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Draymond Green Fined $50K By NBA

May 14th, 2025 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward Draymond Green has been fined $50K by the NBA for making an “inappropriate comment that questions the integrity of game officials,” the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

As Shams Charania of ESPN tweets, the fine is believed to be a response to a moment that occurred late in the fourth quarter of Game 3 and was captured on ESPN’s broadcast (YouTube link via The Pat McAfee Show).

While his sideline remarks couldn’t be heard on the broadcast, Green appeared to be telling his teammates that the Timberwolves were favored by 5.5 coming into the game and saying, “I know what they’re doing,” referring to the game’s officials. Golden State trailed by eight points at the time before hitting a three-pointer to make the final score 102-97.

The NBA, which doesn’t take kindly to any implication from its players that its referees are attempted to influence the outcome of games for gambling purposes, presumably concluded that’s what Green was doing here.

Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Rudy Gobert are among the players who have been fined in recent seasons for rubbing their fingers together in a “money” gesture aimed at referees.

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Warriors’ Stephen Curry Won’t Play In Game 5 On Wednesday

May 13th, 2025 at 5:50pm CST by Rory Maher

5:50pm: Curry has been declared out for Game 5, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

8:22am: The Warriors are facing a 3-1 deficit in their second-round series against Minnesota after dropping Game 4 on Monday night.

Star guard Stephen Curry, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 1 against the Wolves, told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he does not expect to play in Wednesday’s Game 5 with Golden State on the brink of elimination (Twitter link).

“Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t,” Curry said.

As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, the two-time MVP was referring to a comment made by Draymond Green after Monday’s loss.

“No, we’re not going to Superman this thing,” Green said when asked if he expects Curry to try to push to come back, and if so, would Green be a part of that conversation. “If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will. Him and Rick (Celebrini, Warriors vice president of player health and performance) and everybody will figure that out. But we don’t need (Curry to try to be) Superman.

“Got to play the long game. If he can, we know he will. But there’s no pressure. We’ve got to figure out how to win whether he plays or not.”

Curry is set to be reevaluated on Wednesday after initially sustaining the injury on May 6. He suggested last week that he was unlikely to play in Game 5, with a subsequent report from ESPN’s Shams Charania stating that the Warriors viewed a possible Game 6 as “the earliest potential window” for Curry to resume playing.

Due to a scheduling quirk, Golden State would have three days off between Game 5 and Game 6, which is tentatively scheduled for Sunday. Of course, that best-case scenario would require the Warriors to win on Wednesday in Minnesota.

As for Game 4, the Warriors were largely undone by a poor third quarter which saw Minnesota break open the tight game and build a large lead following a 17-0 run. According to Youngmisuk, Green said Jimmy Butler was feeling under the weather on Monday after the star forward managed just 13 points on nine field goal attempts. Butler had 33 points on 26 shots in Game 3.

“We obviously need him shooting the ball,” Green said of Butler. “But their defense, they were collapsing on him today. So, we tried to pick up that slack. But I know he’s not feeling well; been pretty crappy all day. That also affects the energy, as well. No excuses made here.

“I think that’s on me. I’ve got to find a way to get him into more positions to score. I think tonight, I was just trying to get him the ball, and I don’t think I got him the ball in good spots, which then allowed the defense to load up on him. So, I’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball in better spots to where it’s not as easy for the defense to key on him.”

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Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Butler, Curry, Green

May 11th, 2025 at 8:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Jonathan Kuminga has been a forgotten man in the Warriors‘ rotation for the last few months, but he was at his best in Saturday’s Game 3 loss to Minnesota, writes Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). Kuminga was given 36 minutes off the bench — the first time he’s topped 30 minutes since December — and delivered 30 points to help keep the game close. At plus-five, he was the only Golden State player who finished the game with a positive plus-minus rating.

“JK played one of the best games of his life,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He was fantastic. You can see how necessary he is in this matchup, especially without (Stephen Curry). … I’ve just been impressed with the way he’s handled things the last couple of weeks, the way he’s stayed ready and put in the work.”

