Steve Kerr Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Porter Jr., Patton, Wolves, Gilgeous-Alexander

January 3rd, 2020 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Michael Porter Jr. has solidified his spot in the Nuggets’ rotation and he may even become a regular starter sooner rather than later, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. It’s unlikely that Porter will supplant Will Barton in the lineup despite his 25-point outburst against Indiana but it’s not out of the question, Singer continues. It’s a safer bet that Porter carves out a significant role down the stretch as a microwave-type scorer off the bench, Singer adds.

We have more from around the Northwest Division:

The Thunder‘s Justin Patton is the player most likely to be dealt over the next week, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Patton’s $1.62MM salary becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on their roster through January 7 and the Thunder are currently $750,250 into the luxury tax threshold. The center could only be acquired by one of the nine teams with workable trade exceptions, or by the Hawks via cap room, Hollinger adds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been impressed with the Timberwolves’ unheralded young players, as he told reporters including Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “What I see with the Wolves is similar to what I see with our team, in that suddenly a bunch of young guys get their chance, and they play hard,” Kerr said. “For Minnesota to go to Milwaukee, play the best team in the league down the wire, without (Karl-Anthony) Towns and (Andrew) Wiggins, it shows you what a young team is capable of, just competing.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has established himself as one of the league’s top second-year players, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. The second-year Thunder guard, the centerpiece of the Paul George deal with the Clippers from Oklahoma City’s perspective, is averaging 19.9 PPG while mainly playing the off-guard spot after averaging 10.8 PPG in his rookie year as a point man.

Pacific Notes: Kings Tempo, Kerr, PG-13, Walton

January 1st, 2020 at 7:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Kings backcourt mates De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield are looking to accelerate the team’s offensive tempo as the calendar shifts to 2020, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson. After losing their eighth straight game on Tuesday, Hield noted that the change needs to happen soon.

“It’s a new year,” Hield said. “We’re (34) games in so we have about (48) left. It’s go time. We can’t wait anymore.” The Kings are 12-22 overall, and have a 1-7 record when held under 100 points.

Anderson notes that, under coach Dave Joerger in the 2018/19 season, the Kings’ pace ranked third in the NBA, notching 103.9 possessions per 48 minutes. Thus far under Luke Walton in 2019/20, the Kings rank last with just 97.5 possessions per 48 minutes.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Warriors coach Steve Kerr told Logan Murdoch of NBC Sports Bay Area on Tuesday that he is frustrated by the frequency of foul calls in today’s NBA. “I think we’ve gone overboard in rewarding offensive players,” Kerr said. “And what I mean by that is we’ve rewarded offensive players for fooling the officials and attempting to fool the officials.”
The Los Angeles Times’ Andrew Greif reports that Clippers forward Paul George believes he has pinpointed the cause of his recent shooting slump, after analyzing hours of game film. “A lot of the plays I had last year before the [shoulder] injury started, was through contact and finishing through defenders,” George said George. “This year I’ve been shying away from the contact. So it’s just getting it through my head that I’m fine with the physicality.”
Since being called up from the Clippers’ Ontario G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, on December 1, point guard Derrick Walton Jr. has been trying to maximize his opportunity on one of the NBA’s best teams, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register reports. The 24-year-old Walton scored a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in a 105-87 Clippers win over Sacramento Tuesday.

Warriors Notes: Curry, 2020 Draft, Kerr, Chriss

December 24th, 2019 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Stephen Curry recently rejoined the Warriors as he continues to recover from his broken left hand, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Curry, who underwent a second procedure earlier this month to remove the pins from his hand, had been in Los Angeles for a couple weeks, but has since resumed rehabbing the injury with the club.

“He’s been doing basketball movements,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday. “He hasn’t been shooting the ball, but he’s been out on the floor doing a lot of lateral movement, jumping, that kind of stuff. And it’s nice to have him in the gym; it just feels better when he’s around.”

