Draymond Green Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Payton, Papagiannis, Green, Suns

February 11th, 2018 at 4:50pm CST by marksuleymanov

Elfrid Payton‘s stint with the Magic ended on Thursday and by Saturday, he was putting up a solid performance in his Suns debut. The former lottery pick posted 19 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in the Suns’ 123-113 loss to the Nuggets. Payton’s performance drew rave reviews from his teammates and coaches, NBA.com’s Cody Cunningham writes.

“I thought he was good,” Suns head coach Jay Triano said. “It was different, the pace of play was better, getting the ball up and down the court, getting into the lane when he needed to, and making passes. He made the guys on the floor with him better.”

Payton, 23, has been viewed a disappointment through his first four NBA seasons after being the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. However, given his age and upside, Payton drew interest from several teams prior to the deadline.

Check out other Pacific Division notes:

The agent of now-former Kings center Georgios Papagiannis, Marios Olympios, was critical of the team’s decision to waive the 20-year-old, Aris Barkas of Euro Hoops writes. “He (Papagiannis) never got a chance by the Kings,” Olympios said on the Greek radio station Sport FM, Barkas writes. “He had a double-double every time he played in the G-League. He had to travel for two and a half hour everytime he was assigned to Reno and still he performed. There are many details that prove that he never got a real chance”.
Warriors forward Draymond Green was fined $50,000 for directing inappropriate and offensive language toward a game official, the NBA announced on its website. The incident occurred during the Warriors’ loss to the Thunder this past Tuesday.
The Suns received $1.5MM back in the buyout of new Celtics center Greg Monroe, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.
After a blockbuster trade with the Cavaliers on Thursday, the Lakers freed up a ton of cap space that could be used to lure two premiere free agents to Los Angeles this summer. Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register writes that the organization’s moves have put it in position to be relevant again.

Pacific Notes: Jackson, Jordan, Clippers

January 12th, 2018 at 4:49pm CST by Austin Kent

A difficult string of games in which the Suns were noticeably better without Josh Jackson than with him precipitated a change in his relationship with head coach Jay Triano. Now, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic writes, the first-year forward has started to regain the coaching staff’s trust.

When Triano told Jackson that he was losing his confidence in him, he asked the player what he might suggest to repair the situation. Since then, the two have watched film of Suns games.

“[Jackson suggested they watch film of Suns games] just to see what [Triano] sees,” Jackson said. “Sometimes, two people look at the same play and see two totally different things. He has a basketball mind and he’s really smart, so just trying to see what he sees and trying to pick his brain a little bit.”

In the three games since, Jackson has averaged 14 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Suns, shooting an impressive .486 from the field and .556 from three.

There’s more from the Pacific Division this afternoon:

The Clippers were treated to some good news on Thursday when it was revealed that Blake Griffin could return to action following a concussion and Milos Teodosic after another bout of plantar fascia issues (NBA.com report). Of course, in true Clippers fashion, DeAndre Jordan sprained his ankle hours later and had to leave the match (ESPN report).
The NBA fined Warriors forward Draymond Green $25K for comments critical of officials on Saturday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Dubs took down the Clippers that night.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers thinks that NBA players seem to get injured more often than they used to because they’re not playing basketball enough. Per Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register, Rivers posits that players do more things outside of the sport these days and that consistently reliable Jamal Crawford is one example of a guy that is constantly playing the game outside of his professional commitment.

Injury Updates: J. Johnson, Seth Curry, D. Green

December 18th, 2017 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

After undergoing an MRI on Sunday, Heat forward James Johnson has been diagnosed with right ankle bursitis, the team announced (via Twitter). Johnson, who won’t travel with the Heat during this week’s road trip to Boston and Atlanta, is expected to miss the next seven to 10 days, according to the club. That timetable would put him on track to be out for at least four games, if not more.

