Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Notes: Collison, Roster Spots, Wiggins, Offseason Moves

September 2nd, 2021 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Darren Collison is scrimmaging with some Warriors players as he auditions for a spot on the team, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The free agent guard visited the team facility Wednesday and today for workouts, which have included Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole.

If Golden State does give the 34-year-old guard an opportunity, it will likely come as a non-guaranteed training camp deal, Slater adds. Collison retired after averaging 11.2 points and 6.0 assists for the Pacers in 2018/19, and he’s been an effective three-point shooter and a reliable ballhandler throughout his career.

The Warriors are planning to head into camp with their 15th roster spot and second two-way slot both up for grabs, according to Slater. Gary Payton II and Mychal Mulder will also be trying to make the team on non-guaranteed deals. Mulder is still eligible for a two-way contract, but Payton isn’t. The team could decide to start the season with just 14 players to reduce its luxury tax bill.

There’s more on the Warriors:

In the wake of a report that players in San Francisco won’t be allowed to attend home practices or games unless they’re vaccinated, Golden State’s main concern is Andrew Wiggins, Slater adds. Wiggins told reporters last season that he hadn’t received the vaccine and didn’t plan to unless he was forced.
The Warriors received an A-minus from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton for their offseason moves. Golden State was able to upgrade its bench without using its mid-level exception, adding Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr. on veteran’s minimum deals. Pelton also likes the addition of draft picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, saying both should provide good value for where they were selected.
Golden State needs more scoring from Draymond Green and a stronger commitment to team defense from Wiggins, per Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area. She identifies Poole and James Wiseman as two other players who need to improve to help the Warriors become a title contender again.

Latest On Ben Simmons

September 2nd, 2021 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have been mentioned as a possible destination for the Sixers to send Ben Simmons, but the teams haven’t engaged in serious trade talks, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Sources tell Slater that their discussions on Simmons have been limited to a single phone call before the draft in which Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey asked for Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Golden State’s two picks in this year’s lottery, and a pair of future first-rounders. The Warriors’ front office declined the offer and no further negotiations took place.

Golden State could still get involved if Morey lowers his asking price, but Slater doesn’t expect Simmons to wind up in San Francisco. He points out concerns about how effective a lineup with Simmons and Draymond Green would be when neither is an effective shooter and notes that the Warriors aren’t desperate to make a move. They have 14 players on guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts, and it’s assumed throughout the organization that those 14 will make up the opening-night roster. The team isn’t making any trade calls and doesn’t plan to seek any deals before the season begins, sources tell Slater.

In addition, owner Joe Lacob is a strong supporter of both Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga and would be reluctant to part with either player, Slater adds. Morey would likely ask for at least one of them in return for Simmons, which would be a tough sell for Lacob. Slater sees the Warriors’ best offer as Wiggins and future picks, and he believes the Sixers will have better options.

There’s more news related to Simmons:

The Timberwolves and Raptors have been linked to Simmons most frequently over the summer, Derek Bodner states in an Athletic roundtable on a potential deal. He believes the Cavaliers could be a “wild card” as well and notes that the Sixers’ options improve if a multi-team deal can be worked out. Sam Amick points out that the Wolves – with president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas – and the Kings – with general manager Monte McNair – both have executives who worked closely with Morey during his time in Houston.
Confirming a Wednesday night report from Amick, Jason Jones of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column that the Kings aren’t willing to part with De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton to acquire Simmons. He’s skeptical that the Sixers would be interested in an offer of Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley, who are both below-average defensive players.
John Gonzalez of The Ringer looks at the role that Simmons’ uneasy relationship with Philadelphia fans has played in his desire to leave the team.

Paul Millsap To Sign With Nets

September 2nd, 2021 at 8:36am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets are landing one of the top free agents left on the market, agreeing to a deal with Paul Millsap, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal was confirmed by Millsap’s agent, DeAngelo Simmons.

Numerous teams had expressed interest in the 36-year-old power forward, who spent the past four seasons in Denver. According to Charania, Millsap considered other contending teams, such as the Warriors, Bulls and Clippers, before deciding on Brooklyn (Twitter link).

The Nets were only able to offer a veteran’s minimum salary, but Millsap is looking for a chance to win a title, and Brooklyn is among the favorites for the upcoming season.

Millsap remained a productive player for the Nuggets last year in his 15th NBA season, averaging 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per night. He started 36 of the 56 games he played, although his usage declined in the postseason.

The addition of Millsap would bring the Nets to 20 players heading into camp if they sign second-round draft picks Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray. The team still has one of its two-way slots open.

Having another big man on the roster should lead to further speculation of a potential buyout for DeAndre Jordan. There has been talk that Brooklyn wants to get out from under Jordan’s contract, which will pay him $19.7MM over the next two seasons.