Curry’s recovery timeline hasn’t changed at all since he underwent his first surgery on November 1, Friedell notes. The plan is still for the former MVP to be re-evaluated at the three-month mark, which will happen at the start of February.

Here’s more on the Dubs:

The Warriors’ down year represents a rare opportunity for the franchise to land a top-five pick, but Ethan Strauss of The Athletic wouldn’t be surprised if Golden State ends up trading its 2020 first-rounder. As Strauss observes, the Warriors will want to add win-now pieces to their veteran core in the offseason, and the 2020 draft class is short on players who can make an immediate impact.
After leading to the Warriors to the NBA Finals for five straight years, Steve Kerr has had a much different job description this year for the injury-plagued, lottery-bound version of the club. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic details, Kerr has welcomed the challenge of coaching Golden State’s young, non-star players. “I’ve learned how to be a better coach, honestly,” Kerr said.
Marquese Chriss, the only player on the Warriors’ roster without a fully guaranteed salary for 2019/20, seems unlikely to be waived before his guarantee deadline next month, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. In fact, Thompson believes the former lottery pick might even stick with the club beyond this season. “I see a future for Marquese with this team,” Kerr recently said during an appearance on KNBR.

Warriors Notes: Kerr, Ellis, Robinson

December 7th, 2019 at 11:12am CST by marksuleymanov

After dominating the NBA for half the decade, the Warriors are enduring a trying season in 2019/20. At 5-19, Golden State has the worst record in the Western Conference and is mere percentage points away from the Knicks (4-18) for the worst record in the league.

Key departures in free agency (Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala) and injuries to their superstars (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) dampened the Warriors’ hopes to reach a sixth straight NBA Finals. For head coach Steve Kerr, who has presided over that success, the challenge of developing the younger stars on the roster has been invigorating.

“I’m enjoying coaching the young guys and going through the details of what they need to learn and helping them develop,” Kerr said in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. “I basically survived my whole career. I was never really in a position where I felt like, ‘OK, I’ve made it.’ From year to year, it was just survival. So I can relate to a lot of these young guys and I can relate a lot of experiences to them. That’s a satisfying process when you see them do well.”

Check out more Warriors notes below:

Among the standout parts of the Warriors’ reshaped roster has been the performance of Glenn Robinson III. Anthony Slater of The Athletic examined Robinson’s play, specifically him reprising elements from Iguodala’s play and how he’s trying to incorporate it into the current system.
In a lengthy, in-depth feature, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes that Monta Ellis is proud of his tenure with the Warriors. Ellis spent six-and-a-half seasons with the Warriors and was part of the team’s unexpected success in the late 2000s. “Everything, even through my bad times, I still enjoyed it,” Ellis said. “Because at the end of the day, they gave me my shot.”
As we relayed earlier, the Warriors are in no rush to trade D’Angelo Russell, who is considered a candidate to be dealt at some point this season.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Musa, Kerr, Knicks

November 18th, 2019 at 12:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Joel Embiid‘s numbers are down in the major categories and the Sixers center feels that must change in order for the team to get rolling, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Embiid, who has missed four games during the Sixers’ 8-5 start, is averaging 22.9 PPG, 11.4 RPG and 1.4 BPG. He averaged 27.5 PPG, 13.6 RPG and 1.9 BPG last season.“I need to do more,” Embiid said. “I felt like I haven’t done enough. So that’s what I think I need to do.”

We have more from around the Atlantic Division:

The role of Nets second-year shooting guard Dzanan Musa has expanded with Caris LeVert sidelined by a thumb injury, Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. Musa has averaged 9.0 PPG in 21.0 MPG over the last four games. “We need his scoring on that second unit now, with no Caris,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You can’t just have Spencer (Dinwiddie) out there taking every possession.” We’re going to need Musa to play well.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes the FIBA World Cup helped the Celtics get off to a fast start, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe writes. Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown all played for Team USA. “You could tell [Team USA] was a head start for them,” Kerr said. “You could tell over the summer that those guys would click, and they absolutely have.”
Small, quick guards have lit up the Knicks lately, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post notes. Charlotte’s Devonte’ Graham, Chicago’s Coby White and Cleveland’s Collin Sexton have all enjoyed big games against them, forcing head coach David Fizdale to consider going smaller in his backcourt. “The battle that we are fighting is the speed guard who can shoot, those little guards that can get anywhere on the floor that can shoot the ball from the moon,” Fizdale said. “Those guys have been giving us headaches.”

