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Injury Notes: Green, Nance Jr., VanVleet, Dedmon, Gordon

February 26th, 2023 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green missed his second consecutive game on Sunday due to a right knee contusion, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Green suffered the injury on Thursday when he bumped knees with the Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt. Green’s knee unexpectedly flared up Sunday afternoon, something coach Steve Kerr categorized as a “setback.” He may undergo an MRI.

We have more injury-related news:

Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. will miss Monday’s game against Orlando due to a left ankle sprain, the team’s PR department tweets.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet missed both of the team’s games this weekend for personal reasons, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet tweets. VanVleet is away from the club due to the birth of his third child.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said before Saturday’s contest that backup center Dewayne Dedmon is expected to miss a couple more games but doesn’t have a long-term injury, Kyle Neubeck of ThePhillyVoice.com tweets. Dedmon has yet to make his Philadelphia debut due to a hip issue.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon returned to the lineup on Sunday night after missing the previous five games due to a left rib contusion, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes.

Injury Notes: Haliburton, Davis, Warriors, K. Porter

January 20th, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on JJ Redick’s Old Man and The Three podcast, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton provided an update on his recovery from the elbow and knee injuries he sustained earlier this month. The team announced on January 12 that Haliburton would be reevaluated in two weeks, and he’s hoping that he won’t be out much longer than that.

“Starting to get stronger every day, feeling better every day,” he said (hat tip to Tony East of SI.com). “Got my second opinion, so things are going well. Hopefully in the next 11, 12 days, I feel better and can get back to start February. That’s the goal.”

A strong candidate to earn his first All-Star nod, Haliburton had been averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 assists per game for the surprisingly competitive Pacers, with shooting averages of 48.0% from the floor and 39.9% on threes, before he went down.

Indiana had a 23-18 record entering the game in which Haliburton got injured, but lost that night and have dropped four more contests since then to fall to .500 (23-23). While they won’t rush back their star player, the slumping Pacers would certainly be happy if he’s able to make it back sooner rather than later.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Although Shams Charania has repeatedly stated that Anthony Davis is on track to return in early February, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter video link) suggested in a TV appearance that the Lakers star could be back before then. “If everything continues to go the right way, he will be back playing for the Lakers next week at Crypto.com Arena and be with them for that entire road trip,” McMenamin said. Los Angeles plays home games next Tuesday and Wednesday before embarking on a five-game road trip that begins on January 28.
Stephen Curry (hip tightness), Draymond Green (toe soreness), Andrew Wiggins (foot soreness), Klay Thompson (Achilles injury management), and Andre Iguodala (hip soreness) will all miss Friday’s game in Cleveland, but the Warriors could have reserves Jonathan Kuminga (foot sprain) and JaMychal Green (leg infection) back, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kuminga, out since December 30, and Green, out since Dec. 18, are both listed as probable.
Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. visited a specialist on Friday to further evaluate the left foot contusion that has caused him to miss the last four games, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Porter and rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr., who sprained his right ankle on Wednesday, have both already been ruled out for Saturday’s game in Minnesota, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Warriors Rumors: Wiseman, Moody, Kuminga, J. Green, Lamb, More

January 19th, 2023 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors‘ approach to this season’s trade deadline might resemble the path they took two years ago, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Back in 2021, Kelly Oubre was considered a potential trade chip as Golden State hovered around .500, but the team hung onto Oubre and only made two small salary-dump deals involving Marquese Chriss and Brad Wanamaker.

According to Slater, this season’s Warriors are a better bet to make moves on the fringe like those ones than to do anything drastic. That’s why former lottery picks James Wiseman, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga are likely to remain in Golden State through the deadline instead of being moved, Slater adds. Those youngsters could be traded in the right deal, but the Warriors won’t want to sell low on Wiseman and Moody, and they view Kuminga as a legitimate playoff rotation piece.

If the Warriors make a small move to dump a contract and open up another roster spot, JaMychal Green would be the most obvious trade candidate, Slater observes.

