Stephen Curry

Pacific Notes: DeRozan, Kings, Curry, Warriors, Kaminsky

October 13th, 2024 at 2:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings dropped their second straight preseason game to Golden State on Friday, but they came away encouraged by their performance, particularly the play of the starting five, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Point guard De’Aaron Fox is pleased by how seamlessly DeMar DeRozan has fit in.

“It definitely feels natural right now,” Fox said of playing with DeRozan. “Obviously, we have someone else who can really post up and create their own shot, but he’s also still creating for others and making our jobs easier, so I feel like there are no hiccups. Right now we’re not running much. We’re just running our flow offense and I think it’s looked good.”

DeRozan, who was acquired from Chicago over the summer in a three-team sign-and-trade, concurred with Fox’s assessment.

“It’s comfortable,” DeRozan said. “Now, it’s just about getting that consistent rhythm, and the more we play, the more opportunities we get, the easier it becomes.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

In other Kings news, a league source tells Anderson that Malik Monk will be active on Sunday vs. Portland after missing Friday’s contest due to personal reasons (Twitter link). Monk re-signed with Sacramento on a four-year, $78MM contract as a free agent.
Warriors star Stephen Curry sustained a jammed right index finger in the second quarter of Friday’s victory and was held out for the remainder of the game, but he was able to go throughout his typical post-game workout, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays (Twitter links). Curry underwent an X-ray, which came back negative, and he’s considered day-to-day.
Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was sidelined by an illness during training camp and will miss his fourth straight preseason game on Sunday vs. Detroit. However, the former No. 1 overall pick has recovered from the unspecified illness and is expected to suit up for Tuesday’s contest vs. the Lakers, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters, including Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
Kerr continues to experiment with the Warriors‘ starting lineup in preseason, Slater notes (Twitter video link). On Friday, Kerr went with a small-ball approach, with Curry, Gary Payton II, Moses Moody, Kyle Anderson and Draymond Green as the starting five. While they’re taking a “game-by-game” approach right now, in part due to Wiggins’ absence, Kerr downplayed the possibility of that continuing into the regular season. “We want a starting lineup to form, and to establish some continuity, for sure,” he said.
Frank Kaminsky is on a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the Suns and is vying for the 15th spot on their standard roster. Even if he’s waived before the season begins, the veteran big man is thankful to have another NBA opportunity after dealing with a knee injury and playing in Serbia last season. “I’m just going with it,” Kaminsky told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m in the position I wanted to be after getting healthy and playing overseas last year. Just grateful for this opportunity. Whatever happens, happens.”

Warriors Notes: Frontcourt, Kuminga, Wiggins, Green, Payton, More

October 4th, 2024 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Draymond Green will be part of the Warriors‘ starting lineup this fall, but his exact role has not yet been determined. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the team’s decision on whether to use Green as a power forward or center will have a ripple effect on the rest of the starting five and the rotation beyond that group.

According to Slater, head coach Steve Kerr has expressed that he doesn’t love the idea of Green playing heavy minutes at the five, especially against teams using bigger lineups. And Green still considers power forward his true position.

However, starting Green alongside a center like Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney may push rising forward Jonathan Kuminga to the bench, since Kuminga hasn’t yet proven to be a reliable floor spacer and Kerr has spoken in the past about viewing the former lottery pick as more of a four than a three. For what it’s worth, Kuminga disagrees with that assessment but is willing to accept whatever decision the club makes.

“At the end of the day, I know I’m a small forward,” Kuminga said, per Slater. “I can do it. I can play it at the highest level. But going forward, it’s all about what the team wants me to do. It don’t matter, small forward or whatever.”

As Slater observes, Kuminga and Green would make more sense as the Warriors’ starting forwards alongside a big man who could stretch the floor, but Jackson-Davis and Looney don’t really possess that skill set. And even though Golden State drafted a player – Quinten Post – who could develop into that sort of stretch five, he likely won’t see much action with the NBA team as a rookie.

