Chris DeMarco

Pacific Notes: Kerr, Milojevic, Bridges, Allen, Dinwiddie

Warriors coach Steve Kerr will miss tonight’s game at Utah so he can attend the funeral of former assistant coach Dejan Milojevic in Serbia, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Kenny Atkinson will run the team in Kerr’s absence. Assistant coaches Chris DeMarco and Ron Adams, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and basketball operations consultant Zaza Pachulia are also representing the team at the funeral.

Players admit there’s a surreal feeling to being back in Salt Lake City, where Milojevic suffered a heart attack at a team dinner following a January 16 game. He died in a hospital the following morning, and the team’s next two games were postponed. The Warriors welcomed members of Milojevic’s family to their practice facility on January 22, and his son, Nikola, spent time shooting and rebounding with Klay Thompson.

“Just to be able to tell him how much I loved his dad, all the great memories we built and made together, I just told him how grateful I am for his family and how proud of them he was,” Thompson said.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Suns were heavily rumored to be pursuing Hornets forward Miles Bridges, but general manager James Jones declined to confirm those trade talks, preferring to concentrate on the deals he actually made (video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “We explored everything,” Jones said, “but at the end of the day, we’re talking about Royce O’Neale and David Roddy. Two guys I think are going to be exceptionally well for us, but yeah, we talked about a lot of guys.”
  • Jones also responded to a question about a potential extension with Grayson Allen this summer, indicating the Suns will be open to the possibility (video link from Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). “We don’t want him to go anywhere, which is why he’s here,” Jones said. “There’s plenty of interest in Grayson Allen, but no one values him more than we do.”
  • Lakers players are excited to welcome Spencer Dinwiddie to the team, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The former Nets guard, who signed with L.A. on Saturday, is expected to participate in today’s practice and be in uniform for Tuesday’s game against Detroit. “He’s a big guard, a shot-maker,” Anthony Davis said. “We’ve seen what he did with Brooklyn, what he did with Dallas, making big plays for them. He’s a well-established player, a vet in this league.”

Warriors Notes: J. Green, Looney, D. Green, Iguodala

JaMychal Green‘s role has been limited for most of the season, but he was ready to step into the Warriors‘ starting lineup Thursday when Kevon Looney was suffering from an illness, writes C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle. Coach Steve Kerr learned about the seriousness of Looney’s condition roughly two hours before game time. He turned to Green to provide size and outside shooting, and the veteran big man responded by scoring 15 points in 13 minutes and hitting 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc.

“They always tell me to stay ready and that my time will come,” Green said. “The first series, even though I was kind of struggling a little, we had a team meeting and (Stephen Curry), he said some powerful words and it kind of got me locked in. I let go of everything and made it all about the team.”

Green hasn’t seen the playing time he expected when he signed a one-year, $2.63MM contract with Golden State last summer. Health scares contributed to his frustrating season, as he missed five games after entering health and safety protocols in December, then sat out nine more with an infection in his lower right leg. He’ll be back on the open market in July, but first he wants to contribute to another Warriors’ title run.

“He’s been doing this his whole career, he’s been spacing the floor,” teammate Donte DiVincenzo said. “He’s been hitting bodies, getting rebounds, dunking on people. When he gets in the game, he already knows what to do.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Looney has recovered from his illness and will be ready for a larger role in tonight’s Game 3, tweets Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “It was pretty bad,” Looney told reporters, adding that he likely wouldn’t have played at all Thursday if it had been a regular season game. Looney, who hasn’t missed a game during the past two seasons, wound up logging nearly 12 minutes with six points and eight rebounds.
  • Assistant coach Chris DeMarco sparked a better performance from Draymond Green in Game 2 by showing him film of his defensive mistakes in the series opener, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “At times you get in these locker rooms and you have stars and coaches won’t always challenge,” Green said. “Chris DeMarco will challenge anybody, from Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, myself, Steve (Kerr). He’ll challenge anyone. He’s not afraid to hear his voice and he’s not afraid to have tough conversations. He’s not afraid of confrontation.”
  • Andre Iguodala will be able to return to practice next week, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). Iguodala hasn’t played since fracturing his left wrist in mid-March.