The team already has one spot open on its 15-man roster, but the expectation is that two-way player Anthony Lamb will eventually be promoted to fill that spot. Opening up a second roster slot would position the Warriors to be players on the buyout market. Unlike last year, they could have both a roster and rotation spot to offer veteran free agents this time around, Slater writes.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Theoretically, big men like Jakob Poeltl or Kelly Olynyk would appeal to the Warriors, but the price will likely be too high for a Golden State team that already has Draymond Green and Kevon Looney in its frontcourt and only really needs an insurance policy, Slater writes. Sources tell The Athletic that the Dubs would be more interested in a “versatile multi-positional wing” to play a role similar to the one Otto Porter Jr. did last season.
Slater names Jalen McDaniels, Darius Bazley, Rui Hachimura, and Obi Toppin as some possible targets the Warriors could kick the tires on, but acknowledges that rival suitors would probably be in position to outbid Golden State on those sorts of players.
While Stephen Curry has been cleared to play in both parts of back-to-back sets going forward, Klay Thompson is still awaiting that same clearance, says Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Thompson sat out on Monday after scoring a team-high 26 points on Sunday, but the expectation is that he’ll be able to play in back-to-backs at some point this season. Assuming he misses either Friday’s game after playing tonight, Thompson’s next opportunity to play in both ends of a back-to-back would be on February 1 and 2.
In a conversation with David Aldridge of The Athletic, Draymond Green says he believes he’ll eventually make the Basketball Hall of Fame. “You won’t go and look at my stats and say, ‘This guy’s a surefire Hall of Famer,'” Green said. “But if you know the game of basketball, and you look at the game of basketball, then I think I have a case.”

Warriors Notes: Green, Poole, Iguodala, Attendance Record

January 14th, 2023 at 3:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

While Draymond Green would prefer to finish his career with the Warriors, he tells Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report “the writing’s on the wall” when it comes to his NBA future (video link).

Green can become a free agent this summer by declining his $27.6MM player option for the 2023/24 season. If he chooses to pick up the option, his expiring contract becomes a valuable trade asset for Golden State, which is already setting records with its luxury tax bill.

Green tells Rooks that he’s aware of all those factors and is at peace with however they play out, even if it means leaving the Warriors after 11 years.

“I understand the business,” he said. “We tend to get into the mindset that someone owes us something because of what we’ve accomplished. … I understand the luxury tax. I understand you got these young guys and contracts up and they have to get paid.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

In the same interview, Green addresses a preseason skirmish with Jordan Poole that resulted in him being fined by the team (video link). Green calls their relationship since the incident “a constant work in progress” and said he continues to try to smooth things over because it’s important to the organization. “I’ll always be willing to continue to do that work because I was wrong,” he said.
Since making his season debut last week, Andre Iguodala has been in an unusual role as the team’s first big man off the bench, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Coach Steve Kerr has been using him to replace Kevon Looney early in games, playing at power forward alongside Green. Iguodala, 39, is still adjusting to his new position after spending his entire career on the perimeter. He hopes to be part of the team’s rotation for the rest of the season. “As long as the body is good, I want to play,” he said. “Then before the playoffs, I’d like to get a good run of 10, 15 games straight no issues. So, yeah, that’s pretty much the plan. I want to get comfortable shooting when I’m tired. Once I get that, I’m fine.”
Warriors officials were honored to be part of San Antonio’s record-setting crowd of 68,323 in Friday’s game at the Alamodome, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. When the Spurs told the league about their plan to play in their former home, they picked a game against Golden State to help drive ticket sales. “We love being part of this stuff,” Warriors president Brandon Schneider said. “It says a lot about us that they wanted us to be the opponent.”

