Warriors’ Bob Myers Talks Poole, Centers, Iguodala
Given the extent to which the Warriors‘ stars have been plagued by injuries since 2019, president of basketball operations Bob Myers admitted in a conversation with Mark Medina of NBA.com that he kept his expectations for this season in check, even though he liked the roster the team put together.
Now that the Warriors are once again in the Western Conference Finals and are just four wins away from appearing in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years, Myers feels a sense of satisfaction about how far the team has come since its 15-50 season in 2019/20.
“What makes it most gratifying is how hard it is,” Myers told Medina. “Having a couple of years out of the playoffs was not fun. But I have a better appreciation for being here and where we are now.”
Myers’ discussion with Medina touched on a wide variety of topics, including Jordan Poole‘s emergence, the Warriors’ approach to the trade deadline, and Andre Iguodala‘s health. Here are a few highlights from the Q&A, which is worth checking out in full:
Myers on Poole’s breakout season and success in the playoffs:
“We saw the potential. But when we draft players (late in the first round), realistically it’s really hard to know where it’s going to go. We thought it was possible, but we didn’t know he would reach it. But credit to him and the coaching staff that put the time in to perfect his craft. I’m happy for him that he’s showcasing this on a big stage, showing his skill set and fitting in with guys that are leading him. He’s been great, and I don’t know if we’d be where we are without him. It’ll be interesting to see where it all keeps going.”
On the Warriors’ decision not to add another center prior to the trade deadline in February:
“The league is realizing that size is really important, but it’s more about positional size than size at the center spot. We didn’t have a great option available to us. Secondly, I was under the impression we would have James Wiseman. He was trending well. We thought he’d be back, ready to go and help us with that vertical space. That didn’t happen and his rehab hit a bump in the road post-deadline. That put us in a tough spot, and the (buyout) market was pretty dry. We had to march forward.
“Size still matters. But (Kevon) Looney’s been an unbelievable, steadfast guy that often gets overlooked. When we need to go bigger, Draymond (Green) and Looney have shown they can do it. They’re capable. They’re not seven feet tall, but they’re versatile, switchable and very smart. We found a way. We’ll see if it keeps working and if we continue to win.”
On Iguodala’s ongoing recovery from a neck injury:
“He’s frustrated. He wants to play. Frankly, he could help us. He’s trying to get back. Because he hasn’t been able to play, he’s used his voice and has been very vocal. He’s one of the most respected players in the league and is very, very bright. He communicates on the bench, whether it’s with our coaches, young players and our older players. That matters, especially as you go deeper in the playoffs.”
Pacific Notes: Brown, Green, Clippers Tax Bill
Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown is prepared to accept the Kings head coaching job if they offer it to him, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports.
The former Cavaliers and Lakers head coach sees Sacramento as a “good job,” according to his agent, Warren LeGarie. “Mike is willing to take the job based on the fact that he knows he’ll be supported and have a chance to win,” LeGarie said.
Brown came to Sacramento on Thursday to meet with team representatives. The two other finalists for the job, Steve Clifford and Mark Jackson, had their second interviews with the Kings earlier this week.
The job is attractive to Brown in a number of ways.
“First and foremost, he likes the people who are working there,” LeGarie said. “He loves the arena. He thinks that’s a natural resource that will help attract players because you’ve always got to have a place where the fans are involved and the facilities are terrific. And he believes the team has enough talent to give them a real solid chance of becoming a playoff contender.”
We have more Pacific Division news:
- Warriors forward Draymond Green has been fined $25K for directing an obscene gesture toward Memphis fans during Game 2, according to the NBA (Twitter link). Green flipped both middle fingers toward the crowd as he left the playing court for medical assistance after sustaining an eye injury during the first quarter on Tuesday.
- Green practiced in full on Thursday and he expects to play for the Warriors in Game 3, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. His right eye remains swollen and he met with a plastic surgeon/ophthalmologist on Wednesday.
- Robert Covington‘s agreed-upon two-year extension dramatically escalates the Clippers’ projected tax bill, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. That figure jumps from $17.8MM to $54.9MM.