Nets, Knicks, Warriors Affected By Local Vaccination Policies

September 1st, 2021 at 6:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Unvaccinated NBA players in markets where local governmental policies prohibit unvaccinated individuals from entering indoor venues won’t be permitted to enter their home arenas or practice facilities without an approved medical or religious exemption, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

As Charania explains, this means that players in New York and San Francisco – members of the Nets, Knicks, and Warriors – won’t be able to play in home games unless they’re vaccinated or have an approved exemption. Visiting players would be exempt from the vaccination requirements in New York and San Francisco, Charania adds.

After dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, the NBA is still determining how to handle the virus in ’21/22 now that vaccines are widely available. The league won’t make vaccinations mandatory for players, but is requiring personnel who interact with players – including referees – to be vaccinated. Charania reports (via Twitter) that fans within 15 feet of the court must also be fully vaccinated or register a negative COVID-19 test prior to the game.

While New York and San Francisco are the two major NBA markets with local restrictions in place on unvaccinated individuals, it’s possible more cities could join that list before or during the regular season. It’s also possible New York’s or San Francisco’s policies could be adjusted at some point. In each case, the NBA would have to abide by the market’s local regulations.

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports in early July that 90% of players had been vaccinated, and it’s possible that number is even higher by now. Still, there are likely a handful of holdouts, so it will be interesting to see whether any players are impacted by these rules once the season begins.

Ben Simmons Rumors: Embiid, Kings, Warriors, More

September 1st, 2021 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

Within a Tuesday column on the Sixers‘ Ben Simmons dilemma, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today cited a person with knowledge of the situation who said there’s a rift between Simmons and star center Joel Embiid that had been “escalating” leading up to this summer. However, in a tweet published on Wednesday, Embiid pushed back on that claim.

“Stop using my name to push people’s agendas,” Embiid wrote. “I love and hate drama. I love playing with Ben. Stats don’t lie. He’s an amazing player and we all didn’t get the job done. It’s on me personally. I hope everyone is back cuz we know we’re good enough to win.”

In the wake of Tuesday’s report that Simmons has told the Sixers he wants to be traded and doesn’t plan to report to training camp, we’ve got several more Simmons-related items to pass along today. Let’s dive in…

A trade sending Simmons to the Kings might be a long shot, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, who hears that the Sixers would only be willing to consider a package that includes either De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton. As we detailed on Tuesday, Sacramento is unlikely to part with either player.
Any interest the Warriors might have in Simmons is “conditional,” according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, who suggests Golden State is hesitant to pair the three-time All-Star with Draymond Green, another strong defender who isn’t much of a scorer. Sources tell Poole that the Warriors are “divided” on the Simmons/Green fit, and that some people in the organization see potential in the pairing, while others believe having two non-shooters on the court would hamstring the offense too significantly. It’s also extremely unlikely that the team would move Green in a Simmons deal, Poole adds.
Unlike other teams that have traded star players in recent years, such as the Pelicans with Anthony Davis or the Rockets with James Harden, the Sixers have no intention of landing in the lottery after trading Simmons, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic, noting that Philadelphia finds itself in an unusual spot. New Orleans and Houston were willing to wait out ugly situations for months before trading their respective stars, and it will be interesting to see if the 76ers are willing to do the same with Simmons, who isn’t quite at the same level as a Davis or a Harden, Bodner observes.
The time for “mutually beneficial maneuvering” seems to have passed for the Sixers and Simmons, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice, who says it’s now just a matter of seeing which side wins the stare-down.

Darren Collison To Work Out For Warriors

August 30th, 2021 at 1:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA point guard Darren Collison will work out this week for the Warriors, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Collison made a surprise retirement announcement in the summer of 2019, citing family and religious reasons. In his final NBA season in 2018/19, he averaged 11.2 PPG and 6.0 APG with a .467/.407/.832 shooting line in 76 games (28.2 MPG) for the Pacers.

There were reports that Collison might return with the Lakers or Clippers during the ’19/20 season, but nothing came of those rumors and he later said they were overblown. However, the 34-year-old reportedly worked out for the Lakers earlier this summer, signaling that he’s open to the idea of a comeback.

L.A. is on track to sign Rajon Rondo to bolster its backcourt, likely taking that option off the table for Collison, but Golden State makes sense as a possible suitor.

Although the Warriors have 16 players under contract, three of those players (Damion Lee, Mychal Mulder, and Gary Payton II) don’t have fully guaranteed salaries, and the team could use some reliable depth at the point behind Stephen Curry. For now, Payton, Jordan Poole, and two-way player Chris Chiozza are among Golden State’s best backup options.

Bulls, Clippers Among Teams Interested In Paul Millsap

August 30th, 2021 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

We can add a couple new teams to the list of clubs eyeing Paul Millsap, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Bulls have pursued the veteran power forward and the Clippers have also expressed interest.

Charania confirms that the Warriors and Nets remain in the mix for Millsap, who has previously been linked to the Hawks, Pelicans, Sixers, and Timberwolves as well.

Millsap’s decision could ultimately come down to which factors are most important to him, since some teams cited as suitors could offer more money than others, some could offer a bigger role, and some are in better position to compete for a title right away.