Pacific Notes: Clippers, Morris Sr., Green, Looney, Curry

January 10th, 2023 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers headed into Tuesday’s game against Dallas on a six-game losing streak. However, coach Tyronn Lue drew some positives from the way the team competed in a four-point loss to Atlanta on Sunday, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes. “We had a conscious effort of playing the right way and so I could live with the results,” Lue said. “We have to keep working. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. But I’m encouraged.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers forward Marcus Morris has been fined $15K for directing inappropriate language toward a game official, the league’s PR department tweets. The incident occurred at the conclusion of the Clippers’ 128-115 loss to the Timberwolves on Friday.
The Warriors are active in the trade market, looking to add size and shooting, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. However, coach Steve Kerr’s main concern right now is giving players who have logged heavy minutes recently, such as Draymond Green and Kevon Looney, some down time. “I’m really proud of them, of that whole group, but of Loon and Draymond in particular, given the circumstances,” Kerr said. “What they’ve done for us the last couple weeks, keeping us afloat, has been really impressive. But, yes, it would be nice to give them a little rest.”
Stephen Curry returned to action on Tuesday from a shoulder injury and the Warriors desperately need his offense after losses to Detroit and Orlando, Poole writes in a separate story. “We’re having a lot of possessions where we’re going stagnant,” Kerr said. “We’re not getting a ‘dive man.’ Or we’re ‘five out’ on the perimeter. And just pass, pass, pass, without anybody setting a screen and diving to the rim and pulling the defense in.”

Warriors Notes: Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Iguodala, Buyout Market

January 9th, 2023 at 5:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry‘s return could be imminent. Curry participated in Monday’s practice and scrimmages, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, and he’s listed as questionable to play against Phoenix on Tuesday. Curry hasn’t played since Dec. 14 due to a shoulder injury.

Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were also full participants while Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman and JaMychal Green sat out.

Kevon Looney, Draymond Green, Donte DiVincenzo and Jordan Poole did not participate in the scrimmages because they’ve played heavy minutes in recent games (Twitter links here).

We have more on the Warriors:

Wiggins missed 15 games due to an adductor strain and illness. In his return against Orlando on Saturday, he scored 12 points in 19 minutes but shot just 4-for-12 from the field. He told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater that he’ll need some time to regain his best form. “It just felt a little rusty out there just trying to get my feet right, get back in rhythm,” Wiggins said. “But I know it’s going to take a little time.”
Andre Iguodala made his season debut in the same game and also needs to scrape off some rust. He wasn’t much of a factor in 12 minutes. However, Iguodala isn’t a crucial rotation piece like Wiggins, Slater notes in the same piece.
The trade deadline is a month away, followed by the buyout market. The Warriors, who have an open roster spot, need to add another piece, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic opines. What do they need the most? In Thompson’s estimation, an athletic big would be ideal. They could also pursue a wing capable of stressing defenses off the dribble.

Pacific Notes: LeBron, R. Jackson, Ayton, Dozier

January 9th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James is disputing the nature of a weekend report by Sam Amick of The Athletic that he’s becoming impatient for Lakers management to upgrade the roster. The story suggests that James was sending a message to the front office with his comments after Saturday’s game, but in a response on Twitter, James said that wasn’t his intention.

“Hey Sam actually my patience isn’t waning,” he wrote. “You make it sound like I’m frustrated when I’m really not. I told you over and over, my job is focused on the guys in the locker room, my job isn’t the roster. That’s the reality of that conversation. And I said what I said with the Upmost respect and calmness cause that’s the mood I’m in! Your welcome! 5 game winning streak.”

While L.A. has climbed back into the playoff race with its recent hot streak, speculation is starting to build around the league that James may want to finish his career somewhere else, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy. Executives have told Deveney that multiple teams are preparing for the possibility that James will try to force a trade this summer, if only so they don’t get caught off guard like they did with Kevin Durant‘s trade request last year.