Grizzlies/Warriors Notes: Morant, Iguodala, Brooks, Green
Despite having his vision affected after he was poked in the eye in the third quarter, star guard Ja Morant had one of the most impressive performances of his career on Tuesday, scoring 47 points – including the Grizzlies‘ final 15 points – to lead the team to a Game 2 victory over Golden State. Morant told reporters after the game that he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye in the fourth quarter, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“I can see on the middle. I can’t see on the outside. I got punched trying to get the rebound,” Morant said. “I got another good eye over here (on the right side) — 20-20 vision right here. Thank God for my right eye.”
As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer details, the Warriors had no answer for Morant after Gary Payton II left Tuesday’s game due to a fractured elbow, and will have to reassess their game plan for defending the electric 22-year-old prior to Game 3 on Saturday.
When asked after Tuesday’s game about the Warriors’ plan for Morant, head coach Steve Kerr said the club hopes Andre Iguodala (neck) will be available for Game 3, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. However, Iguodala is 38 years old and has battled injuries for much of the season, so Golden State can’t realistically expect him to shut down one of the league’s top scorers.
Here’s more on the Grizzlies/Warriors series:
- Kerr was upset by the flagrant foul that injured Payton and earned Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks an ejection, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes. “I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty,” Kerr said. “There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy’s season [or] career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary’s elbow … He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code.”
- The NBA is expected to further evaluate Brooks’ foul to see if it warrants a suspension, Andrews writes. Since there will be three off days before Game 3 tips off on Saturday, an announcement from the league shouldn’t necessarily be expected today.
- Draymond Green, who briefly returned to the locker room after taking a hit to the right eye, had no regrets about flipping his middle fingers to the crowd on his way off the court, Andrews notes. “You gonna boo someone who was elbowed in the eye and face is running with blood, you should get flipped off,” Green said. “I’ll take the fine. I’ll do an appearance and make up the money. It felt really good to flip them off. … If they are going to be that nasty, I will be nasty too. I’m assuming the cheers were because they know I’ll be fined. Great — I make $25 million a year. I should be just fine.” Green got back in the game after receiving stitches for a right eye laceration, but Kerr said the former Defensive Player of the Year “was struggling” with the injury.
Gary Payton II Leaves Game 2 With Left Elbow Fracture
11:45 PM: Payton has fractured his left elbow, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). Slater notes that tomorrow’s MRI will indicate the severity of the injury.
9:33 PM: The Warriors‘ second-round playoff matchup against the Grizzlies remains chippy as Game 2 takes place tonight.
After taking a hard foul from Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks on a breakaway drive (Twitter video link, as captured by Bleacher Report), Warriors starting shooting guard Gary Payton II exited the contest and headed back to Golden State’s locker room. Brooks was instantly assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
The Warriors announced (via Twitter) that they have ruled out Payton for the rest of Game 2, following X-rays on his left elbow (Twitter link). Payton logged just 2:52 of game action.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that the imaging on the elbow proved “inconclusive,” but that Payton would undergo an MRI tomorrow that would hopefully have more answers for the Warriors.
Payton’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green also left the game after a Grizzlies player fouled him. Memphis center Xavier Tillman elbowed Green in the face, as Trisha Easto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal recaps. Green flashed a rude hand gesture in response to the FedEx Forum crowd, which could incur an NBA fine. The Warriors revealed (Twitter link) that Green suffered a right eye laceration and received stitches. He returned to the contest after being sewn up.
Pacific Notes: Green, Poole, Booker, Kings Job
Draymond Green picked up a Flagrant Foul 2 in the second-round opener against the Grizzlies but he’s not going to alter his style, Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes.
“I am never going to change the way I play basketball,” the Warriors forward said. “It’s gotten me this far. Gotten me three championships, four All-Stars, Defensive Player of the Year. I’m not going to change now.”
We have more out of the Pacific Division:
- Jordan Poole‘s dramatic improvement is chronicled by Andrews in a separate story. The Warriors’ guard put in extra work during the early days of the pandemic and it has paid off. Poole’s 31-point, nine-assist game against Memphis on Sunday was the latest example of his breakthrough year. “I’ve always made people eat their words,” Poole said. “I never went to the media and said anything about anybody else. I just shut up, take it all in and let my game do the talking. It feels a lot better. Oh, my god, it feels so good.”
