Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Klay Thompson

June 17th, 2024 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Klay Thompson has spent his entire NBA career with the Warriors after being selected 11th overall in the 2011 draft, making five consecutive All-Star teams from 2015-19 and winning four championships. However, the 34-year-old is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent, and a return to Golden State appears far from certain.

“Klay Thompson, I’m told, is open to all external options in free agency coming up,” Shams Charania of The Athletic said on FanDuelTV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link). “He intends to test free agency.

“We know the Warriors want him back — they offered him an extension before the start of the season. … What team out there could step up for Klay Thompson? That is gonna be the big question. But the Warriors will stay in touch with him.”

League sources tell Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic that there’s “mutual interest” between Thompson and the Magic, which has been rumored to be the case for at least two months. Golden State has “made clear” it wants to retain Thompson “at the right price and in the right role,” per The Athletic’s duo.

According to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, Thompson is looking for a deal that covers a minimum of three years. Poole also hears the Warriors’ front office wasn’t alarmed by Thompson’s decision to stop following the team on Instagram, which has become common practice in contract negotiations.

“He’s going to have to be really patient,” Thompson’s friend and former teammate Leandro Barbosa told Poole. “I hope he comes back to the Warriors. I don’t know what’s the situation, but it’s going to be tough. I know the money (in NBA contracts) is going up, and he’s been thinking about the money.

“But I think he needs to be happy. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Poole suggests rival teams could be willing to offer Thompson more money than the Warriors. Still, as Charania mentioned, it’s unclear which teams might target Thompson beyond perhaps Orlando. Slater previously floated the Sixers and Thunder as possibilities, though Thompson would presumably be a fallback option for Philadelphia, which is reportedly focused on Paul George.

Thompson remains one of the league’s top three-point shooters, averaging 9.7 attempts per game while converting 40.0% of his looks beyond the arc over the past two seasons. However, the torn ACL and torn Achilles tendon that cost him two full seasons have sapped his lateral quickness and athleticism, so he isn’t the same player he once was, particularly on defense.

For what it’s worth, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and longtime teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green all expressed a desire for Thompson to return after the veteran guard/forward was held scoreless (he went 0-10 from the field) when Golden State was eliminated by Sacramento in the West’s play-in tournament.

Thompson will join the Bahamian national team for its training camp this week in Houston, but he isn’t expected to play in the country’s Olympic qualifying tournament early next month, according to Charania and Slater. Thompson would need official clearance to play for the Bahamas in international competition since he won a gold medal with Team USA in 2016, and that is not expected to occur, per The Athletic.

Thompson’s father Mychal Thompson is from the Bahamas and his brother Mychel is an assistant coach on the national team.

Klay Thompson Unfollows Warriors On Instagram

June 15th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heading into free agency, longtime Warriors guard Klay Thompson has stopped following the team’s Instagram account, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Gordon points out that unfollowing social media accounts is becoming a common practice for NBA players during negotiations, so it may not be a sign that Thompson intends to leave the Bay Area. However, he reportedly turned down a two-year, $48MM offer before the start of the season, and several suitors figure to be waiting if he can’t reach a new agreement before June 30.

Latest On Cavaliers’ Head Coaching Search

June 12th, 2024 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers‘ lengthy head coaching search appears to be nearing a resolution, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), who reports that the team has narrowed down a group that initially consisted of about 10 candidates to four or five finalists who will have in-person interviews.

Fedor doesn’t name all four (or five) of those finalists, but confirms that Pelicans assistant James Borrego met with head of basketball operations Koby Altman and other Cavaliers officials on Tuesday and that Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson will follow suit this week, likely either Wednesday or Thursday.

While Atkinson was identified as the potential frontrunner early in the process, Fedor says Borrego has been considered the “leader in the clubhouse” since last week. A Tuesday report out of New Orleans suggested the Pelicans are bracing for the loss of Borrego, who is also a candidate for the Lakers.

Borrego and Atkinson both check two important boxes for the Cavaliers, Fedor notes — they have prior head coaching experience and they’re more offensive-minded coaches. Maximizing the club’s offensive production is a priority after its offensive rating (114.7) ranked just 16th in the regular season and plummeted in the playoffs (104.7).

However, Cleveland isn’t simply zeroing in on offensive specialists. A source tells Fedor that at least one of the team’s finalists is better known for his defensive acumen, signaling that management is focused on finding the best overall fit, regardless of a candidate’s specific strengths and weaknesses.