Warriors Notes: Curry, Looney, Chriss, Hard Cap

October 18th, 2019 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Stephen Curry hasn’t given up on the championship dream with the Warriors this season despite the loss of Kevin Durant and long-term injury to Klay Thompson, as he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

“A championship is still the goal,” Curry said. “It’s always been. We’ve experienced it all and we’re going to keep pushing to get back there. That’s the goal. It’s the North Star. The narrative might have changed internally, but we’re still chasing the same goal.”

We have more on the Warriors:

Frontcourt injuries have made for a difficult preseason, Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes. The Warriors have gone most of the preseason without Willie Cauley-Stein and Kevon Looney and their absences have shown in preseason losses to the Lakers. “We need to get healthy,” coach Steve Kerr said. “You have to have rim protection in this league.” Kerr is hopeful that Looney, who has been sidelined by a hamstring injury, can return for the season opener, Slater tweets.
The team is now technically $375K under the hard cap after deciding to waive Alfonzo McKinnie and retaining Marquese Chriss, salary cap expert Albert Nahmad tweets. However, since Chriss’ contract doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10th, the Warriors are essentially $2MM below the hard cap with Chriss’ deal counting $9,485 daily until that deadline, Nahmad adds.
Draymond Green ripped the Suns’ organization for mishandling Chriss during his time there, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Chriss was the eighth overall pick in 2016 but lasted just two seasons in Phoenix. “No one ever blames these (lousy) franchises. They always want to blame the kid. It’s not always the kid’s fault,” Green said.

Pacific Notes: Smailagic, Adams, Diallo, Shamet

October 4th, 2019 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors rookie big man Alen Smailagic has a severe ankle sprain, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Coach Steve Kerr said Smailagic, a second-round pick, will be out for the “foreseeable future” due to the injury.

The 18-year-old Serbian played in the G League for Santa Cruz – the Warriors’ affiliate – in 2018/19 but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and was “hidden” in Serbia from the rest of the NBA. He signed a four-year, minimum salary contract with two years guaranteed.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings never seriously considered trading for Thunder center Steven Adams, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports. The Thunder are reportedly seeking a significant return for their top big man and were hoping to pry away Buddy Hield or Bogdan Bogdanovic in talks with Sacramento.
The Suns have numerous options at the power forward and center spots but Cheick Diallo could be in the mix, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Diallo was signed to a two-year contract after spending three seasons with the Pelicans. “He’s a really active player,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “He can score around the basket. He’s trying to defend. … He just plays hard. Gives you a different edge at that four-five spot.”
Landry Shamet and rookie Terance Mann are the main backup options to Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley despite having backgrounds at the wing positions, Mirjan Swanson of the Orange County Register relays. Coach Doc Rivers believes Shamet will emerge in that role. “Landry will play point a lot this year,” Rivers said. “There’s no doubt about that. Because he can do a lot of things that very few guys can do, (Stephen) Curry-like. He can push it up, throw it and run and still score.”

Western Notes: Kerr, Clippers, Melli, Mavs

September 23rd, 2019 at 9:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

All the changes to the Warriors roster will make training camp “critical,” coach Steve Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. While in recent years the Warriors have only made tweaks to their scheme, this training camp will involve sorting out the rotation and finding the team’s strengths.

“This year, it’s totally different,” Kerr said. “Nobody really knows each other that well. We’re really going to have to examine our team in camp, the exhibition season, early in the season. Figure out the best way to play on both ends.”

Kerr sees the need to take more control of the offense.