- Prior to the conference semifinals matchup against Dallas on Monday night, Suns All-Star Devin Booker said the hamstring injury that cost three games in the opening round is no longer an issue, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “Feels great. Ready to go,” Booker said.
- Among the three finalists for the coaching job, Mike Brown is the Kings’ best choice, James Ham of The Kings Beat opines. Brown checks all of the boxes, has the best résumé, and deserves another head coaching opportunity, Ham writes. Steve Clifford would be a safe choice but hasn’t enjoyed previous success like Brown, while Ham believes Mark Jackson would be a major risk.
Western Notes: Adams, Bane, Gobert, Bullock, Green, Clarke
A day before Game 2 of his team’s second-round series against the Warriors, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said that center Steven Adams remains in the league’s health and safety protocols, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. Adams, who was placed in the protocols on Thursday, is listed as out for Tuesday’s game, the team’s PR department tweets. Starting guard Desmond Bane is listed as questionable due to lower back soreness. Bane was limited to nine points in 32 minutes in Game 1 on Sunday.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Rudy Gobert and his agent are still awaiting their annual exit meeting with the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. That meeting will likely determine how the two sides proceed going forward into the offseason, Jones adds. Utah is expected to shake things up after another early playoff exit. Gobert has four years remaining on his five-year, $205MM contract.
- Reggie Bullock‘s defensive importance was so profound against the Jazz that the Mavericks played him 254 of a possible 288 minutes in the series. Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes an in-depth piece on Bullock and how personal tragedies have shaped his career. Bullock is in the first year of a three-year deal, though the final season isn’t fully guaranteed.
- The NBA upheld Draymond Green‘s Flagrant Foul 2 ruling in Game 1 of the Warriors’ series against the Grizzlies. The player who was fouled, Brandon Clarke, wasn’t surprised that Green committed such an infraction (ESPN video link). “He’s been known for flagrant fouls in his career. I’ve watched him on TV my whole life, it feels like, so I wasn’t really shocked,” Clarke said.
NBA Won’t Rescind Draymond Green’s Flagrant 2 Foul
The NBA won’t reduce or rescind the Flagrant 2 foul assessed to Warriors forward/center Draymond Green in Game 1 of the team’s series vs. Memphis on Sunday, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Green was called for the Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game late in the second quarter after grabbing and pulling the jersey of Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke as Clarke attempted a layup (video link).
As we relayed earlier today, Green expressed optimism during an episode of his podcast on Sunday night that the league would review and adjust the foul, perhaps reducing it to a Flagrant 1. However, it appears that won’t happen.
Players are given two flagrant foul points for a Flagrant 2 foul and one for a Flagrant 1 during the postseason, with four total flagrant foul points resulting in an automatic one-game suspension. Green is now halfway to that automatic suspension and would be forced to miss a game if he’s called for another Flagrant 2 or two Flagrant 1 fouls during the remainder of the playoffs.
Pacific Notes: Green, Nurse, Lakers, Ayton
Having received a costly suspension for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals after having accumulated four flagrant foul points during that postseason, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green is conscious of not repeating that mistake in this year’s playoffs, writes Eric He of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Green was called for a Flagrant 2 foul in Sunday’s win over Memphis, resulting in two flagrant foul points. If he’s called for another Flagrant 2 foul or two Flagrant 1 fouls in this year’s postseason, he would subject to an automatic one-game suspension.
“My biggest worry moving forward is that gives me two flagrant foul points, and as we know I’ve been ejected for accumulation of flagrant foul points,” Green said, per He, during an emergency episode of his podcast on Sunday night. “So I’m hoping that the right thing will happen, and that it will at least get rescinded to a Flagrant 1.”
Green later expressed even more confidence that the NBA would review his foul and make an adjustment: “I’m looking forward to it getting rescinded.”
[UPDATE: NBA Won’t Rescind Draymond Green’s Flagrant 2 Foul]
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Asked today about reports that the Lakers are interested in him and whether he plans to remain in Toronto going forward, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse dismissed those L.A. rumors. “I don’t know where that stuff comes from and I’m focused on coaching this team (the Raptors),” Nurse said (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).
