good young players.”
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks and HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks have published their Warriors offseason previews, looking ahead to how the team might handle Kuminga’s restricted free agency, as well as making note of other veteran free agents, like Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II.
Warriors Notes: Game 5, Butler, Curry, Three-Point Shooting
The Warriors are teetering on the brink of elimination heading into tonight’s Game 5 at Minnesota, but they haven’t lost confidence that they can rally and take the series, writes Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State won the opener, but the tone of the series shifted when Stephen Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain after playing just 13 minutes. The Warriors haven’t looked the same without their star guard to stretch Minnesota’s defense, dropping three straight games, including two in a row at Chase Center.
“Win one game, take it from there,” Draymond Green said after Monday’s loss. “That’s our mindset. You win one and everything changes.”
Coach Steve Kerr has been juggling his rotations throughout the playoffs amid inconsistent performances from his role players. Killion notes that Brandin Podziemski has been struggling with his shot, going 3-of-14 from the field in Game 4 while missing all four of his three-point attempts, while Buddy Hield committed four turnovers and made just two three-pointers.
“We have belief, we have faith,” Kevon Looney said. “We’ll take it possession by possession, quarter by quarter. We’ve got to put together a full game, not just 40 good minutes of basketball.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Jimmy Butler was under the weather in Game 4, when he took only nine shots and finished at a game-worst minus-30, Killion adds. In a session with the media before tonight’s contest, Kerr said Butler has recovered from his illness and is now feeling good, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
- The team announced Tuesday that Curry wouldn’t be available for Game 5, but Kerr told reporters tonight that there’s still hope for Sunday’s Game 6 if Golden State can extend the series, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). “It’s a possibility he could play,” Kerr said. Curry will be reevaluated on Saturday to determine how much progress he has made.
- With Curry on the sidelines and several of his shooters mired in slumps, Kerr admits that the Warriors haven’t been able to use the three-pointer as a weapon as much as they would like to, Slater writes in a full story. “The series changed with Steph’s injury,” Kerr said. “So everybody’s shots are going to be more difficult. Steph’s a guy who breaks the defense down for us and creates that offensive flow. I think the result is that shots are more difficult for every single guy.”
Warriors Notes: Butler, Lineup Changes, Looney, Kuminga, Game 7
The Warriors missed two chances to close out their first-round series with the Rockets, but they remain confident going into Sunday’s Game 7, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Golden State was blown out in Game 5 and watched Houston pull away in the fourth quarter of Game 6, but there were no signs of panic in the locker room after Friday’s loss.
“We’re good. We’re smiling,” Jimmy Butler said. “We’re listening to our music, celebrating life. We’re ready to compete. We were ready to compete tonight. Things didn’t go our way. OK, we’re going to be ready to compete on Sunday. We’re going to make the game go our way.”
The Warriors believe their experience in high-stakes games will ultimately decide the series, Youngmisuk adds. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have a 3-2 record in seventh games during their time together, with the last one coming in 2023 when they won handily at Sacramento. Butler has been in four Game 7s, going 2-2.
Many of the Rockets’ core players are going through their first playoff experience, but Youngmisuk notes that they have some veterans who’ve been in this situation before. Jeff Green, Steven Adams, Fred VanVleet and Aaron Holiday have collectively been in 10 seventh games.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Steve Kerr made two changes to his starting lineup before Game 6 — replacing Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski with Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II — and he might consider revising it again on Sunday, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater explains that Golden State is trying to get Alperen Sengun involved in actions involving Curry, but the zones Houston has been employing are making it easier for Sengun to avoid that matchup. Slater suggests that Kevon Looney could see more time to battle against Adams after playing just two minutes on Friday.
- Kerr said putting Jonathan Kuminga back into the rotation is “100 percent on the table” for Game 7 (Twitter video link from Slater). Kuminga has made just two appearances in the series, logging 26 minutes in a Game 2 loss and 17 minutes in a Game 3 win.
- Butler dismissed concerns that the veteran Warriors are being worn down by a younger, more athletic opponent, per Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ll be all right,” Butler said. “I’m 35, I can’t remember how old Steph is (37), Dray is 35, too. Everybody’s got to travel the same distance. Ain’t like we’re going to go around the world and land in Houston and they got only a five-minute flight to Houston. They’ve got to travel just like we’ve got to travel.”