Here’s more from Fedor on the Cavs’ search:

Although Cleveland would like to have a new head coach in place before the June 26 draft, that’s considered a “moving target,” according to Fedor, who says the primary goal is to simply get the hire right, no matter how long it takes.
There are several ties between the Pelicans and Cavaliers, with top executive David Griffin and big man Larry Nance Jr. among those in New Orleans who have roots in Cleveland. Those links have made it simpler for the Cavs to gather first-hand reports on Borrego. Everyone has spoken positively about the Pelicans assistant, Fedor writes, citing sources who have described Borrego as “humble, innovative, engaging and diplomatic” and as someone who is willing to “learn and listen.” Those qualities have come across in the Cavs’ multiple meetings with Borrego.
Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen, who played for Atkinson in Brooklyn, have shared “approving” feedback with the Cavaliers about their former head coach, per Fedor.
Dave Joerger, Micah Nori, David Adelman, Johnnie Bryant, and Chris Quinn are among the other candidates who have been involved in the Cavaliers’ search, though it’s unclear which of them are finalists. As Fedor points out, Joerger is the only one in that group with period head coaching experience, which could be a factor given the pressure to win right away.

NBA Legend Jerry West Passes Away At 86

June 12th, 2024 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West has died at age 86, the Clippers announced today. According to the team, he passed away “peacefully” on Wednesday morning with his wife Karen at his side.

Few individuals have had a greater impact on the NBA during its history than West, who played 14 seasons for the Lakers from 1960-74, earning All-Star honors in all 14 years.

West also made 12 All-NBA teams and five All-Defensive squads, winning a championship, an NBA Finals MVP award, and an All-Star MVP award while leading the league in points per game in one season and assists per game in another. He averaged 27.0 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game across 932 regular season contests and was part of the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

West’s contributions as a player were enough to earn him a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, but his legacy extends far beyond that. His silhouette serves as the basis for the NBA’s logo, and after a brief stint as the Lakers’ head coach from 1976-79, he enjoyed a long and successful career as a front office executive for multiple organizations.

West, who transitioned into a scouting role with the Lakers in 1979, was named L.A.’s general manager in 1982 and served as the architect of a team that made it to the NBA Finals eight times and won four titles during his tenure from 1982-2000. Los Angeles had a 972-472 (.673) record in the regular season and a 140-90 (.609) mark in the playoffs under West’s stewardship, and also won championships in each of the two years following his departure.

Following his long run with the Lakers, West became the Grizzlies‘ general manager in 2002, a year after the team had made the move from Vancouver to Memphis. Prior to West’s arrival, the Grizzlies had never won more than 23 games in a season, but he helped turn the franchise around, leading Memphis to its first three playoff appearances from 2004-06 and claiming his second Executive of the Year award in 2004.

West retired as a lead basketball decision-maker in 2007, but later served as a consultant with the Warriors, winning two more titles in 2015 and 2017, and with the Clippers beginning in 2017.

In addition to being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player, West was enshrined as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that won gold in Rome and was elected to the Hall a third time in 2024 for his work as an executive. That enshrinement ceremony will take place later this year.

Our condolences go out to West’s family and friends, as well as all those in the basketball world affected by this tremendous loss to the sport.

Pacific Notes: Looney, Suns, Tellem, Gregory, Warriors

June 11th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After Tim Kawakami of The Athletic suggested on a recent episode of the Warriors Plus Minus podcast that he thinks Kevon Looney could be cut this offseason to save the Warriors some money (hat tip to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports), the veteran center appeared on The Draymond Green Show (YouTube link) and addressed his uncertain future in Golden State.

Looney is under contract for one more season, but he’s coming off a down year and his $8MM salary for 2024/25 is only partially guaranteed for $3MM. If the Warriors cut him, they could try to bring him back on a minimum-salary deal or he could end up signing with a new team after spending his entire nine-year NBA career in Golden State.

“The ball isn’t in my court,” Looney said (story via Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area). “I don’t have full control over my destiny, so I kind of have to play the waiting game, control what I can control. I’ve been here my whole career. I don’t know nothing else. You always want to finish what you started and be somewhere for your whole career, but I’ve been in this business long enough to know that’s not realistic. I’m preparing myself for whatever. My family’s out here, the Bay’s been great to me. They treat me like family, I grew up here.