Two Warriors Assistant Coaches Now In COVID-19 Protocols

Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco has joined Mike Brown in the NBA’s health and safety coronavirus protocols, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). It was first announced that Brown had entered COVID-19 protocols on Thursday.

Shelburne notes that Golden State will be missing Brown, DeMarco and Kenny Atkinson, the team’s top three assistants behind head coach Steve Kerr, ahead of its Christmas Day game tonight in Phoenix against the Suns.

Atkinson, who suffered a leg injury in October, recently returned to the Warriors’ bench, but still isn’t traveling with the team for road games, per Shelburne and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter).

The matchup represents a contest between the two top teams, by record, in the entire NBA. The Suns are 26-5 on the year and have won their last five straight games. The Warriors are 26-6 and have won two consecutive contests. Each team has defeated the other once so far this season.

And-Ones: Wiseman, Barrett, Dedmon, Barbosa, DeMarco

The latest 2020 mock draft has Memphis freshman center James Wiseman going to the Knicks with the No. 1 pick. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Georgia guard Anthony Edwards going to the Cavaliers at No. 2 and North Carolina guard Cole Anthony heading to the Suns at No. 3.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Warriors Hire Mike Dunleavy Jr. As Scout

Mike Dunleavy Jr. will rejoin the Warriors as a pro scout, the team announced on its website.

Dunleavy played 15 NBA seasons, spending the first four and a half with Golden State. He last played for the Hawks at the end of the 2016/17 season.

The addition of Dunleavy was among several moves the Warriors made, including two promotions on the coaching staff. Bruce Fraser has been named an assistant coach and Chris DeMarco will be assistant coach/director of player development.

The team also hired Nick Kerr, son of head coach Steve Kerr, as assistant video coordinator. He previously held a similar position with the Spurs.

Pacific Notes: Walton, Warriors, Belinelli, Metta

The Warriors plan to hire the replacement for assistant coach Luke Walton from outside the organization, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein notes that former Cavaliers coach David Blatt came close to joining Steve Kerr on Golden State’s bench in 2014 but adds that Blatt may not be willing to become an assistant now as he waits for his next head coaching job (Twitter link). The Warriors say they won’t look at candidates to take Walton’s place until they are finished with the playoffs (Twitter link).

There’s more news out of the Pacific Division:

  • Walton and Alvin Gentry, who left after last season to coach the Pelicans, could be the first of many Warriors assistants to land head coaching jobs, speculates Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com. Jarron Collins, another highly regarded Golden State assistant, could be next, and Strauss believes Chris DeMarco, Nick U’Ren and Theo Robertson may eventually follow. Kerr is a fan of all three, and their responsibilities in the organization are growing.
  • Kings swingman Marco Belinelli blasts the organization in an interview with Sky Sport Italy (h/t to Sportando). He believes the tension between former coach George Karl and star center DeMarcus Cousins created dissension on the team from the start of the season. Belinelli says executive Vlade Divac tried to broker peace between Karl and Cousins, but without much success. Belinelli adds that he saw “very bad stuff” in the Kings locker room and contrasts it to the atmosphere he was accustomed to in San Antonio. Belinelli has two years left on his contract with the Kings.
  • His improbable comeback with the Lakers this season has helped Metta World Peace find balance in his life, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The 36-year-old, who entered the NBA in 1999 as Ron Artest, was out of the league for a full season before earning a roster spot with L.A. last fall. “I always tell people there was only one black hole that was able to be a star again,” World Peace said of changing his reputation. “That was Ron Artest. There should be no turning back. Once you’re a black hole, you’re a black hole. But I was able to resurface and do what I had to do. And that’s something I’m proud of.”