The Heat now have five players on the shelf with various injuries, but it seems unlikely that the team will receive a hardship provision to add an extra player to its roster. Justise Winslow appears to be getting close to returning, and Johnson’s injury shouldn’t be a long-term issue. A hardship exception can be granted if four or more players have missed at least three games apiece and will continue to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Here are a few more injury notes and updates from across the NBA:

Seth Curry still isn’t close to making his 2017/18 season debut for the Mavericks, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. As Sefko relays, head coach Rick Carlisle said this weekend that Curry’s leg injury will continue to sideline him until sometime in the new year. The Mavs guard, who will be a free agent in 2018, has missed the entire season so far with a left tibia stress reaction.
How concerned should the Warriors be about Draymond Green‘s lingering shoulder injury? Anthony Slater of The Athletic takes a closer look. The club has held Green out of three of its last four games, and while the big man isn’t complaining, he’s “not happy” either, says head coach Steve Kerr (link via Melissa Rohlin of The Bay Area News Group).
Nets point guard Jeremy Lin, who had been rehabbing his knee in Vancouver, was back in New York with the team on Sunday, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lin won’t get back on the court this season, but a source tells Lewis that the veteran guard could be cleared to run and jump by April.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Durant, Cook

December 17th, 2017 at 11:37am CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry‘s sprained right ankle might keep him sidelined into 2018, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Plans were for Curry to be re-evaluated tomorrow, but he still isn’t able to play. He is likely to sit out at least another week and miss the Christmas Day clash with the Cavaliers. His absence could extend even longer, as the Warriors want to make sure he is 100% before activating him. The team has won eight straight games, so there’s no rush to bring Curry back.

“This is the first time I’ve been home for like a week straight,” Curry said. “It’s a different challenge because things are a little slower, but I’m still frustrated with the healing process and all that stuff, having to figure out that. That’s a grind mentally more so than physically to get up every day and be like, ‘I’ve got to go through some pain to get my foot worked on. I’ve got to ride the bike to stay in shape.’ All that stuff is a different mental challenge.”

There’s more news from the Bay Area:

Draymond Green‘s right shoulder injury is becoming an unexpected problem, relays Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. The star forward sat out the past two games and will have his condition re-evaluated today. “At first it didn’t seem like it would be more than a few days,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s a little bit concerning that he hasn’t made bigger strides, but I still don’t think its a major level of concern.”
One of the first people to reach out to Kevin Durant after he announced his decision to join the Warriors last year was former Laker Kobe Bryant, Medina reveals in a separate story. Bryant told Durant to shut out the public reaction and trust his own judgment. “Having Kobe there to support me through that situation, it felt like him telling me, ‘All right, your skills are good enough to be among some of the best,’” Durant said. “‘You just have to keep working to stay there.’”
Quinn Cook, who joined the Warriors on a two-way contract after being waived by the Hawks in October, relates that experience in a podcast with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. He had a two-way offer from Golden State before deciding to go to Atlanta for training camp on a partially guaranteed contract. “To be part of the standard franchise in basketball right now is very humbling for me and a big opportunity,” Cook said.

Warriors Projected To Spend $1.1 Billion On Salary, Taxes Over Next Five Seasons

December 6th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Warriors have built a dynasty, but if they plan on keeping this team together, it’ll come at a great cost, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes.

The franchise is projected to spend over $1.1MM billion on salary and taxes through the 2020/21 campaign, a figure that includes $168MM in salary and taxes this season. One league executive told Marks that “finances are the only thing that will break up this Warriors team.”

The financial dominos begin this summer with Kevin Durant, who will yet again be a free agent if he turns down his player option as expected.

Marks breaks down Durant’s three main options as opting in ($26.3, one-year deal), opting out and signing another one-year deal (one-year, $30MM with another player option for year two), or opting out and signing a four-year pact for the max ($158MM with a starting salary of $35.4MM).

Golden State won’t have the ability to sign Durant to a five-year deal because the franchise only owns his Early Bird Rights. If he takes either of the one-year options, he’ll be eligible for a five-year deal in the 2019 offseason.

Durant took a discount to re-sign with the team this past offseason, though Marks believes it’s unlikely that he’ll take the same route again since the Warriors won’t be able to use the savings to add additional pieces.

Durant won’t get a Designated Veteran Extension. Every team is only permitted to sign two players to those super-max contracts and Golden State already locked up Curry through the 2021/22 season with one. Durant won’t be eligible for one of these deals since he came to the team as a free agent, which means the Warriors will have to decide whether to give their second DVE to Draymond Green or Klay Thompson.

Assuming Golden State saves the contract for Green and Thompson signs a traditional max deal, the Warriors could be facing a record-high $225MM in tax penalties for the 2019/20 season. That figure also assumes that Golden State brings back Patrick McCaw on a modest deal (Marks estimates $6MM salary in 2019/20).