“I haven’t really thought about it too far. I’m trying to see what they’re going to do first before I push the envelope and see what I want to do. … I’ve been a Warrior for life. Even whatever happens, I’m always going to be a Warrior for life.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Looney ranks atop the list compiled by Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports of 15 potential minimum-salary centers the Suns could target this offseason in free agency. Goga Bitadze, Andre Drummond, Daniel Theis, and Luke Kornet round out Bourguet’s top five, though it’s very possible that some of those players will get more than the veteran’s minimum from another team, putting them out of reach for a Phoenix team that can’t offer more than that to outside free agents.
The Suns officially announced in a press release on Monday that they’ve hired Matt Tellem as an assistant general manager and Brian Gregory as vice president of player programming. The team’s deal with Tellem, a Brooklyn executive, was reported last month, but we hadn’t previously heard about the hiring of Gregory, who has been in the college basketball coaching ranks for several decades, most recently with South Florida. Phoenix is adding another longtime college coach – Mike Hopkins – to Mike Budenholzer‘s staff, as we relayed earlier today.
Anthony Slater and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic examine some potential targets at No. 52 in this year’s draft for the Warriors, who are looking to replicate the success of last year’s 57th overall pick (Trayce Jackson-Davis). Slater also shares a long list of prospects who have visited Golden State for pre-draft workouts in recent weeks, including Dillon Jones (No. 48 on ESPN’s big board), Keshad Johnson (No. 50), Jalen Bridges (No. 53), Isaac Jones (No. 57), and Antonio Reeves (No. 58), among others.
In case you missed it, we rounded up several notes on the Lakers, with a focus on their head coaching search, earlier this afternoon.

Central Notes: Pistons, Cavaliers, Borrego, Atkinson, Ham

June 10th, 2024 at 7:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Gary Trent Jr. could fit next to Cade Cunningham as a three-point threat and floor spacer. Naji Marshall could fit in as a three-and-D wing. Goga Bitadze could provide much needed rim protector. They are among a dozen under-the-radar free agents that might make sense for the Pistons, Omari Sankofa II writes for the Detroit Free Press. Detroit could have as much as $64MM in cap space as the team looks to rise from the bottom of the league.

We have more from the Central Division:

Adem Bona (UCLA), Ta’Lon Cooper (South Carolina), Tyler Thomas (Hofstra) and Kel’el Ware (Indiana) visited the Cavaliers on Monday in a pre-draft workout, Adam Zagoria tweets. Big men Ware and Bona are considered potential first-rounders. Ware is currently rated No. 24 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list while Bona is ranked at No. 37. The Cavaliers currently hold the No. 20 pick.
Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, still a candidate for the Lakers’ head coaching job, is expected to interview for the Cavaliers head coaching position early this week, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports. Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson is also scheduled for a visit.
Speaking of the Cavaliers, they could have a very intriguing offseason if they decide to break up their backcourt duo of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell or their frontcourt pairing of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Keith Smith delves into those topics, among others, in his offseason preview for Spotrac.
Darvin Ham’s return to the Bucks as an assistant makes a lot of sense, according to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. He’s well-respected by the team’s veterans and maintained his relationships with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton. It’s also a good spot for him to restore his reputation with an eye on getting another head coaching job.

Stein’s Latest: Lindsey, Williams, George, Bronny James, Cassell

June 9th, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons passed on Mavericks executive Dennis Lindsey and hired Trajan Langdon as their president of basketball operations. However, the Pistons would still like to bring in Lindsey for another front office role under Langdon.

Lindsey has been discussed as an ongoing target for the Pistons, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. Lindsey was the other finalist for Detroit’s top front office job and met with team owner Tom Gores multiple times before Langdon was offered the position.

The Mavericks don’t want to lose Lindsey, who recently attended the NBA’s European draft combine in Italy with assistant GM Matt Riccardi.

Langdon is still mulling whether to retain head coach Monty Williams, who has five years remaining on his contract, Stein adds.

Here’s more from Stein:

Paul George is a well-known free agent target for the Sixers if he fails to reach an extension agreement with the Clippers this month. George will have at least one Eastern Conference alternative in that scenario. The Magic will also be in the mix and Orlando additionally has designs on the Warriors’ Klay Thompson. How the Magic would fit George into their frontcourt of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner would be an intriguing side story, while Philadelphia has an obvious frontcourt need with Tobias Harris (and most of the rest of the roster) headed to free agency.
Bronny James worked out for the Suns on Wednesday and initially only made plans to visit the Suns and Lakers during the pre-draft process. However, that situation is fluid. Agent Rich Paul told Stein there are “a few more” workout invites under consideration.
Reiterating an item from last month, Stein says Bucks coach Doc Rivers will make a push to hire Celtics assistant Sam Cassell after the Finals. Cassell was one of the early candidates for the Lakers’ head coaching job.

Kerr Sees Olympics As "Win Or Fail"

June 8th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors coach Steve Kerr understands the pressure on Team USA to capture an Olympic gold medal this summer, calling it a “win or fail” situation, per Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. Part of Kerr’s early preparation has been watching past losses to see what went wrong, including a 113-111 defeat against Germany in last year’s FIBA World Cup semifinals. “One of the things we look at is, why has USA Basketball lost games in the past?” Kerr said. “There are some common themes, and the big one really is defense. The games we’ve lost, we just failed to stop the other team. This Germany game is one of them — they carved us up. So we’re going to have to be really good defensively this summer.”

