Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Daigneault, Simons, Green, Curry, Beal

January 19th, 2025 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder‘s Mark Daigneault has been named a head coach for the All-Star Game with the team clinching the Western Conference’s best record through Feb. 2, the NBA announced on Sunday (via Twitter). Under the new format, the All-Stars will be split into four teams. One of Daigneault’s assistants will also serve as a head coach.

“An honor. A huge thank you to all the people that are behind the scenes in the organization that work with the players, not only this season, but in previous seasons,” the coach told sideline reporter Nick Gallo (Twitter link). “This has been a build, and a lot of people have their fingerprints on that.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons sat out Sunday’s game against Chicago due to a right elbow strain, the team’s PR department tweets. Simons, who had made just eight of 34 field goal attempts in his previous three outings, has now missed four games this season.
Warriors forward Draymond Green has officially been ruled out of Monday’s game against Boston with a left calf strain, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Stephen Curry is listed as questionable due to an ankle sprain, though he told reporters on Saturday he plans to play.
Suns wing Bradley Beal went through a workout on Sunday and is hopeful of playing against Cleveland on Monday. He’s listed as questionable after missing two games due to an ankle sprain. “It’s been good, it’s been smooth,” Beal told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I haven’t had any setbacks or anything out of the ordinary. All the imaging came back fully expecting to be nothing crazy. Just a little sprain.”

Western Notes: Murray, Moody, Powell, Williamson, Missi

January 19th, 2025 at 7:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jamal Murray isn’t fazed by criticism. The Nuggets guard signed a four-year, maximum-salary contract extension in September and feels it comes with the territory, he told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

“I’m totally ready for it,” Murray said. “That’s why I literally signed up for it.”

Murray understands that with the big contract numbers comes increased scrutiny. He’s endured a roller coaster season thus far and admits he hasn’t played up to par.

“I think I deserve it, to a certain extent,” he said. “So I’m not gonna complain about it. And that’s what people do. They’re gonna talk about what they see. And if they don’t see me performing the way they want me to perform as a fan, they’re gonna let me hear it, or tweet about it or whatever they’re doing. … I mean, I admit I haven’t been playing well. So it’s not like it’s a surprise to me to hear it from everybody else if I’m saying it as well.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

In his fourth NBA season, the Warriors’ Moses Moody may have found his niche as an undersized power forward, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater writes. The 6’5″ Moody has played 54 minutes the past two games, mostly at power forward, and could see a lot more time there in the near future, as Draymond Green is expected to miss multiple games with a calf strain. “Moses seems to really thrive at the (power forward),” coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s his spot. He’s comfortable using his strength and the ability to stretch the floor.”
Norman Powell is a candidate to make the All-Star reserves in his 10th season and the Clippers swingman is gratified how this season has played out thus far, he told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. He’s averaging a career-high 23.7 points per game. “It was always an individual goal,” Powell said. “It was, ‘I want to be an All-Star. I want to be on that stage. I want to be in the same position that I saw my favorite players being in growing up. And honestly it’s surreal. … It’s been 10 years and I kind of take it as a little shot or a little chip on my shoulder when everybody is talking about, ‘Oh, this is his 10th year in the league and this and that.’ It just adds to the beauty of being mentioned now as an All-Star, this being my 10th year.”
The Pelicans could be without two frontcourt starters against Utah on Monday, both due to non-COVID illnesses. Rookie Yves Missi, who did not play Friday against the Jazz, and Zion Williamson are both listed as questionable, according to a team press release. Williamson has averaged 20.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in four games since returning from a hamstring strain.

Steve Kerr Says He's Happy For Jordan Poole

January 18th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wizards‘ visit to Golden State Saturday night prompted questions to coach Steve Kerr about Jordan Poole, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Poole played an important role on the 2022 championship team and once appeared to be a future star for the Warriors, but he was traded to Washington in the summer of 2023 following an infamous incident with Draymond Green. “It’s just really fun to see all of his work pay off and just his growth as a professional, to see it in pretty dramatic fashion over those few years, it was wonderful to see,” Kerr said.
Green will undergo an MRI on Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with a left calf injury, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Warriors guard Stephen Curry twisted his ankle, but he doesn’t believe it’s serious.

