Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eric Paschall Clears COVID-19 Protocols

January 13th, 2021 at 3:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JANUARY 13: Paschall has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will join the Warriors on their upcoming road trip, tweets Slater. Golden State will begin that trip on Thursday in Denver.

JANUARY 12: Second-year Warriors reserve power forward Eric Paschall will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Pacers as a result of the league’s coronavirus protocols, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Slater adds that the timeline for Paschall’s anticipated absence from the Warriors has yet to be determined. He may have returned a positive or inconclusive COVID-19 test result, or he may have come into contact with someone who later tested positive and is being isolated as a result of subsequent contact tracing.

Golden State drafted the 6’6″ forward, now 24, with the No. 41 pick out of Villanova in 2019. After injuries thrust him into a major role during his first NBA season, 2019/20, Paschall was named to the season’s All-Rookie First Team.

This year, Paschall is averaging 12.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.3 APG in 19.3 MPG for the 6-4 Warriors. Across 10 games, he holds a shooting slash line of .542/.389/.828.

Wiggins Fitting In On Warriors

January 12th, 2021 at 7:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 2020 trade deadline deal wherein the Warriors sent D’Angelo Russell to the Timberwolves in a package for swingman Andrew Wiggins and a top-three protected 2021 first-round draft pick continues to pay off for Golden State, according to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area. After a rocky start, Wiggins has transformed into a solid two-way option on the wing to help fill the void left by injured Warriors star Klay Thompson. Through 10 games this season, Wiggins is currently averaging 17.5 PPG on 43.3% shooting from the floor and 38.5% shooting from deep, on 5.2 attempts. The 6-4 Warriors are the No. 4 seed in the West.

2020/21 NBA G League Draft Results

January 11th, 2021 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League held its draft for the 2020/21 season on Monday afternoon.

In a typical year, the G League draft lasts four rounds and teams are only required to make two selections. However, this year’s draft was just three rounds and teams weren’t required to make any picks.

Because only 17 of 28 NBA G League affiliates (plus the G League Ignite) are participating in the revamped season at Walt Disney World in Florida, and because teams aren’t permitted to bring extra players to training camp for health and safety reasons, roster spots will be at a premium in the NBAGL this season, and the draft reflected that. Only 25 players were selected.

With the first overall pick, the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ affiliate – nabbed former Wizard Admiral Schofield. The 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 33 games (11.2 MPG) as a rookie before being traded to the Thunder during the offseason. Oklahoma City waived him last month.

With the second overall pick, which they acquired in a trade earlier in the day, the Memphis Hustle selected former Baylor standout Freddie Gillespie, who had been in camp with the Mavericks. Gillespie recently spoke to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors about his desire to make it to the NBA and his plans to begin his professional career in the G League. He’s now in position to suit up for the Grizzlies‘ affiliate.

Here are the full 2020/21 G League draft results:

Round One:

Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Admiral Schofield (Tennessee)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Freddie Gillespie (Baylor)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers): Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
Lakeland Magic (Magic): Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State)
Canton Charge: Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
Lakeland Magic: DJ Hogg (Texas A&M)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Patton (Creighton)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Armoni Brooks (Houston)
Raptors 905 (Raptors): Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
Oklahoma City Blue: Vince Edwards (Purdue)
Austin Spurs (Spurs): Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield)
Raptors 905: Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
Iowa Wolves: Dakarai Tucker (Utah)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): No pick
N/A

Round Two:

Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
Westchester Knicks: No pick
Iowa Wolves: No pick
Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight (Seton Hall)
Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Selom Mawugbe (Azusa Pacific)
Raptors 905: No pick
Memphis Hustle: No pick
Austin Spurs: Anthony Mathis (Oregon)
Erie BayHawks (Pelicans): No pick
Greensboro Swarm: No pick
Austin Spurs: Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown)
Santa Cruz Warriors: No pick
Memphis Hustle: No pick
Oklahoma City Blue: Rob Edwards (Arizona State)
Salt Lake City Stars: No pick

Round Three:

Greensboro Swarm: No pick
Erie BayHawks: No pick
Westchester Knicks: No pick
Delaware Blue Coats: Braxton Key (Virginia)
No picks from 43-57

The teams that didn’t make any picks will fill their rosters with affiliate players and returning rights players, meaning they didn’t need to draft anyone and/or didn’t have the open spots to do so.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted (via Twitter), NBAGL teams overwhelmingly opted for youth, passing on most of the notable veteran NBA players in the draft pool. That group included Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Emeka Okafor, and Shabazz Muhammad, among others.

Former Nets first-rounder Dzanan Musa removed his name from the draft pool before the event began, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).

And-Ones: G League, Allen, Harden, Icons

January 10th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The G League draft will be held on Monday at 1 PM ET, Adam Zagoria of The New York Times tweets. Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Shabazz Muhammad, Quincy Pondexter, Lance Stephenson and Allonzo Trier are among the NBA veterans who will be eligible for the draft, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. The full list of draft eligible players can be found here. The G League season will begin in Orlando next month.