As Kroichick points out, it’s been a difficult season for Kuminga since the calendar flipped to 2025. He suffered a severe right ankle sprain on January 4 that sidelined him for about two months. The Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler in early February, so Kuminga’s role was greatly diminished once he returned. Kerr kept him on the bench for a season finale that was crucial for seeding and for a play-in victory against Memphis. He saw limited action in the first-round series against Houston, and his confidence was clearly affected by his time out of the lineup.

There were no signs of that on Saturday, as he looked like the aggressive young star in the making from early in the season. He shot 11-of-18 from the field, hit three of his four three-point attempts and threw down a dunk over Anthony Edwards. He also grabbed six rebounds, handed out three assists and hounded Edwards on defense.

“I feel like the better the player (he’s guarding), the better defense he plays,” said veteran big man Kevon Looney, who Kroichick says has been teaming with Draymond Green to serve as mentors for Kuminga.

Kuminga’s inspired performance will give the Warriors plenty to consider as he enters restricted free agency this summer. Despite his reduced role and questions about his fit alongside Butler and Green, he’s only 22 on a team that needs to develop young talent. Teammates and coaches have said he’s handled the demotion well, according to Kroichick, and he’s continued to compete hard in scrimmages involving the team’s reserves.

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • With Curry sidelined by a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, Golden State is leaning more heavily on Butler than at any time since the trade, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. He played 43 minutes on Saturday, even though he aggravated a glute injury he suffered in the opening round, posting 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Butler also made the case that he and Kuminga can be a successful combination. “Like I tell everybody, me and him can thrive together,” Butler said. “I know how to space the floor. I can tell him, ‘Hey, when I have the ball, you go here and you do this.’ We talk. We listen to one another. I know that he’s going to be a huge part of us winning on Monday.”
  • Curry went through a strenuous pregame workout that included medium-speed shooting and a stationary bike, Slater adds. A source tells Slater that Curry never attempted to reach full speed or cut, which are steps he’ll have to achieve before being cleared to play. A report Saturday night indicated that Curry’s best chance to return will be next Sunday’s Game 6 if the Warriors can extend the series that long.
  • Timberwolves president Tim Connelly reached out to Green after a Game 2 incident in Minnesota that resulted in the ejection of a fan, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
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And-Ones: Wright, Rookie Extensions, All-Interview Team, More

May 10th, 2025 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Colorado guard McKinley Wright IV, who appeared in 32 NBA regular season games for Minnesota and Dallas from 2021-23, has been named the Most Valuable Player for the ABA League (formerly known as the Adriatic League) in Europe.

Wright has spent the last two seasons playing for KK Buducnost and led the Montenegrin team to a 26-4 record and a No. 1 seed in ABA competition this season. The 26-year-old, known as a solid perimeter defender, averaged team bests of 12.8 points and 4.9 assists in 22.5 minutes per game, with an excellent shooting line of .545/.370/.848.

Wright now has the honor of sharing a career accomplishment with future Hall of Famer Nikola Jokic, who was named the MVP of the ABA League in 2014/15, his age-20 season, when he played for Mega Basket in Serbia.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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Wolves Notes: Edwards, Conley, Gobert, Fan Ejection, Dillingham

May 9th, 2025 at 8:08pm CST by Eli Cohen

After being upset by the Warriors at home in Game 1, Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves won Game 2 by a margin of 117-93. For the Wolves, who led the game from start to finish, the biggest scare of the night came when Edwards had to leave the game in the second quarter after re-injuring the left ankle that he had previously hurt in Game 4 of the first round.

The injury occurred when Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis stepped on Edwards’ ankle after meeting him at the rim for a block. Head coach Chris Finch immediately feared the worst.

“This one, I was really planning on not seeing him the rest of the game, to be honest with you,” Finch said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The Wolves managed to hold off the Warriors, who were missing their own star in Stephen Curry after he left Game 1 with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, for the rest of the half while Edwards got worked on in the locker room.

“Once we got to like the third movement in my ankle, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s starting to feel good. If we tape it, I’ll see how it feels,'” Edwards said. “[Wolves VP of medical operations and performance David Hines] does a great job of making sure I’m good before I get out there, so big shoutout to David.”