Warriors Notes: Draymond, Injuries, Olynyk, Curry, More

January 17th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing the Warriors‘ past three games while dealing with a back issue and an illness, Draymond Green is listed as probable to suit up on Saturday vs. Washington, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. However, Kyle Anderson (left gluteral bursitis) and Brandin Podziemski (right abdominal injury management) will each miss another game, joining Jonathan Kuminga (right ankle sprain) on the inactive list.

While Green remains an integral on-court contributor for the Warriors, the former Defensive Player of the Year has also begun considering what the next stage of his career will look like. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Green has had exploratory talks with “one or more” of the NBA’s long-term media partners (ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon).

“He looks at media as a big part of his future—and is excited about the opportunities that exist out there for him,” Josh Pyatt, Green’s agent for off-court representation at WME Sports, told Front Office Sports, confirming interest in his client from NBA media rights holders.

As McCarthy points out, Green has already done some broadcast work with TNT Sports in recent years — with TNT in its final season as an NBA rights-holder, it’s possible he could reach a new agreement with one of the league’s other partners before his playing career is over.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (video link) confirms that the Warriors are eyeing “mid-tier” big men on the trade market, identifying Raptors center Kelly Olynyk as one potential target of interest for Golden State. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype previously linked the Warriors to a handful of other veteran centers, including Nikola Vucevic, Jonas Valanciunas, and Robert Williams.
In a column for Yahoo Sports, Kevin O’Connor explores what the future might look like for the Warriors and Stephen Curry, considering whether it’s in both sides’ best interests for Curry to finish his career in Golden State.
Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard makes the case that it wouldn’t be so bad for the Warriors to miss the playoffs this season and might actually be “their most practical path back into relevance. As Kawakami outlines, missing the postseason would assure the Warriors get a 2025 lottery pick and would put them in position to reload and revamp their roster in the offseason before taking another run at contending in ’25/26.
The Warriors put out a press release on Friday announcing the Dejan Milojevic Brate Award, honoring their assistant coach who passed away a year ago. The annual award will honor the basketball operations staff member who embodies Milojevic’s “spirit, dedication, and legacy,” according to the team.

Scotto’s Latest: Warriors, Vucevic, Centers, Connaughton, Suns

January 16th, 2025 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

After telling reporters earlier this week that he doesn’t want the Warriors to make a “desperate” trade that compromises the team’s long-term future for short-term gain, Stephen Curry clarified on Wednesday that his comments don’t mean he’s content playing on a .500 team that’s not trying to improve.

“Anyone who thinks I’m OK being on an average basketball team is insane,” Curry said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Take whatever I said, I still stand on it. But that doesn’t mean we’re not in a situation where we are trying to get better, make appropriate moves that help you do that. (General manager) Mike (Dunleavy Jr.) knows that. We’ve talked about it. That’s the expectation from me. It doesn’t mean you’re reckless.”

As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports, Dunleavy and the Warriors are indeed exploring their options on the trade market, with a focus on upgrades in the frontcourt rather than on the wing. Golden State has looked into centers like Nikola Vucevic, John Collins, Jonas Valanciunas, and Robert Williams, according to Scotto, who says the odds of the team making a trade for a forward like Jimmy Butler or Cameron Johnson have decreased.

While the Warriors want to give Curry and Draymond Green a chance to compete for another title, they won’t mortgage their future to make it happen, Scotto writes, adding that the front office still remains reluctant to part with forward Jonathan Kuminga.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Following up on the trade market for centers, Scotto says some NBA executives believe the Bulls could land a first-round pick in a deal for Vucevic, who is having a strong season in Chicago. The Wizards and Trail Blazers are expected to command second-rounders for Valanciunas and Williams, respectively, while Collins’ value is hard to pin down, Scotto notes, given the $26.6MM player option the Jazz big man holds for 2025/26.
Rival executives who spoke to Scotto are monitoring Bucks wing Pat Connaughton as a trade candidate, since Milwaukee could duck below the second tax apron and create more roster flexibility by moving off of his $9.4MM salary. Connaughton is having a down year and holds a $9.4MM player option for ’25/26, so the Bucks would have to attach draft picks and/or cash to move off of him. While the Bucks can’t trade cash as long as they remain above the second apron, they could do so in a trade that moves them below that threshold.
After trading for Nick Richards, the Suns are expected to continue gauging Jusuf Nurkic‘s trade market and trying to figure out a Butler deal as they seek out win-now upgrades, Scotto writes. Scotto points out that role players Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen would both have positive value as trade chips, but there has been no indication that Phoenix would have interest in moving either player.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Kerr, Vucevic, Wiggins