- Bill Oram of The Athletic makes the case that the Lakers shouldn’t necessarily trade Russell Westbrook this offseason, arguing that the team won’t have any real chance of “winning” a Westbrook deal since his value is so low. If Los Angeles hangs onto the veteran point guard into next season, it’s possible he could increase his value a little, or new in-season trade opportunities could arise, Oram writes.
- Deandre Ayton‘s ability to take advantage of frontcourt mismatches on offense and to capably switch onto perimeter players on defense makes him a potential X-factor in the Suns’ second-round series vs. Dallas, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link). Ayton will be a restricted free agent this offseason.
Western Notes: Doncic, Green, Payton II, Wolves
Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic acknowledged that it will be difficult to play against Suns Defensive Player of the Year finalist Mikal Bridges, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Dallas and Phoenix will open their second-round series on Monday night.
“They have Bridges,” Doncic said. “I know he’s going to be on me. He’s the best, in the top two guards, him and (Marcus) Smart. But it’s really tough against him. His defense is amazing. It really impresses me. But then on the offensive end, he improved so much that he’s a really amazing player.”
Bridges placed second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season, trailing only Smart. Phoenix could have its forwards defend Dallas’ star backcourt (Bridges and Jae Crowder on Doncic and Jalen Brunson), or it could task Chris Paul with defending Brunson. While he’s still a good defender, Paul turns 37 years old later this week.
Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division:
- Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected in Game 1 against the Grizzlies on Sunday. Green committed a Flagrant 2 foul and riled up the crowd before exiting, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets. The ejection decision was met with outrage from many fans, players and league observers. Players are automatically suspended by receiving four flagrant foul points in the playoffs, meaning Green would receive a one-game suspension with one more Flagrant 2 or two more Flagrant 1’s. He was famously suspended in Game 5 of the 2016 Finals for this same reason and later declared it cost the Warriors a title.
- Marc J. Spears of Andscape.com examines where Warriors guard Gary Payton II got his athleticism from. Payton attributes it to his mother, who participated in track, high jump and long jump. His father, of course, is recognized as one of the league’s all-time great defenders and a stellar athlete himself. Payton received his first playoff start against Memphis on Sunday, finishing with eight points and six rebounds in just over 23 minutes.
- The Timberwolves realize that progressing after this season isn’t a guarantee and growth isn’t always linear, Dave Campbell of The Associated Press writes. Minnesota gave the No. 2 seed Grizzlies a run for their money in round one, but they ultimately lost in six games. The team has a young nucleus of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and others that could be competitive for many years to come.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Poole, Death Lineup
Stephen Curry made the decision to come off the bench in the Warriors‘ playoff opener Saturday night, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Returning from a left foot sprain and bone bruise that had sidelined him since March 16, Curry scored 16 points in 22 minutes as Golden State posted a convincing win over Denver.
Curry patterned his return on what the team did with Klay Thompson when he came back in January as he got 45 minutes of real-time rest in each game. No decision has been made on whether Curry will continue in a reserve role moving forward, but Thompson knows that his presence can make a huge difference in the series.
“I thought he looked great,” Thompson said. “His shot was short in the first half, but that’s to be expected when you come off a long layoff. But he’s still Steph Curry. … Just his gravity and the threat of him being out there is the best. It makes us a championship team.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- The Nuggets went 3-1 against Golden State during the regular season, but Draymond Green didn’t play in any of those games, Andrews adds. He logged 29 minutes Saturday with 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists and helped to control Nikola Jokic on defense. “You need tough and smart, and that’s Draymond,” coach Steve Kerr said.
- Starting in Curry’s place, Jordan Poole surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the youngest Warriors player to reach 30 points in his playoff debut, writes Madeline Kenney of The San Jose Mercury News. Poole, who made five of his first seven three-point attempts, was part of a new “death lineup” that broke the game open late in the first half. “Jordan Poole, wow, what a playoff debut,” Thompson said. “All his hard work is paying off. If he doesn’t get Most Improved this year, it just doesn’t make sense.”
- Outside of Poole, the Warriors’ young players didn’t get a lot of minutes Saturday, but the team has confidence in them in case they’re needed, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Golden State has been developing them all year long in hopes of getting them ready for the postseason. “They gotta feel it,” Andre Iguodala said. “It’s really hard to explain to them how the intensity kind of turns up in the playoffs.”