Edwards was able to return to the game in the second half and lead the Wolves to their commanding victory in a game he called “the biggest game of our career.” Afterward, he told reporters he planned on being good to go for the crucial Game 3 in Golden State — he’s not listed on the injury report for Saturday’s contest.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

  • Mike Conley is known for his stoic floor generalship, but in Game 2 of the series against the Warriors, he made a point to set a tone, both in terms of defense and demonstrativeness. “I just wanted to really show the guys I’m going to do whatever I can for the team, sacrifice,” Conley said, per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “That’s all I was focused on for the majority of the game. I know our guys kind of fed off the energy I was bringing.” The Wolves, led by Edwards and Julius Randle, are a team built on defense, trash talk, and a chip that never leaves their shoulder. With Minnesota 1-0 heading into the game, Conley focused on channeling that energy to bring out the best in the team. For at least one game, the strategy worked.
  • Timberwolves coach Chris Finch took umbrage with the level of physicality in Game 1 of Minnesota’s second-round series with the Warriors, particularly when it came to the contact Golden State was able to inflict on star big man Rudy Gobert. Despite a relatively similar number of overall fouls called (Minnesota had 21 to Golden State’s 18), Finch wasn’t satisfied. “We sent a bunch of those clips into the league. In fact, I’m not sure I know another player in the league with Rudy’s pedigree that is allowed to be physically beaten on the way he is. And so, we’ve got to address that one way or another,” Finch said, according to McMenamin. He wasn’t the only one frustrated, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr had his own litany of complaints, especially in regards to how Curry was guarded before getting injured. If Game 2 of the series is any indication, the clips sent in didn’t have much of an impact, as the Wolves were called for 22 fouls that led to 25 Warriors free throws, while the Warriors were called for 16 fouls that led to 20 Wolves free throws.
  • Game 2 also saw a Minnesota fan ejected from the game, and another one leave voluntarily before they could be ejected. In a press release (via Twitter), the Timberwolves cited the fan “… Violating the NBA Fan Code of Conduct in an incident involving Draymond Green.” The second fan was alleged to have made racially charged comments at Green, though Wolves reporter Chris Hine reported (via Twitter) that the first fan may have been the one to use that language. Kerr thanked the Wolves organization for how they dealt with the unfortunate situation. “The Wolves handled that beautifully and Draymond is handling it well,” he said.
  • Rookie point guard Rob Dillingham has been upgraded to questionable for Game 3, per Timberwolves PR (via Twitter). Dillingham has missed the previous eight games with a right ankle sprain. The 20-year-old scoring guard was only averaging 3.8 minutes from the beginning of March onward, so he may not play even if he’s active.
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Draymond Green Nears Suspension After Fifth Playoff Tech

May 9th, 2025 at 9:47am CST by Rory Maher

Warriors forward/center Draymond Green received his fifth playoff technical foul of the playoffs during Thursday’s loss in Minnnesota, which evened the second-round series at one game apiece. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, Green is now two technicals away from an automatic one-game suspension.

“Looked like the angry Black man,” Green told reporters after the game. “I’m not an angry Black man. I am a very successful, educated Black man with a great family, and I am great at basketball and great at what I do.

“The agenda to try to keep making me look like an angry Black man is crazy. I’m sick of it. It’s ridiculous.”

According to Youngmisuk, a fan was ejected in the fourth quarter for directing a racial slur at Green, who was on a stationary bike in the tunnel near the team’s bench at the time. The two engaged in a brief back and forth before the fan was escorted out of the arena by authorities.

Early in the second quarter, Wolves big man Naz Reid was whistled for a reach-in foul on Green, who flailed his left arm and made contact with Reid’s head (YouTube link via ESPN). Upon review, Green was given a dead-ball technical foul.

The play was similar to Green’s fourth playoff technical, which occurred in Game 7 of Golden State’s first-round series vs. Houston. Fred VanVleet was called for a reach-in foul and Green flailed his arm and hit VanVleet’s head in an apparent attempt to sell the call (YouTube link via Bleacher Report).

“It’s just a habit he has when somebody fouls him, and he’s smart,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “So I think it was Reid reached and on the reach, Draymond kind of swiped through and drew the foul. But he does have a habit of sort of flailing his arm to try to make sure the ref sees it, and he made contact, and that’s what led to the tech.”

Immediately after the fifth technical was announced, Green directed a profanity-laced tirade at the referees. Injured guard Stephen Curry tried to calm him down near mid-court, but that didn’t work, and Kerr wound up subbing in Jimmy Butler for Green to get him off the court.