January 14th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors’ long downturn continued with Monday’s surprising loss at Toronto, but Stephen Curry doesn’t want management to overreact with a trade that’s not in the team’s best long-term interest, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. After starting the season 12-3, Golden State is now 12th in the West at 19-20 and appears headed for a frantic battle for one of the four play-in spots.

However, Youngmisuk notes that Curry is sticking with a philosophy that the organization has been emphasizing since training camp, which is there will be no panic involved in trade decisions, especially if it means giving up young players and future draft assets.

“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry said. “Doesn’t mean that you’re not trying to get better. It doesn’t mean that you’re not active in any type of search to, if you have an opportunity where a trade makes sense or even in the summer free agency [move] makes sense. You want to continue to get better. Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you’re passing up opportunities. But it doesn’t mean that you’re desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Coach Steve Kerr made a similar statement at Monday’s shootaround, saying it would be unwise to mortgage the future to give himself, Curry and Draymond Green a shot at another NBA title, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kerr recognizes the need to have young talent such as Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski on hand once he and his veteran stars are gone. “That’s the hard part in addressing all this stuff,” Kerr said. “We’re not giving in. But you have to be realistic organizationally about where you are. And you have to mind what’s coming ahead in the future. I probably won’t be around, but I would tell you, if this organization gave away the next six or seven drafts for a wild swing, that would be the most irresponsible thing that they could do.”
The front office has engaged in internal discussions about finding a center who can consistently make three-pointers to create more space for Curry and provide better lineup combinations for Green and Kuminga, Slater adds in the same piece. He mentions Nikola Vucevic as a possibility, depending on the price the Bulls would want in return.
Remarkably, Monday marked the first game that Andrew Wiggins has played in his hometown of Toronto in seven years, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Wiggins rejoined the team on Saturday after missing two games for personal reasons.

Pacific Notes: Payton II, Green, Monk, Wildfire Donations

January 13th, 2025 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors guard Gary Payton II is on track to return to action on Wednesday. Payton, who hasn’t played since Christmas Day due to a calf strain, scrimmaged on Sunday and worked out on Monday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. He has appeared in 28 games this season, including four starts.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Draymond Green sat out the Warriors‘ three-point loss to Toronto on Monday. He participated in the team’s practice on Sunday but was not at Monday morning’s shootaround due to an illness, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. He has been listed on the injury report due to a back injury. Coach Steve Kerr doesn’t think Green’s back issue is a major concern. “I remember a couple of years ago, I think ’22 season, he missed 15-20 games when the back flared up, so we just have to stay on top of it,” Kerr said. “Training staff is doing a great job with him, and Draymond has done a great job of just doing his rehab and making sure he’s keeping himself in good shape. I think he should be fine going forward.”
The streaking Kings may not have Malik Monk on Tuesday. He’s listed as questionable against Milwaukee due to right groin soreness, Kings radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets. Monk has been a huge part of Sacramento’s seven-game winning streak. He’s averaging 23.3 points and 7.8 assists per game so far this month.
Los Angeles’ 12 pro sports teams — including the Lakers and Clippers — have pledged to donate more than $8MM to those affected by the state’s wildfires as well as those fighting the fires, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. The contributions will be donated to a variety of organizations.

Draymond Green Says He Has Benefited From Counseling

January 13th, 2025 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The counseling that Draymond Green received during last season’s indefinite suspension has helped him learn how to control his anger, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Green also confirms that he contemplated retirement last season, but that’s no longer in his plans. “He’s always been so passionate,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “And when he goes wrong and his passion gets away from him, it turns into anger. … He’s in a good place family-wise; he’s a great dad. He loves his kids. He recognized last year how much his actions impacted his young kids. He doesn’t want his kids seeing him in that light. And it’s easy for everybody on the outside to say, well then don’t do that stuff. But he is a force of nature and as competitive as any person I’ve ever seen. His game lives on the edge of passion and rage, and he has to find that balance. And he’s found it this year.”