“He’s got a ways to go,” Kerr said of Post. “I’m not anticipating it this year. I think he’ll be in Santa Cruz a lot.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Andrew Wiggins is the best bet to open the season as Golden State’s starting small forward, but he has yet to participate in training camp due to an illness and has been ruled out for Saturday’s preseason opener, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
With Wiggins unavailable, the Warriors used a first unit of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Kuminga, and Green in a Friday scrimmage, tweets Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. However, asked if that would be the starting group on Saturday, Kerr advised reporters not to read too much into it. “No,” he replied, per Slater (Twitter link). “In fact it’s safe to assume that will not be the starters.”
While the Warriors aren’t generally viewed as a legitimately title contender entering this fall, Green appreciates the challenge of trying to get the team back to that level and has no desire to leave his longtime team to try to win another championship elsewhere, Thompson writes for The Athletic. “When you’ve built this s–t up from the laughingstock of the NBA, it feels a little different,” Green said. “I said to (team owner) Joe Lacob two years ago, like, ‘You should understand I think about this organization like it’s mine.’ No disrespect to them that own this, but I take a great deal of pride in what we built here. This is home for me. This is like Michigan State for me. Most people don’t have an NBA home. I care what this organization looks like in 10 years. That’s going to matter to me.”
The Warriors announced on Friday in a press release that Jonnie West has received a promotion to senior director of pro personnel, while Maclean Osborne and Michael Salame have been named scouts. Osborne and Salame previously worked in basketball operations for Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Warriors guard Gary Payton II spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about a wide range of topics, including his decision to exercise his 2024/25 player option to stick with Golden State and his favorite Curry and Green stories.
The Warriors liked Bronny James‘ skill set heading into June’s draft and weighed the possibility of selecting him at No. 52, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. However, Golden State ultimately decided to respect LeBron James‘ desire to join forces with his son in Los Angeles and passed on Bronny.

Warriors Notes: Offseason Moves, Curry, Kuminga, Starters

October 2nd, 2024 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

After being linked to big-name trade targets like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen during the offseason, the Warriors ended up not making a major deal and focused instead on bringing in a handful of role players at mid-level prices, including De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson. The team’s defensive anchor, Draymond Green, told reporters this week that he was on board with that decision, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN relays.

“One move in this league, it can pretty much set you up for how the next 10 years of your organization is going to go. Sometimes the best deal you can make is to not make a deal, and I think we did a great job in going out and getting pieces that are going to help this team grow,” Green said. “… Championships are won six through 10. Championships aren’t won one through five.”

Green compared the summer additions to the ones the Warriors made in 2021 when they brought in Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, and Nemanja Bjelica to bolster their depth ahead of a championship season. That doesn’t mean that Golden State will be a title team in 2024/25, but Stephen Curry believes the newcomers can help the club move toward that goal.

“All three guys we brought in all are veterans,” Curry said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Established veterans that know how to play the game. Good pieces that you need to be a championship-type team. Does that mean we’re there? I don’t know.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

After a disappointing 2023/24 season that saw Golden State finish 10th in the West and bow out of the postseason in the first play-in game, Curry said he’s coming into training camp with an “open mind of how we’re supposed to play” and that he’s embracing the idea of “evolving and pivoting” to figure out what works best for the current group. “I know there’s a Warriors mentality and culture of how we do things, there’s a system that we ran for a decade plus that has worked,” Curry said, according to Andrews. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how this team needs to play. We have to have kind of antennas up and an openness to accept what this team’s strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and kind of lean into those.”
Jonathan Kuminga, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 21, said he will “hopefully” reach a deal with the Warriors but that he won’t be worried if it doesn’t get done this fall, Slater writes. Kuminga would be a restricted free agent in 2025 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before the season begins. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s not my concern,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here, happy to start a new season. Fourth year. I’d love to have it, but I’m not really concerned about it. If I get it, if I don’t, it’s cool. I’m still going to be me. I’ll just go out there and perform.”
In a separate story for The Athletic, Slater evaluates the candidates for the starting shooting guard position, noting that the Warriors could go the defensive route with Melton, the floor-spacing route with Hield, or the long-term route with Brandin Podziemski.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stressed on Tuesday that shooting guard isn’t the only opening in the Warriors’ starting lineup, telling reporters that there’s an open competition for basically every spot besides point guard, where Curry will start. “There is competition across the board,” Kerr said (story via Andrews at ESPN). “It’s not as simple as, ‘Who is going to be the two?’ It’s got to be — ‘Who is going to be the five? Who’s the four?’ We know that Steph is the one. But what’s the combination? … The starting lineup is going to have to be dependent not only on the first five fitting, but the second fitting as well. We’ve got a lot of work to do to figure out lineups. All the guys can do is compete, play their ass off.”