As Marks notes, the league requires the payment in full – with no installment plan – for luxury tax charges, meaning Golden State’s ownership would have to send the full $225MM to the NBA in the late spring of 2020.

Golden State could shed salary by waiving Shaun Livingston, whose 2019/20 salary only contains $2MM in guarantees, and declining Damian Jones‘ fourth-year option, which is worth $2.3MM.

The Warriors are in a position unlike any other in NBA history both on the court and off of it. They’re the favorites to win the champion this season and it’s easy to envision them maintaining the Larry O’Brien trophy throughout the entire Donald Trump administration.

The costs of keeping the team together will be staggering, though it’s a problem opposing franchises would gladly accept if given the opportunity.

“There are 29 owners that would take this Warriors roster even if the cost was $495 million in luxury tax penalties,” a league executive told Marks.

NBA Fines Beal, Green, Oubre; Suspends Two Wizards Players

October 29th, 2017 at 4:33pm CST by marksuleymanov

The NBA announced on Sunday that Wizards players Carrick Felix and Markieff Morris have each been suspended one game without pay for leaving the bench during Friday’s on-court confrontation between Warriors forward Draymond Green and guard Bradley Beal.

Felix and Morris will serve their suspensions the next game each player is active and physically able to play.

Green ($25,000) and Beal ($50,000) were issued hefty fines for their roles in the skirmish. Beal’s fine is higher than Green’s because he initiated the fight. Green was issued a fine for failing to disengage from Beal, the league noted in the press release.

Wizards’ forward Kelly Oubre Jr. was also fined $15,000 for aggressively entering the confrontation.

It was a tumultuous week for the Warriors as Stephen Curry was fined $50,000 on Monday for throwing his mouthpiece at a referee in the fourth quarter of Golden State’s 111-101 loss to the Grizzlies last Saturday. Andre Iguodala was also fined $15,000 for abusive language toward a referee during the sequence.

Pacific Notes: Green, Kings, Clippers

October 19th, 2017 at 7:48pm CST by Austin Kent

The results from Draymond Green‘s MRI have come back negative, Chris Haynes of ESPN writes. The Warriors forward injured his knee in Tuesday’s season opener, missing the entire fourth quarter.

While it’s likely Green misses time as a result of the injury that had him limping in the team’s first game, the good news for the Warriors is that there was no structural damage that would necessitate a longer absence.

In 76 games for the Warriors last season, Green averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. If Golden State is going to survive an even stronger Western Conference than last year’s they’ll need to do it at full health.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings won’t be a playoff team in 2017/18 but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be successful, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. With so many new faces on the roster, the club will be happy to develop their young players and see a true culture shift.
The Clippers are finally (mostly) healthy and head coach Doc Rivers is eager to see how they perform together under the spotlight of the regular season, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
According to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, the Clippers view Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as Clippers for life. The recently promoted executive spoke extensively about his role with Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.

Western Notes: Aldridge, Jackson, Green, Lakers

October 18th, 2017 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admits it was a mistake trying to change LaMarcus Aldridge, relays Melissa Rohlin of The San Antonio Express News. After five straight seasons of topping 20 points per game in Portland, Aldridge dropped to 18.0 and 17.3 in his first two years in San Antonio.

Popovich talked to Aldridge several times during the offseason and realized that he should have let the power forward play his game. “I thought back to Timmy [Duncan], and people said, ‘Oh, what are you going to do with Tim Duncan,’” the coach said. “And I said, ‘Nothing, I’m just going to watch him for six months and see what he does. He’s a pretty good player. And if there’s something that I think I can add, then I’ll do it.’ With LaMarcus, he got here and on day one I said, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this. And [Jack] Sikma did this. And you’re going to do this pump fake.’ I tried to change him. I tried to make him a different player.’”

With Chris Paul sitting out tonight’s game with a sore left knee, Demetrius Jackson is getting a chance to show his skills at the NBA level, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. After being waived by the Celtics in July, Jackson agreed to a two-way deal with the Rockets. He is limited to 45 days in the NBA, but the clock doesn’t start until G League training camps open. That allows the Rockets to give him some minutes with the reserves tonight in Sacramento. “I’ll try Demetrius just to see,” said coach Mike D’Antoni. “He plays good defense and he gets after people and he pushes the ball hard. He’s got a good demeanor about him. I like the way he plays. He’s got a good solid game. I think he can give us 10 good minutes. That’s all we need. He looked good in training camp. He kept coming at you.”
Warriors forward Draymond Green had an MRI on his left knee today and sat out practice, but the team doesn’t think it’s a long-term problem, according to Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. Green was injured late in the third quarter of Tuesday’s loss to Houston and didn’t return for the fourth quarter. The Warriors expect to receive the MRI results Thursday.
The Lakers are hoping their offseason moves will result in more wins, which will make the team more attractive to free agents, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. “All I want us to do,” said president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, “is have a good season where free agents look and say, ‘Oh man, I can see myself in that lineup and with that team.’ And we can step up to another level.”