Pacific Notes: Fox, Kings, Warriors, O’Neale

January 12th, 2025 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox is available to play on Sunday against Chicago, tweets Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee.

Fox, who last suited up on January 3, rejoins a red-hot Sacramento squad that has won six straight games in total, including the past three without him. James Ham of The Kings Beat considers whether the team’s recent run of success is sustainable.

Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

The Kings are spending far less time scrimmaging so far under new head coach Doug Christie, which has been well received by the players, Biderman writes for the Sacramento Bee. “Talking to some of the guys who play heavier minutes, they definitely feel more fresh to start games,” Kings sharpshooter Kevin Huerter said. “I think even mentally, just the grind of the season, we’re already in January, and you get to this point in the season, you play a lot of games. As much as it’s a physical grind, it’s a mental grind. Being halfway there and needing every win, in some ways we pump the brakes a little bit, but still trusting us to get our work in.”
After missing games on Thursday and Friday for personal reasons, Andrew Wiggins will be back in action for the Warriors on Monday in Toronto, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters today (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). Stephen Curry and Draymond Green practiced on Sunday and are also set to return on Monday after sitting out Friday, while Gary Payton II (calf strain) is listed as questionable to play for the first time since Christmas Day. Brandin Podziemski (right abdominal injury) will remain out, Kerr said.
Suns forward Royce O’Neale (left ankle sprain) appears on track to return from a six-game absence on Sunday vs. Charlotte. He has been upgraded to probable, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Kawhi, Kings, Warriors Injuries

January 10th, 2025 at 10:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Friday to reporters, including Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Suns star Kevin Durant was asked about the team’s roster-building philosophy under new team owner Mat Ishbia. A series of aggressive roster moves since Ishbia’s arrival, starting with the acquisition of Durant in 2023, has left Phoenix with few draft assets and a limited ability to seek out additional upgrades, but the veteran forward lauded the team’s owner for his aggressiveness and willingness to spend big.

“I appreciate people that want to put in the work to try to get on that road to a championship level,” Durant said. “It’s hard. As we’ve seen, it’s tough, but just putting yourself in a position to try to do something. A lot people don’t even try to do stuff out here to be great. So I can appreciate somebody like Mat and the rest of the staff and the whole organization trying to put the players in successful positions to see what it’s like to go on the road to win a championship. Not a lot of franchises do that for their players.”

Durant also addressed teammate Bradley Beal‘s recent move to the bench, as Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports relays (Twitter video link). Durant noted that Beal’s playing time as a sixth man (31.3 MPG) is similar to what he was seeing as a starter (33.4 MPG) and suggested that the new role should give him more scoring opportunities.

“I feel like he’s just comfortable and understanding where his shot’s gonna come from,” Durant said of Beal, who has a pair of 25-point outings in his first three games as a reserve.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has rejoined the team after taking a brief leave of absence to be with family affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Leonard would have been available to play on Saturday vs. Charlotte, per Murray, but that game has been postponed, so the Clippers won’t be back in action until at least Monday.
In a pair of stories for The Sacramento Bee, Jason Anderson explores why the Kings‘ fortunes have changed as of late under new head coach Doug Christie and Chris Biderman recaps the team’s latest impressive victory, a convincing road win over the defending champion Celtics that included a franchise-record 28 rebounds from center Domantas Sabonis. Sacramento is now back to .500 after falling to 13-19 on December 28, a day after Mike Brown‘s dismissal.
Warriors guard Gary Payton II (calf strain) has a chance to play on Monday for the first time since Christmas Day, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Friday’s loss to Indiana (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). However, Kerr isn’t sure whether Brandin Podziemski (right abdominal injury management) or Andrew Wiggins (personal reasons) will be available for that game in Toronto.
As for Stephen Curry (bilateral knee injury management) and Draymond Green (back soreness), it sounds like the two veteran Warriors will be able to return on Monday, but Kerr cautioned that the team will continue to manage both players’ health, adding that Curry has had some fluid build-up in the knee (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).