“I could see he had gotten pretty upset,” Kerr said, “and I just didn’t want him to get another technical, so I took him out at that point and I know he’s going to have to be careful now that he’s two techs away. He’s going to have to stay composed. Obviously, we need him, and I’m confident that he will because he knows the circumstances.”

Green has a long history of accruing technical fouls, flagrant fouls, ejections and suspensions, including an indefinite suspension last season which ultimately cost him 12 games. Thursday’s broadcast noted that he’s also two flagrant points away from an automatic one-game suspension, so any additional on-court incidents could be very costly for the Warriors.

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Pacific Notes: Kings, Warriors, Green, Spencer, Harden

May 8th, 2025 at 5:46pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Kings are in the process of revamping their front office and coaching staff, having already added B.J. Armstrong as an assistant general manager and Mike Woodson as the lead assistant on their coaching staff.

A Wednesday report indicated that Sixers assistant Bobby Jackson will return to Sacramento (where he played and coached for multiple years), but Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee hears a deal has yet to be finalized. It is a strong possibility, per Anderson, that it does in fact happen, but the Kings haven’t asked Philadelphia for permission to speak to him and there have been no formal discussions yet.

Additionally, vice president of player personnel Phil Jabour, vice president of player development Paul Johnson and vice president of basketball engagement Alvin Gentry will all remain with Sacramento moving forward, according to Anderson.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Buddy Hield maintained his hot shooting streak in Game 1 of the Western Conference semis and the Warriors as a whole kept their three-point shooting intact after Stephen Curry went down to claim a win over the Timberwolves. Kevin Pelton of ESPN says that shouldn’t be the expectation for the series moving forward with Curry out due to injury. Pelton opines that the Warriors can still craft an offensive edge built around Jimmy Butler, but cautions that the team will have to be careful not to run Butler into the ground and adds that other role players will need to step up.
  • Without Curry, the Warriors will turn to Draymond Green on and off the court, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk writes. “He’s our leader,” coach Steve Kerr said. “And when he’s right, like he was [in Game 7 of the first round], he’s an incredible player to watch. The defense, just kind of owning the court on that side of things and then just being patient and not turning it over and being in the right spots offensively. I think the guys understood after Game 6 we were scattered, we were out of sorts.“
  • Pat Spencer is one of the Warriors‘ bench pieces who stepped up in Game 1 and will be relied on moving forward, Marcus Thompson II and Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic write. “Pat is a damn good basketball player,” Green said. “And I know he don’t look like it. He don’t just jump off the page at you when you see him in a basketball jersey. I don’t think the No. 61 helps him. But he is one of the toughest guys on this team, and that includes myself.” Spencer is a former lacrosse star who worked his way up through the G League and onto the Warriors’ standard roster. He provided a spark of energy for Golden State in Game 1.
  • The Clippers outwardly supported James Harden after he followed an impressive regular season with an inconsistent playoff run, including a seven-point Game 7 performance, Law Murray of The Athletic notes. “We really asked James to do a lot,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said. “And at his age, to deliver what he did … 79 games. And he does that time and time and time again. We have a deep appreciation for that sort of availability and to be able to deliver and do what he did.” The Clippers fell to the Nuggets in a first-round Game 7 in which Harden attempted only eight field goals.
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Warriors Notes: Curry, Reserves, Butler, Hield, 2020 Draft

May 7th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors‘ 99-88 Game 1 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday came at a big cost. Stephen Curry suffered a left hamstring strain in the second quarter and missed the second half.

“He’s obviously crushed,” coach Steve Kerr said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “But the guys picked him up and played a great game, and obviously we’re all concerned about Steph but it’s part of the game.”

Kerr doubts Curry, who will undergo an MRI today, can play in Game 2. Curry limped out of the arena and didn’t speak to the media.

“We don’t know yet,” Kerr said. “But with a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”

Forward Draymond Green is optimistic the team can hold its own until Curry returns, especially with another proven playoff performer in Jimmy Butler.

“Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team. He carried a team to the Finals twice. So we won’t panic,” Green said. “We will figure out what that means. We have the best coaching staff in the NBA. We know they’ll put us in a good spot and let us know what our offense looks like without Steph if we have to go on without him. We got full confidence in the guys that are on this team that we can make plays, can make shots.”