The Bulls, for instance, still have their $3.7MM bi-annual exception available, so they could offer Millsap more than a handful of teams limited to the minimum salary exception. The Clippers, on the other hand, are limited to a minimum-salary offer, but are closer to title contention than Chicago.

Both teams could have regular frontcourt minutes available for someone like Millsap, since the Bulls just lost Lauri Markkanen and the health of Serge Ibaka remains a question mark for the Clippers. Chicago has just 13 players on guaranteed contracts, while Los Angeles is carrying 14.

Southeast Notes: Bamba, Anthony, Haslem, Love

August 29th, 2021 at 1:06pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Magic are coming to something of a crossroads with Mohamed Bamba, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

The former No. 6 overall pick has only started six games in three years, with five of them coming in the final 24 games of last season, after the Magic traded the team’s long-standing linchpin, Nikola Vucevic, to the Bulls. Of course, those starts only came when Wendell Carter Jr., who came back from Chicago in the deal, wasn’t playing.

With Bamba entering the final year of his rookie contract, Robbins talks to NBA scouts about the future for the big man.

“Talent-wise, he has a ceiling that he could be really good if he’s locked-in,” one scout said. “He has a chance, but I don’t know if his motor will let him get there.”

In examining Bamba’s strengths, Robbins quotes the big man’s 91st-percentile for percentage of opposing teams’ shots blocked, as well as his burgeoning jumpshot, but scouts worry that his tools are far ahead of his defensive instincts and reactivity. One scout says that Orlando may ultimately be better served to let another team try to develop Bamba once his rookie deal expires. However, Robbins observes that a new coach and system could be huge for his development, and that the team still seems at least relatively committed to him.

We have more news from around the Southeast Division:

In a similar piece from earlier this month, Robbins talked to scouts about Cole Anthony, who, like Bamba, faces a similar uncertainty given the Magic‘s depth at the point guard spot. The scouts came away more impressed with Anthony’s ability to get into the paint and play with physicality than expected, especially on the offensive glass, but almost unanimously said his lack of vision as a playmaker and his limitations defensively will probably keep him from becoming a starting point guard for a good team.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel believes that it’s possible we see a mid-season send-off for lifelong Heat veteran Udonis Haslem, he writes in a recent mailbag. He also says Haslem may have been biding his time and waiting for the perfect moment to get his big farewell.
In a separate piece, Winderman calls Kevin Love‘s recently-reported disinterest in a buyout “pure posturing,” while saying the Heat would likely be interested, especially with a bit of a hole at the power forward position. However, he’s unsure if Miami currently holds the “contender” status in the eyes of players that could woo Love over a team like the Lakers or Warriors.

Latest On Paul Millsap, J.J. Redick

August 24th, 2021 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

Paul Millsap and J.J. Redick are two of the most talented unrestricted free agents left on the board, but there’s a sense that the two veterans – who are 36 and 37 years old, respectively – may not be in a hurry to pick a team for the 2021/22 season, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Redick has stated publicly that he’ll wait until sometime in the fall – or even later – to sign a new contract, and Fischer says people around the league believe Millsap will take his time too.

“I think (Millsap)’s gonna be a minimum or a midseason guy,” one source told Fischer. “What’s the rush? The money wouldn’t get much better, and he can just pick his team. What if New Orleans is really good come January? What happens when some guy gets hurt, and that team starts scrambling for a replacement? He can pick his spot.”

As Fischer observes, Millsap didn’t have much of an offseason in 2020, having reported to training camp about two months after Denver was eliminated from the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals. Facing another abridged offseason in 2021, Millsap may benefit in the long run from taking a longer break.

Here’s more from Fischer on Millsap and Redick:

The Warriors have been the team most frequently linked to Millsap, but he has also drawn interest from the Hawks, Nets, Pelicans, Sixers, and Timberwolves, according to Fischer, who adds that there are no indications the big man has gotten close to finalizing a deal with any of those teams.
Sources tell Fischer that in discussions with potential suitors, Millsap has been seeking a salary worth some or all of the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.9MM).
Redick figures to draw interest from teams around the NBA, with one Western Conference head coach telling Fischer that he’d like to have the sharpshooter on his roster. However, there’s a league-wide belief that Redick is eyeing the Knicks or Nets so that he can remain close to home. Some execs have speculated that Redick could even retire if he doesn’t land with either of those teams, Fischer writes.
Any team with interest in adding Redick would likely want more information on the heel injury that limited him in 2020/21, says Fischer. Sources tell Bleacher Report that teams flagged that issue back at the March trade deadline when New Orleans was shopping Redick.

Warriors Paid About $69MM In Tax Penalties In 2020/21

August 23rd, 2021 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links), teams that finished in the tax in 2020/21 had their taxable salary adjusted downward by 28.9% to account for lost revenue. For instance, the Warriors finished the season about $37MM above the tax line, but were treated like a team over the tax by approximately $26MM — Golden State paid about $69MM in tax penalties, says Pincus.