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hurley, Beal, Suns, Hield, Clippers, Warriors

June 7th, 2024 at 7:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up (YouTube link) on Friday, Brian Windhorst stressed that Dan Hurley coaching the Lakers is far from a sure thing, despite UConn’s head coach being open to L.A.’s advances.

“I know that this has momentum as (Adrian Wojnarowski) talked about, but it’s been emphasized to me that this is not a done deal,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “That there is still relationship building and conversations that need to take place that are probably going to take place over the next couple of days.”

A source tells Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 (Twitter link) that Hurley was going into today’s meeting with the Lakers “completely open-minded” and is expected to fly back home and weigh his decision over the weekend.

Here are a few more notes from around the Pacific:

Suns guard Bradley Beal underwent a follow-up procedure on his nose shortly after the team was eliminated from the playoffs this spring, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Beal, who initially had a procedure performed on his nose after breaking it in January, said in March that he still had to get his septum “realigned,” adding that it would likely happen after the season.
Responding to a report that claims the Suns will be among the teams to watch for Buddy Hield this offseason, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets that he doesn’t expect Phoenix to have any interest in the veteran sharpshooter. Barring significant cost-cutting moves, the Suns won’t be able to offer more than the veteran’s minimum to free agents or to acquire them via sign-and-trade, so Hield is probably an unrealistic target to begin with.
The Clippers hosted four senior guards as part of a pre-draft workout on Thursday, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Xavier Johnson (Southern Illinois), Tristen Newton (UConn), Cormac Ryan (UNC), and Tyler Thomas (Hofstra) took part in the session. None of those prospects ranks higher than No. 68 (Newton) on ESPN’s big board, but they could be in the second-round mix. The Clippers’ lone 2024 draft pick is 46th overall.
The Warriors have officially named Jon Phelps their senior director of basketball strategy and team counsel, confirming the front office addition in a press release (Twitter link). Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported last week that Golden State would be hiring Phelps away from the Pistons following his decade-long stint in Detroit.

2024 NBA Draft Picks By Team

June 7th, 2024 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs and Trail Blazers were among the winners on last month’s draft lottery day, with the results on May 12 ensuring that both teams would have a pair of lottery picks in 2024. San Antonio received Toronto’s top-six protected first-rounder when it dropped to No. 8, while Portland was assured of receiving Golden State’s top-four protected first-rounder when it remained at No. 14. Both clubs’ own picks are in the top seven.

Besides being the only NBA teams to control two lottery picks this year, San Antonio and Portland have something else in common — they’re the only two clubs that own more than three total 2024 draft picks. In addition to No. 4 and No. 8, the Spurs have Nos. 35 and 48, while Portland has a pair of early second-rounders (Nos. 34 and 40) to go with its No. 7 and No. 14 picks.

Many of this year’s draft picks have changed hands at some point, with only 24 of 58 total selections held by their original owner, but they’re still a little more evenly distributed than usual. A year ago, 11 teams controlled three or more picks at this time, whereas this year only seven clubs hold more than two picks apiece.

In addition to those seven teams with three or more picks, 13 more clubs own a pair of draft selections, while another nine control one apiece. That leaves just a single NBA team without a draft pick this year: the Nets. Brooklyn traded both of its 2024 picks back in 2021, sending out its first-rounder in a package for James Harden and including its second-rounder later that year in a Sekou Doumbouya salary dump. The Nets could still trade into this draft, but for now they’re the only team on track to sit it out.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2024 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

San Antonio Spurs (4): 4, 8, 35, 48
Portland Trail Blazers (4): 7, 14, 34, 40
Washington Wizards (3): 2, 26, 51
Memphis Grizzlies (3): 9, 39, 57
Utah Jazz (3): 10, 29, 32
New York Knicks (3): 24, 25, 38
Indiana Pacers (3): 36, 49, 50

Teams with two picks:

Houston Rockets: 3, 44
Detroit Pistons: 5, 53
Charlotte Hornets: 6, 42
Sacramento Kings: 13, 45
Miami Heat: 15, 43
Philadelphia 76ers: 16, 41
Los Angeles Lakers: 17, 55
Orlando Magic: 18, 47
Toronto Raptors: 19, 31
Milwaukee Bucks: 23, 33
Minnesota Timberwolves: 27, 37
Denver Nuggets: 28, 56
Boston Celtics: 30, 54

Teams with one pick:

Atlanta Hawks: 1
Chicago Bulls: 11
Oklahoma City Thunder: 12
Cleveland Cavaliers: 20
New Orleans Pelicans: 21
Phoenix Suns: 22
Los Angeles Clippers: 46
Golden State Warriors: 52
Dallas Mavericks: 58

Teams with no picks:

Brooklyn Nets