Warriors Notes: Thompson, DVEs, Curry, Crawford

October 5th, 2017 at 10:33am CST by Luke Adams

Klay Thompson was recently asked on The Athletic’s podcast about whether he’d be willing to accept any sort of discount to remain with the Warriors on his next contract, and the veteran sharpshooter suggested he’d be open to it. As Tim Kawakami of The Athletic notes, it’s not a surprise that Thompson would be willing to entertain a somewhat team-friendly deal, since he’s not inclined to be the player who blows up a potential Warriors dynasty.

Thompson’s free agency is still two years away, so it’s not like a decision is required of him right away, but for their part, the Warriors are appreciative of his sentiment, says Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News.

“Our guys know how special this era is. I think that’s the main thing Klay is trying to express,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “This is a pretty special era. We know this isn’t going to last for a long time. We’d like to be part of it and also know how special it is to be a part of it. That means more than money. That doesn’t mean you’re going to give up everything. But you do what you can to make a living and make the best living you can and best life that you can. Whatever balance that is, that’s what guys are going to do.”

Here’s more from out of the Bay Area:

Danny Leroux of The Athletic explains how the Designated Veteran Extension rule – which gives players an early shot at the full 35% max – could have an impact on Thompson and Draymond Green. Teams are limited to two DVEs on their roster, and Stephen Curry already has one of the two for Golden State. Still, Kevin Durant won’t require a DVE because he already has 10 years worth of NBA experience, and I’d be surprised if both Thompson and Green prove worthy of that significant an offer down the road. I wouldn’t expect it to become an issue for the Dubs.
As the Warriors prepared for the offseason in the spring, owner Joe Lacob was considering offering Curry a contract worth less than the max in free agency, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. GM Bob Myers kept Lacob from bringing that reduced offer to the negotiating table, according to Thompson, and Curry ultimately ended up with a five-year max deal.
Speaking on Wednesday to reporters, including Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), Jamal Crawford confirmed that he received some early interest from the Warriors when he reached the free agent market this offseason. However, it didn’t go anywhere.

Pacific Notes: Bogdanovic, Reed, Bell

September 21st, 2017 at 9:12pm CST by Austin Kent

The Kings made 2014 draft-and-stash prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic the highest paid rookie in NBA history this summer and now will look to incorporate him into their core, James Ham of NBC Sports writes.

The 25-year-old shooting guard recently helped guide the Serbian national team to a silver medal at EuroBasket 2017 showcasing the perimeter skillset that he’ll be bringing with him to the Kings next month.

Bogdanovic will earn $9.5MM this season and $27MM over the course of his three-year deal. That’s twice the amount of money fifth overall pick De’Aaron Fox will make with the Kings this season.

While it’s possible Bogdanovic sees time at the three, his natural position will be at the two, where he’ll compete with Buddy Hield for opportunities to lead the Kings’ offense. Expect him to struggle slightly on the defensive end, Ham writes, but to make a case for himself as a prolific deep threat early on.

It’s possible that Bogdanovic either slides into the Kings’ starting lineup or serves as one of the club’s key reserves off the bench.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Recently acquired Lakers center Brook Lopez has always been a fan of the franchise, Joey Ramirez of the team’s official site writes. Lopez was born in North Hollywood and will suit up in California for the first time since his college career at Stanford.
The arraignment hearing for Willie Reed has been scheduled for October 2 in Miami, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes. The Clippers center was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery last month.
Look no further than Draymond Green for an archetype that Jordan Bell can aspire to match. Green has been mentoring the Warriors‘ second-round pick to fill a similar niche, Mark Medina of The Mercury News writes. “I could see myself playing similar to him and helping my team out if he gets into foul trouble or gets a technical,” Bell said. “I can come in. Hopefully with me watching him in practice, I can start to emulate what he does.“