One executive tells Deveney that the Lakers are hoping to get through this season without trading their first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 and then use their cap room, which could top $30MM, to acquire free agents who would appeal to James, such as Kyrie Irving or Draymond Green. If that doesn’t happen, league executives see the Cavaliers, Heat and Suns as the most likely destinations if James does force his way out.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Coach Tyronn Lue tinkered with the lineup as the Clippers dropped their sixth straight game on Sunday night, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Reggie Jackson, who has been the starting point guard for the past two-plus seasons, played just eight minutes, all in the first half, as Lue turned to Terance Mann to improve the team’s defense. Lue explained that the change isn’t necessarily permanent. “No, I just think tonight it was Reggie,” he said. “Then tomorrow, it could be somebody else. Just kind of experimenting with different things. When you lose five games in a row, you want to try some different things.”
The Suns were missing four rotation players due to injuries as they fell below .500 Sunday night, so Deandre Ayton is determined to keep playing despite tweaking his left ankle late in the game, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I finished the jump hook and my left leg just drifted off behind me and twisted it. So it feels like it’s a day-by-day thing,” Ayton said. “No ankle is stopping me right now. I’m on a mission so I’m going to be up on my feet. No worries about that.”
Coach Mike Brown was upset about the Kings‘ defense in Saturday’s loss to the Lakers, and the team sees potential help in PJ Dozier, who’s expected to sign a 10-day contract, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

Joe Lacob Talks Payroll, Green, Thompson, Wiseman

January 5th, 2023 at 11:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors team governor Joe Lacob sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, on his show The TK Podcast, and discussed the possibility of an impeding $450MM payroll for next season’s team.

“It’s not possible without losing quite a bit of money at the bottom line, let’s put it that way,” Lacob said of being open to foot the bill for the 2023/24 season. “I can’t really answer the question right now other than to say: When have you ever known me not to be aggressive? We are aggressive. We’ll do whatever we can do if it makes sense and we’re in a winning, real championship mode.”

Though Golden State won the 2022 championship, the team stumbled out of the gate this season. Thanks in part to long-term injuries to stars Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the team is currently just the ninth seed in the West with a 20-19 record.

Kawakami and Lacob also discussed the erratic play of 2020 No. 2 draft pick James Wiseman, the futures of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in Golden State, and much more.

The whole interview is well worth a read in full, but here are some other highlights:

On whether the Warriors will actually lose money this season, given their already hefty luxury tax bill for 2022/23:

“It depends how far we go in the playoffs. If we go to the finals, we should be OK. If we don’t, we’ll probably lose money… All I could tell you is we’re just trying to keep up. We have a unique situation in that we have this aging but still great set of players. We have championship aspirations, and it costs a lot of money to do that. And we’re going to try like heck to rectify our finances going forward, but not at the expense of being able to win.”

On if Golden State will retain Green, who has a player option for 2023/24, and Thompson, who will reach free agency in 2024:

“I want to keep those guys here. I want them to be here. As long as they’re playing at a very high level, rest assured they will be here. I would love obviously for some of them to sacrifice (in salary) a little bit, or what they perceive as a sacrifice, to stay and to help our organization maintain a great roster. You always hope for that. It usually doesn’t happen. And I can’t blame them because they have limited life spans as players and they want to make as much money as they can.

“… Draymond and Klay, first of all, they’re both under contract for next year, so let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here… In Draymond’s case, he gets to decide, he has the power. He gets to opt in or opt out, do what he wants. I’d love for him to stay.”

On how the team is weighing Wiseman’s development against the win-now needs of the roster:

“There’s always a timetable in sports, whether we like it or not… But he’s 21 years old. You have to put this in perspective. And he’s an immense talent, he’s an incredibly hard worker, he really cares. These things matter. He had a lot of really bad breaks as we all know, it’s been well chronicled… He’s also in an organization and on a team which is trying to win championships. It’s different than playing somewhere they’re just throwing everybody out there, young guys are putting up numbers, getting a lot of experience. It’s hard for our young guys to do that here.”

Warriors Notes: Klay, Kerr, Green, Reasons For Optimism

December 24th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson remains highly motivated to win a fifth championship and to be named to his sixth All-Star game, per Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated. Thompson has been employing a very specific motivational keepsake to keep him inspired.

According to Beck, the 6’6″ swingman uses a San Francisco Chronicle newspaper clip taped above his locker, listing the only 26 players in league history to have more championship rings than him, to galvanize his efforts.