“When you lose continuity, it’s more important to have sets and calls that you can rely on,” he said. “Random stuff gets more difficult if you don’t know each other well.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

Sixth man Lou Williams was the Clippers’ closer the last couple of seasons, but the additions of superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George change that dynamic, as coach Doc Rivers explained to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Lou is always going to be a closer, but it’s more closing plays now than who the closer is,” Rivers said. “You know who the closers are. The fact that that’s plural is a very good thing. Now it’ll be the closing lineups, the closing sets, the closing formations.”
Pelicans forward Nicolo Melli has returned to the court after undergoing offseason knee surgery, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Melli skipped the FIBA World Cup due to the injury. The 28-year-old signed a two-year, $8MM contract in July after playing professionally in Europe for over a decade.
The Mavericks have prioritized continuity on their roster, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News notes. More than half of the players on the training camp roster have played at least half a season for Dallas, Townsend notes. The Mavs have also invested $320MM in guaranteed contracts over the next four seasons, Townsend adds.

Kerr Hopes Livingston Returns To Warriors In Some Capacity

August 22nd, 2019 at 7:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Shaun Livingston was among the many Warriors to depart this offseason. His release, while prudently planned, was not an easy decision for the franchise, as coach Steve Kerr tells LetsGoWarriors (h/t Josh Schrock of NBC Sports).

“It’s something we anticipated because of his age, his contract situation,” Kerr said. “I was prepared for that one, but it’s still a huge loss from a leadership standpoint. Shaun is one of those people that you just want to be with in any circumstance. He’s smart, funny and humble. He’s just a great human being. He also happens to be a hell of a basketball player and a good teammate. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed my five years with Shaun.”

Livingston was a valued veteran in Golden State’s locker room. The point guard is currently a free agent and some have speculated that he will retire rather than play another season. Kerr hopes Livingston returns to the organization in some capacity.

“He’s somebody I’m hoping can be involved with our organization for many years to come,” Kerr said. “That would be the plan if we can pull it off, but he’s got to get away right now and get some freedom, enjoy his family before he figures out what’s next.”

Steve Kerr Talks Changes To Warriors’ Roster, Team Decisions

August 6th, 2019 at 7:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

It’s been a while since Golden State entered a season without being viewed as the undisputed favorite to win it all. In many ways, things will feel different in Northern California this upcoming season, as the Warriors will play in a new arena without the championship expectations to which they’ve grown accustomed.

“This summer was painful in many ways, losing the guys that we did,” said coach Steve Kerr said. “But reassuring, in the sense that we brought back some key guys who are going to help us kind of get to that next era, whatever that looks like.”

The Warriors lost Kevin Durant in free agency and cut ties with several key contributors from their championship runs, including Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Golden State retained some stability after the franchise inked Klay Thompson to a five-year deal.

Draymond Green also signed a new deal this summer, putting pen to paper on a four-year extension. Kerr said that he and GM Bob Myers have discussed securing Green long-term for quite some time.

“I think every player sort of faces these moments where they’ve got to decide, ‘Am I going to mitigate risk and sign something now or play it out?’ That’s up to them,” Kerr said. “Obviously, everyone goes about it differently. But it didn’t surprise me that Draymond signed. He wanted to be here. He’s talked about it all along.”

D’Angelo Russell will join the mix and Kerr called the point guard a “great young talent” who’s going to “fit right in” with the group.

“Without Klay, especially, we’ll need D’Angelo’s scoring and it’s up to us as a staff to figure out how best to use him to shake the team, shake the offense. And we’ll figure it out,” Kerr said.

With Thompson slated to miss considerable time next season, the Warriors will have to rely on young, unproven options to get them through the year. Kerr is embracing the challenge of building the team back up to a championship level.

“I’d rather be the favorite again, to be honest with you,” Kerr said. “But I like coaching. Every year’s a little different. This will be a lot different. But I’m excited to coach the guys who are coming back and the many young, new players that we’ve got. It’s a new challenge and I’m excited for it.”