And-Ones: Curry, Near Trades, Payton Sr., West Teams’ Weaknesses

September 8th, 2024 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry, who recently signed a $62.6MM extension for the 2026/27 season, has already made more money in the 2020s than any player in any decade in NBA history, HoopsHype tweets.

The Warriors superstar has already racked up $229MM in this decade through the 2023/24 season. LeBron James made $226.4MM in the 2010s, while Kevin Garnett earned $215.5MM in the 2000s.

We have more from the basketball world:

Remember in 2019 when Paul George and Russell Westbrook were dealt to the Raptors? Do you recall back in 2007 when Garnett was dealt to the Warriors? Or in 2011 when the Lakers added an in-his-prime Chris Paul? Of course, none of those trades actually came to fruition. Mark Deeks of HoopsHype looks back at some of the biggest near trades in NBA history.
‘The Glove’ has found a head coaching job in the junior college ranks. Former NBA star Gary Payton Sr. is the new head coach at the College of Alameda, according to Marc Spears of ESPN (Twitter link). Payton, inherits a program that went 7-21 last season while playing in the Bay Valley Conference. Payton, 56, has also been coaching in the Big3 league since its inception in 2017.
The Nuggets need to add more 3-point shooting, Tim Bontemps of ESPN notes. They lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who shot over 40% from deep in two seasons with Denver, in free agency. In the subscriber-only story, Bontemps also looks at the biggest weaknesses on the Lakers, Timberwolves, Pelicans and Kings rosters.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Olympics, Oubre, Ingram

September 4th, 2024 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Along with winning a gold medal in his first-ever Olympics, Stephen Curry tells Natasha Dye of People Magazine that the experience was memorable because he got to team up with long-time rival LeBron James. Like many others, Curry was impressed by the intense work ethic James displayed with Team USA.

“All the battles we’ve had on the court and the back and forth, the fact that we actually got to be teammates, not just in any game like an All-Star game or whatever, but in high stakes basketball with a lot on the line … I think there’s a deepened respect and friendship there,” Curry said. “Hopefully, there will be more experiences in the future, even if we’re teammates or not.”

Curry added that he’s especially excited as the start of his 16th season with the Warriors draws near. He’s eager to prove that the team can stay in the hunt for a title without Klay Thompson, who left for Dallas during the offseason.

“I love the fact that people don’t think we can keep the pace with some of the other teams that they’re picking in the West,” Curry said. “And I just love that challenge of stepping into a training camp and being able to create your own success — that gets me going. And obviously coming off of this Olympic experience, I’m trying to channel that energy all year.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

During an appearance Tuesday on “The Today Show,” Curry expressed a desire to finish out his career with Golden State, relays Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. Curry didn’t indicate that he plans to call it quits any time soon, but he said he wants to be remembered as a one-team player.
Michael Pina of The Ringer examines the Warriors’ chances of making another title run before Curry retires. He notes that the front office unsuccessfully attempted to trade for Paul George and Lauri Markkanen this summer, leaving Curry with no teammates capable of playing at an All-Star level. Pina observes that Curry’s one-year extension gives general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. more time to upgrade the roster, but it doesn’t ease the sense of urgency that exists with the team’s top star heading for his 37th birthday before the season ends.
Golden State’s cautious approach to roster building dates back to an ill-fated trade for Kelly Oubre in 2020, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. After Thompson was lost to a season-ending injury, owner Joe Lacob was “the driving force” behind acquiring Oubre despite objections from then-general manager Bob Myers and the coaching staff. Since then, Poole adds, the organization has concentrated on moves that complement the core of the team rather than trying to expand it. Through that prism, sources tell Poole that Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram is viewed as too risky, and Poole describes the chances of an Ingram trade as “minuscule.”

Warriors Notes: Curry, Hield, Melton, Podziemski, Trades

September 3rd, 2024 at 9:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry — NBA owner? That’s one of the goals for the Warriors superstar guard after he retires. Curry discussed his desire to own a piece of an NBA team on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” as Jessica Golden of CNBC relays.

“For me, that’s definitely on the table,” said Curry. “I think I could do a pretty good job of helping sustain how great the the NBA is right now and what it takes to run a championship organization.”

He’s in no rush to make it happens. Curry just signed a one-year, $62.6MM extension that will take him through the 2026/27 season.

“I know I have a lot more to accomplish on the court before I move into other roles in the league,” he said.