We have more on the Warriors:

  • Bench contributions from Pat Spencer, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney helped the Warriors to overcome Curry’s absence, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. Thrust into backup point guard duties, Spencer had two steals, two rebounds and a pair of key baskets. Payton, sidelined in Game 7 of the first round by an illness, played a bench-high 26 minutes and supplied four assists, five rebounds and eight points. Looney secured two late offensive rebounds.
  • Butler and Buddy Hield dragged the Warriors to the finish line offensively. Butler finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Hield scored all but two of his 24 points after halftime. “I’m Batman today,” Hield quipped. “I saved the day.” Hield is in the first year of a four-year, $37.8MM contract.
  • The Timberwolves and Warriors had the top two picks in the 2020 draft — Minnesota got a star in Anthony Edwards, Golden State swung and missed with James Wiseman. Slater offers details on the developments leading up to that draft, reporting that the Warriors had conversations about trading out, trading back and even the trading up for Minnesota’s selection before ultimately deciding to retain the No. 2 pick.
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Rockets Notes: Green, Thompson, Eason, Smith, Offseason

May 5th, 2025 at 1:36pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets‘ season ended on Sunday night when they lost a deciding Game 7 at home against the battle-tested Warriors. As Jonathan M. Alexander of The Houston Chronicle writes, aside from a 38-point outburst in Game 2, shooting guard Jalen Green struggled mightily in his first playoff series, scoring between seven and 12 points in the other six games and shooting 37.5% or below in each of those contests.

Green, who led Houston in scoring (21.0 points per game on .423/.354/.813 shooting) during the regular season, averaged just 13.3 PPG during the postseason, with shooting splits (.372/.295/.667) well below his season-long rates. The 23-year-old finished with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in Game 7.

“Besides the (second) home game, s–t,” Green said when asked to assess his performance in the series. “Straight s–t. I got to be better. First playoffs is no excuse. Yeah, I’ve got to be better.”

According to Alexander, Warriors defensive stalwart Draymond Green said slowing down Jalen Green was a primary focus for Golden State.

“We did a good job on him to start the series and I think that rattled his confidence a little bit,” said Draymond Green. “This isn’t something he’s been apart of before. He’s good young player. He’ll learn from his mistakes, but you’ve got to give the guys credit who were guarding him. … Anybody who was on him, he was a focal point. We know what they are capable of when he’s scoring and so we really wanted to take him out of this series.”

Houston signed Jalen Green to a three-year, $105MM rookie scale extension last fall. That deal, which also includes a 10% trade kicker, will begin in 2025/26. Given the way the offense — and Green — struggled, Alexander anticipates “non-stop” questions this offseason about how Houston can improve on that end of the court, as well as Green’s future with the team.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

  • While the end result certainly wasn’t what he wanted, second-year swingman Amen Thompson continued his strong play to conclude the series after struggling in the first few games, per Greg Rajan of The Houston Chronicle. Thompson, who chipped in nine rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, led the team in scoring (24 points) and was the only Rocket to shoot over 50% from the field (9-of-16) in Game 7.
  • As Rajan writes, Thompson attended Stephen Curry‘s basketball camp growing up in California, and the four-time champion was effusive in his praise of the 22-year-old. “I talked to him right after the game,” Curry said. “I kind of saw him develop in front of everyone’s eyes. I know people (who) watched the Rockets play night in and night out over the last year have seen the potential and raw athleticism, the hunger and he’s a dawg. He showed all seven games and he’s going to be a problem, for sure. He’s going to try to develop his game, especially offensively, but defensively, he’s a freak athlete and I think he loves the challenge and loves to be in the fight. He was tough all series and kind of crazy that the old man got it done.”
  • Adding shooting should be a top priority for the Rockets this summer, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. With several promising young players and a surplus of draft assets, the Rockets will be one of the main teams to follow on the trade market, and they will be “closely” evaluating all their options on that front, Iko reports. Citing team sources, Iko also says Houston is “hopeful” about its chances of having long-term relationships with Tari Eason and Jabari Smith, who are both eligible for rookie scale extensions this summer.
  • Greg Rajan and Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle pass along what the Rockets had to say after their season ended, while Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle focuses on what the team learned during the ’24/25 campaign.
  • Bobby Marks of ESPN and Mark Deeks of HoopsHype recently previewed Houston’s offseason. Determining what to do with Fred VanVleet‘s team option, possible extensions for Eason and Smith, and re-signing backup center Steven Adams are among the decisions the front office will face this summer.
  • In case you missed it, VanVleet and the Rockets have mutual interest in continuing their relationship, though what his contract will look like remains a question mark.
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Warriors Notes: Butler, Hield, Payton, Green