We have more news from around the basketball world:

Former Knicks player Kadeem Allen has departed JL Bourg, according to the French club’s Twitter feed. Allen agreed to join the French team over the summer. The 53rd overall pick of the 2017 draft, Allen had been on a two-way contract with New York before being cut earlier in the summer. In two seasons with the Knicks, Allen saw limited action, averaging 8.2 PPG and 3.3 APG in 29 total games (18.4 MPG).
What are the pros and cons for each Eastern Conference contender to acquire James Harden? ESPN’s Insiders take a closer look at what each of those teams might have to surrender in order to trade for the former Most Valuable Player and whether Harden would be a good fit.
Which current players are the biggest icons for their franchise? Eric Koreen of The Athletic uses a numerical system to rank those players, with Stephen Curry of the Warriors coming out on top.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Leonard, Matthews, Haliburton

January 10th, 2021 at 12:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry could be in contention for a third MVP award if he keeps playing the way he has this week. After scoring 62 points last Sunday, Curry sparked the Warriors to a shocking comeback win over the Clippers Friday night. He hit nine 3-pointers, had 11 assists and went 13-for-24 from the field in the 38-point performance, leaving some teammates in awe, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“He’s making shots that you be like, ‘Whoa!'” Andrew Wiggins said. “There’s not a lot of shots that he can’t make. As soon as he steps over half, he’s a threat, so he causes a lot of attention. So when he gets rolling, you just sit back and watch and let him roll.”

Curry continues to add to his historically great numbers, Youngmisuk notes. Among the 78 players in NBA history with at least 100 30-point games, Curry has a .783 winning percentage, which ranks third all-time behind Larry Bird and Hal Greer.

“There’s not too much you have to say beyond it’s just who Steph is,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s been doing this for many, many years and one of the reasons he’s a two-time MVP and he’s a phenomenal basketball player. And usually with Steph when he has a tough game he bounces back [in] the next one. That’s part of his character, part of his competitiveness.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard called for the team to change its mindset after letting that game against Golden State slip away, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. was outscored 64-40 in the second half while taking just 12 shots in the paint. “I don’t feel like we took any, pretty much, good shots in that fourth quarter,” Leonard said. “Some of us didn’t know the play we were running but, yeah, we have to know what we’re running, execute it and then live with the make or misses.”
The Lakers‘ deep lineup creates a challenge for coach Frank Vogel, who has to find minutes for a variety of players, notes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Wesley Matthews, who is being used as a reserve for the first time in nearly a decade, said Vogel has made that transition easier. “When you know when you’re coming in, when you’re coming out, you can start usually preparing yourself and you can get ready and then you can start watching the game a little bit differently,” Matthews said. “He’s a great communicator so far with me and that really helps my curve here.”
Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton made his first career start Saturday with Richaun Holmes sidelined, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports. Coach Luke Walton and his staff have discussed using Haliburton as a starter, but haven’t committed to making the move permanent.

Jeremy Lin To Play For Santa Cruz Warriors

January 7th, 2021 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Jeremy Lin will sign a G League contract and will suit up for the Santa Cruz Warriors during the upcoming NBAGL bubble season, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Word broke just before the start of the regular season in December that the Warriors were attempting to sign Lin to a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract in order to make him an NBAGL affiliate player for Santa Cruz.

However, in order to sign an NBA contract, Lin – who spent last season in the Chinese Basketball Association – required a Letter of Clearance from FIBA. The Warriors were unable to get that letter in time to sign and waive Lin without paying a small portion of his regular season salary, which would’ve increased the team’s projected tax bill.

While it initially looked like the Warriors missed their chance to have Lin play for their G League affiliate, a rule tweak made by the NBA and NBAGL reopened that door. As Jonathan Givony of ESPN has reported, each G League team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who has five or more years of NBA experience, and will be able to sign that player directly without navigating the league’s complicated waiver process.

Charania doesn’t explicitly say that the Warriors will make use of that rule to sign Lin, but it’s a safe bet they will. Otherwise, he’d have to enter the draft pool or post-draft waiver pool, giving other G League teams a chance to land him.

Earlier today, we passed along a list of notable former NBA players who will be eligible to be selected in the NBAGL’s draft on Monday — Charania (via Twitter) adds former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley to that list.

Myers: "Without Klay, We're At Intermission"

January 7th, 2021 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Kevin Arnovitz explores how the Warriors are dealing with a transition period, looking to remain competitive while they wait for Klay Thompson to get healthy and James Wiseman to continue to blossom. “Without Klay, we’re at intermission,” president of basketball operations Bob Myers said of the team’s current state.

Could Curry Eventually Be Dealt?

January 5th, 2021 at 9:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Josh Proctor has been named chief financial officer for the Warriors, the team announced in a press release. Proctor, who has over 20 years of financial management experience, will oversee all financial operations related to the Warriors and Chase Center. Liz Cardenas has been promoted to VP of financial planning & analysis, according to another press release.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors might find it beneficial to explore a trade down the road, Michael Pina of Sports Illustrated opines. Curry turns 33 in March and Golden State might need to consider a rebuild by 2022, when his contract expires. Pina speculates that many teams would be interested in Curry and would surrender major assets for the two-time MVP.

VP Of Team Operations Stuck In Detroit

January 4th, 2021 at 9:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors executive Eric Housen has been stuck in Detroit since the middle of last week due to the league’s COVID-19 protocols, as Marcus Thompson of The Athletic details. Housen, the team’s VP of team operations, was forced into a seven-day quarantine due to contact tracing.

Warriors’ Smailagic Undergoes Knee Surgery

January 4th, 2021 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Second-year Warriors power forward Alen Smailagic underwent surgery today to address a minor meniscus tear in his right knee, the club announced in a press release.

According to the Warriors, Smailagic will begin the rehab process immediately. He’ll be re-evaluated in about four weeks, so we won’t see him back on the court until at least February.

The 39th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Smailagic appeared in 14 games as a rookie for Golden State, averaging 4.2 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 9.9 MPG. He has also played in 66 G League contests since the start of the 2018/19 season, recording 10.8 PPG and 4.7 RPG on 50.3% shooting in 19.8 MPG for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

While Smailagic is unlikely to be a regular rotation player for the Warriors in ’20/21 even once he gets healthy, the club still appears to be committed to his development for now. The 20-year-old is on a minimum-salary contract that runs through 2022/23, though it’s not guaranteed beyond this season.