We have more on the Warriors:

Who will be Curry’s backcourt partner in the starting lineup this season — Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton or Brandin Podziemski? That’s just one of the five big questions hanging over the Warriors as training camp approaches, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Lack of frontcourt size is another issue that may have to be addressed.
The front office is still plugging away, looking for upgrades to maximize Curry’s remaining playing career, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. A league source told Bulpett he thinks the Warriors are still hoping to make a “big” move. “From the talks they’ve had — or tried to have — it sounds like they want to do something big,” the source said. “But they also don’t want to break things up too much. Moving Klay (Thompson) was big for them, but it wasn’t as big a trade as they probably wanted it to be. They want to add around Steph and Draymond (Green), but they’re finding that’s hard to do.”
The Warriors are hard-capped at the first tax apron of $178,132,000 and are less than $1MM away from that hard cap. That means they can’t sign another player for even a veteran’s minimum standard contract until later in the season unless they shed some salary. Get the details here.

And-Ones: Rookie Scale Extensions, $500MM Players, Beverley, Muhammad, T. Robinson

August 31st, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Three of the first four players selected in the 2021 draft have already received rookie scale extensions, but Rockets guard Jalen Green may have to wait until next summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Despite a strong finish to last season, there are still questions about Green after three years in the NBA. Houston may want to maximize its cap space for 2025, and Pincus suggests the Rockets’ final offer to Green may not be in the neighborhood of what fellow top four picks Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes received.

That philosophy would also affect Alperen Sengun, who was taken with the 16th pick in 2021. Pincus suggests that Sengun could receive a generous offer before the October 21 deadline if the Rockets are planning to pick up Fred VanVleet‘s $44.9MM option for the 2025/26 season. However, the Turkish center will only have a $16.3MM cap hold if the team plans to decline its option on VanVleet and operate using cap space.

Pincus’ comments are part of his analysis of the entire first round from 2021 and the likelihood of an extension for each remaining player. He gives a C-minus to Cunningham’s new deal, stating that the Pistons assumed unnecessary risk when they could have signed him to a similar contract next summer. The Cavaliers‘ Mobley extension gets a B-minus from Pincus, while the Raptors‘ Barnes extension rates a B-plus.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

Stephen Curry‘s extension with the Warriors and Paul George‘s max contract with the Sixers will push them above $500MM in career earnings, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players with deals in place to reach that figure, notes Steve Henson of The Los Angeles Times. James Harden will top $400MM under his new two-year, $70MM deal with the Clippers, while Chris Paul will get close to that number after joining the Spurs for one year at $10.46MM.
Longtime NBA guard Patrick Beverley made his debut for Hapoel Tel Aviv today in Israel, according to Eurohoops. Beverley, 36, was in the starting lineup and contributed three points, six assists and his typical intense defense in a preseason win over Elitzur Ironi Netanya.
Former NBA players Shabazz Muhammad and Thomas Robinson have signed with Homenetmen Beirut, per Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Muhammad, who joined the Kings’ G League affiliate in January, last played in the NBA during the 2017/18 season. Robinson, a lottery pick in 2012, has been out of the league for seven years.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Training Camp, Next Season

August 30th, 2024 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry‘s decision to sign a one-year extension, a commitment through the 2026/27 season, shows that he still expects the Warriors to be contenders in the coming years, he told Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.

“It’s still about winning,” Curry said, “and taking the steps necessary to give ourselves a chance. The standard hasn’t changed. The expectation hasn’t changed.”

Curry wants to remain a Warrior for the rest of his career. He’ll be 39 by the end of his contract.

“I’ve always said I wanted to play for one team my whole career,” he said. “So it’s good to get (the extension) question out of the way and give complete focus to basketball and to the season.”

We have more on the Warriors:

Curry’s one-year extension will pay him $62.6MM in 2026/27. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explains why Curry’s salary won’t have massive implications regarding the luxury tax and tax aprons and answers several other questions related to the most lucrative one-year extension in NBA history.
The Warriors will begin training camp in Hawaii, returning there for the first time since 2007, according to a team press release. They will also have a preseason game against the Clippers in Honolulu on Oct. 5.
The Warriors believe they’ll improve upon last season’s 10th-place finish in the Western Conference, but even with their roster adjustments, that might prove difficult, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Poole anticipates that if the Warriors are at least in the middle of the standings at the halfway point, they’ll pursue a significant deal before the trade deadline.