Thompson, in his first full season back with Golden State following injuries to his Achilles and ACL, has been taking a more relaxed approach to his career going forward.

“I’m way more Zen,” Thompson told Beck of his approach this year. “I’m just appreciative of playing early in the season and being healthy and competing and feeling great. Not having a fear of injury. I mean, we want our record to be as best as it can be, but that can change. … You could change that circumstance. When I was hurt, you couldn’t change a lot of things. So being able to actually do something about it—I got a whole new mindset of what I value and what not to care about.”

There’s more out of Golden State:

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged that the 2022 champs are struggling following a brutal 143-113 defeat at the hands of the Nets on Wednesday, albeit without three starters, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Golden State went 1-5 on its recent road trip. “You are what your record says you are,” Kerr said. “It was a bad road trip. We are 15-18, so we’re a below-.500 team, and we’ve got to find a way to reverse that.”
The Warriors grappled with mental health issues throughout their loss-heavy road trip, writes Andrews in a separate piece. “Right now, I think we are very fragile,” starting power forward Draymond Green remarked following a Friday practice. “You start going through these things and then you start believing them. Once you start believing them, it becomes who you are. The only way to break them is by being mentally tough.”
Though the Warriors do not seem to have recaptured their championship-winning magic just yet, there are reasons to believe the second half of the club’s 2022/23 season will be an improvement over the first, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “We understand what we need to do,” Green told Slater. “We also understand the circumstances. This won’t be the position we’re in for a long time, but it’s where we are right now. We’ve been a very good team at home. There will be a comfort for the guys. That’ll be helpful. Got to build momentum.” Kerr pointed to a miserable 0-5 road trip early in the season (Oct. 29 through Nov. 4) as the first sign of trouble this fall: “The whole trip was kind of a mess. We were trying new rotations, new guys. You can’t just say, ‘Oh, we screwed up in those five road games.’ You have to analyze what was happening. We weren’t where we needed to be. I felt like we were behind. We’ve been swimming upstream since. … If we’re 6-4 instead of 3-7, there’s a little bit more a sense of calm.”

Pacific Notes: Wiggins, Curry, Warriors, Lakers, M. Brown, Clippers

December 16th, 2022 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, who has missed the last five games due to a right adductor strain, was cleared on Thursday to resume participating in practices and shootarounds, according to the team (Twitter link).

However, Wiggins will be unavailable for a sixth consecutive game when the Warriors visit Philadelphia on Friday and Draymond Green (right quad contusion) will be out as well, per the NBA’s latest official injury report. Klay Thompson is listed as questionable due to left knee soreness, so Golden State is at risk of being without four starters — Stephen Curry, of course, is expected to miss multiple weeks as a result of a shoulder injury.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter video link) relays, Curry spoke to reporters today about his shoulder and expressed relief that he won’t have to undergo surgery, which might’ve forced him to miss several months. Asked if surgery is a possibility after the season, the Warriors star didn’t rule it out, but said that’s not the plan for now (Twitter links via Slater).

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

With several regulars battling injuries, the Warriors recalled center James Wiseman and rookie guard Ryan Rollins from the G League, the team announced on Thursday in a press release. Neither player has seen much action at the NBA level so far this season, with Wiseman appearing in just one game over the last month while Rollins has played only 43 total minutes since opening night.
The Lakers are unlikely to make a trade during the next two-to-four weeks, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports within his look at the team’s approach to the deadline. Although the club would like to get a deal done sooner rather than later, it makes sense for Los Angeles to wait out the market in case more sellers emerge.
Kings head coach Mike Brown has been fined $25K by the NBA for “aggressively pursuing and directing profane language” toward a referee, the league announced in a press release. The incident, which resulted in Brown’s ejection, occurred during the third quarter of Sacramento’s win in Toronto on Wednesday.
Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and Luke Kennard were among the Clippers who missed Thursday’s game, but the team is optimistic they’ll all be back soon, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link), who says their absences on Thursday were more about managing prior injuries than dealing with new ones.