May 5th, 2025 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

Jimmy Butler helped the Warriors clinch a Game 7 victory and a second-round date with the Timberwolves, scoring 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also contributing eight rebounds and seven assists in Sunday’s 103-89 series-clinching victory over Houston.

Butler played just eight minutes in Game 2 due to a pelvic injury that also cost him Game 3, and he had a forgettable Game 5, with just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting in a one-sided loss. But his presence made a difference for the Warriors during the second half of the season and over the course of the first-round playoff series, prompting team owner Joe Lacob to express to Sam Amick of The Athletic on Sunday that he’s glad he signed off on the deadline deal for the star forward.

“Sometimes you get them right,” Lacob told Amick with a laugh. “That’s all I can say.”

Given the ugly way that Butler’s time in Miami ended, there were questions about whether it would make sense to give up multiple assets to acquire him and sacrifice major cap flexibility to sign him to a maximum-salary extension. But general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. insisted Butler was worth that risk and Lacob is happy he trusted his GM.

“Yeah, there were (concerns about Butler),” Lacob said. “But you do your analysis, you make your choices, and, yeah, it was a little bit of a risk. But we’ve got to take risks in this life. And he’s worth every freaking penny. That’s all I can say. He’s fantastic.”

Here’s more on the Warriors, one of eight NBA teams still in the hunt for a title:

  • While no Warrior had more rebounds (10) or assists (7) than Stephen Curry on Sunday, it was Buddy Hield who unexpectedly led the team in scoring, pouring in 33 points while matching an NBA record with nine three-pointers in a Game 7. A nine-year veteran, Hield played in the postseason for the first time in 2024, but didn’t see many minutes in Philadelphia’s first-round loss. As Marcus Thompson II writes for The Athletic, the veteran sharpshooter embraced the opportunity to play a larger role this time around. “I never been in this situation before,” Hield said. “Just trying to seize the moment. Relish the moment. Just be in the moment. … and enjoy the moment.”
  • After earning a start in Game 6, veteran guard Gary Payton II was unable to suit up for Game 7 on Sunday due to an illness, writes Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press. “He’s just sick as a dog,” Kerr said before the game. “Woke up ill and didn’t go to shootaround. Hasn’t eaten. No way (he) can play.” Although Payton played a regular rotation role during the series, Golden State struggled during his minutes — the team had a -17.7 net rating when he was on the court and a +8.2 mark when he wasn’t.
  • Draymond Green racked up four technical fouls and two flagrants in the Warriors’ seven-game series vs. Houston, but kept his emotions in check in Game 7 to help the team advance to round two, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “He’s the key to our team,” head coach Steve Kerr told Slater. “He’s the guy who can drive winning. But he can also drive losing, frankly. What makes him great is also his kryptonite. His emotion, his passion, his competitive fire. … When Draymond is centered and organized and poised and Steph is taking care of the ball, it’s so easy for the rest of the group just to follow and do their jobs.”
  • According to Kerr, Green “set the tone” ahead of Game 7 at a players-only meeting on Saturday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Basically, he owned up to losing his poise in Game 6, and I agreed with him,” Kerr said after Sunday’s victory. “I thought the flagrant foul (in the first quarter of Game 6) was a tone-setter, and he knew it and so he talked to the group and said, ‘I got to be poised and I have to be better, and we’re going to come in here tomorrow and get it done.’ And I think his emotional stability tonight, just his poise from the start, set a great tone.”
  • Butler and Green will be public enemies number one and two in Minnesota during the conference semifinals, according to Jon Krawcznyski of The Athletic, who notes that Butler’s messy exit in 2018 and Green’s frequent criticisms of Rudy Gobert have earned the duo the ire of Timberwolves fans.
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