Stephen Curry Signs One-Year Extension With Warriors

August 29th, 2024 at 6:33pm CST by Rory Maher

6:33pm: Curry has signed the extension, the team’s PR department announced (via Twitter).

11:28am: Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has agreed to a one-year, $62.6MM extension with the Warriors, agent Jeff Austin tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Curry was limited to a one-year extension due to the Over-38 rule. He was already under contract for the next two seasons, with salaries of $55.8MM in 2024/25 and $59.6MM in 2025/26. His new extension will cover the 2026/27 campaign, meaning he won’t hit free agency until 2027.

Curry’s salary on the one-year extension won’t be affected by where the ’26/27 cap lands, since he’ll be eligible for a 5% raise on his previous salary, even though that figure will exceed that season’s league-wide maximum.

Widely regarded as the greatest shooter in basketball history, Curry holds career averages of 24.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.5 steals on .473/.426/.910 shooting in 956 regular season games (34.2 minutes per contest). The 10-time All-NBA guard, who has won four championships and made six NBA Finals appearances, has spent his entire 15-year career with Golden State.

The Warriors had an up-and-down season in ’23/24. They went 46-36 and were eliminated in the play-in tournament by the Kings. The 36-year-old still performed at a very high level though, averaging 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists on .450/.408/.923 shooting in 74 regular season games (32.7 minutes). Curry earned an All-NBA Third Team nod for his efforts.

Curry is coming off a star showing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, when he was dominant in both the semifinal (vs. Serbia) and final (vs. France) en route to his first gold medal with Team USA. He had struggled for much of the tournament leading up to those games, but obviously stepped up in a major way when he was needed most.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Curry will surpass $500MM+ in career on-court earnings with the new extension, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only players to reach that threshold.

Curry, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., and owner Joe Lacob have all expressed a desire for the 6’2″ guard to remain with the Warriors for the rest of his illustrious career. The extension agreement has both sides one step closer to achieving that goal.

Stein’s Latest: Curry, James, Embiid, Yurtseven, Micic

August 18th, 2024 at 3:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry is eligible for a one-season, $62.6MM contract extension prior to October 21. He could also wait until the 2025 offseason to seek a two-year deal worth a projected $130MM, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

Stein notes that, having missed out on Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen and Sixers All-Star Paul George, Golden State continues looking for opportunities to upgrade the roster via trade. The Warriors believe they have the current and future assets necessary to do just that.

Last year’s Warriors went 46-36, finishing with just the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Golden State failed to make the playoffs after falling to the Kings in the play-in tournament.

Curry, 36, had yet another excellent individual year. The 10-time All-Star averaged 26.4 points on .450/.408/.923 shooting splits, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.7 steals in 74 games.

Here are some other key notes from Stein’s newest Substack article:

According to Stein, there’s a belief that the Lakers would have “reluctantly” engaged in trade discussions to send All-NBA combo forward LeBron James to the Warriors, so he could join then-future Team USA colleague Curry and friend Draymond Green, if that’s what James had wanted. However, Stein’s sources say that Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, James’ longtime agent, urged both L.A. and Golden State to scrap the idea — in part because Paul didn’t want James to be faced with criticism for jumping teams for a fourth time.
Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid, fresh off winning his first Olympic gold medal for Team USA this summer, hinted that he might be interested in playing for his native Cameroon during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. However, as Stein writes, a player over the age of 17 can only change his country affiliation if he receives clearance from FIBA and his previous country (in this case, USA Basketball). Stein is skeptical that Embiid will be permitted to do so.
According to Stein, free agent center Omer Yurtseven was one of several players to recently work out for the Knicks, who opted not to sign him at that time. Greek club Panathinaikos reportedly remains intrigued by the 7-footer. New York lost its 2023/24 starting center, Isaiah Hartenstein, to the Thunder in free agency, and no doubt needs to get creative filling out its frontcourt depth, so Yurtseven would have made sense as a fringe rotation option. Across three NBA seasons with the Heat and Jazz, the big man has appeared in 113 contests (24 starts), averaging 5.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per night.
Hornets point guard Vasilije Micic is considered a potential down-the-road trade target for the Nuggets, given his close relationship with Nikola Jokic, Stein writes. Micic may not be a practical option for Denver at this point though, given his $7.7MM salary and the team’s proximity to the tax aprons. Acquired midway through his 2023/24 rookie season, the 6’5″ guard averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 assists across 30 games for Charlotte down the stretch.

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