Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Andrew Bogut Open To NBA Return After NBL Season

November 20th, 2019 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

After finishing the 2018/19 season with the Warriors, veteran center Andrew Bogut returned to Australia to rejoin the Sydney Kings. However, with his Kings contract set to expire in the spring, Bogut is open to the idea of returning to the NBA after Australia’s National Basketball League season ends, like he did last season.

“The NBA? Yeah, possibly,” Bogut told RSN radio this week, per Ronny Lerner of The Sydney Morning Herald. “I doubt the Warriors will come calling because I think they’re going to go, obviously, full rebuild mode. But I think it’s definitely feasible if it’s the right situation, but I won’t go back just for the sake of going back.”

Last season, the Kings allowed Bogut to play in the NBA while he was still technically under contract with the Australian club. He joined the Warriors in mid-March, then headed back to Sydney to complete the second year of his two-year contract. Once the 2019/20 NBL season is over and his Kings contract is up, Bogut should have a clearer path to joining an NBA team.

With the Warriors no longer a viable option, the former No. 1 overall pick will have some specific criteria in mind as he considers whether or not to return stateside.

“An opportunity to try and win a championship will be the main thing in the NBA,” Bogut said. “I wouldn’t go back to the NBA just to play in the NBA, it’s more that [trying to win a title] — and somewhere that I’m kind of familiar with and somewhere where I feel comfortable for the family as well would be the other priority.”

As Lerner relays, Bogut also pointed out that he’ll be gearing up to play for Australia in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo next year, so preparing for those games will be a consideration as he weighs an NBA return.

The big man, who turns 35 next Thursday, played limited minutes in 11 regular season games and 19 playoff contests for Golden State earlier this year. For now, he’s focused on trying to help lead the 9-1 Sydney Kings to an NBL title.

“I’d really like to have an NBL trophy,” Bogut said. “I think that’s kind of what’s driving me to get out there and be competitive and the team’s faring well so we have a good chance to do that.”

Pacific Notes: Thibodeau, Poole, LBJ, Carter

November 19th, 2019 at 11:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tom Thibodeau has been attending Clippers‘ practices, Mark Medina of USA Today passes along (Twitter link). The former Timberwolves coach, who has a strong relationship with head coach Doc Rivers from their time together in Boston, has even attended a couple of the team’s load management meetings and “loved it,” according to Rivers.

Here’s more the Pacific Division:

Jordan Poole is going through a rough stretch with the Warriors, as Monte Poole of NBC Sports writes. Golden State is being patient with the shooting guard because…well, the team has to be. “There is no somebody else right now,” coach Steve Kerr recently said. “That’s the issue. We’re throwing guys into the fire.”
Lakers star LeBron James is passing to Anthony Davis more than he ever has to any teammate, Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype. Entering the day (per NBA.com), 23.4% of LBJ’s passes have gone to AD.
Jevon Carter was a bright spot for the Suns early in the season, but now the point guard is playing a reduced role, Gina Mizell of The Athletic explains. Carter saw just eight minutes of action during the three games leading up to Monday’s loss to Boston where Ricky Rubio sat out.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/19/2019

November 19th, 2019 at 10:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Warriors have sent Kevon Looney to the Santa Cruz Warriors for a rehab assignment, as the team announces on its website. Golden State also assigned Alen Smailagic to the G League.
The Raptors have assigned Dewan Hernandez to the Raptors 905, as Blake Murphy of The Athletic relays on Twitter. On Wednesday, the two teams will have a doubleheader, with the G League squad playing in the morning and the NBA club at night.
The Jazz recalled Miye Oni and Nigel Williams-Goss from the Salt Lake City Stars before practice today. The club sent the pair back to the G League afterward, as the team passes along on Twitter.
The Spurs have recalled Keldon Johnson from the Austin Spurs, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson may see action for the Spurs this week, as they have a back-to-back later in the week.
The Wolves have sent Naz Reid to their G League affiliate, the team announces. The former LSU Tiger was with the Iowa Wolves over the weekend.

Warriors Down To Nine Healthy Players

November 17th, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by JD Shaw

The Warriors are now down to nine healthy players, one player above the league’s minimum requirement, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Golden State plans to start Draymond Green, Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall and Willie Cauley-Stein against New Orleans on Sunday night.

D’Angelo Russell Out At Least Two Weeks With Thumb Injury

November 16th, 2019 at 1:55pm CST by marksuleymanov

1:55pm: The Warriors‘ PR department announced that an MRI on Russell’s right thumb injury last night confirmed a sprain (via Twitter). He will be re-evaluated in two weeks. In the meantime, Russell will not be joining Golden State on an upcoming four-game road swing.

11:39am: Golden State’s tough start to the season continued in a loss to the Celtics Friday and their injury woes have not slowed. Point guard D’Angelo Russell sprained his right thumb in Friday’s game, per ESPN’s Nick Friedell.

While X-rays were negative, Russell is set to undergo an MRI on Saturday. If Russell were to miss an extended stretch, it would further deplete an already compromised Golden State roster.

Stephen Curry, who suffered a broken hand, is expected to be sidelined until at least February. Klay Thompson is likely to miss all season due to a torn ACL he suffered during the NBA Finals last season. Even Draymond Green has had some injury problems and likely to see a minutes restriction this year.

At this juncture, Russell is averaging a career-best 24.3 PPG and 6.7 APG through 10 contests. The Warriors could explore trading the 23-year-old at some point this season, which early on has all the makings of a rebuilding year.

Few Roster Spots Still Open Around NBA

November 15th, 2019 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Once the Trail Blazers make their deal with Carmelo Anthony official, only seven teams around the NBA will have open spots on their rosters. Six of those clubs have openings on their standard 15-man squads, while the seventh has an available two-way slot.

Typically, in the first half of an NBA season, some teams keep a roster spot open to retain flexibility and to avoid paying a player who hardly ever actually sees the court. However, whether it’s a result of an increased focus on player development or a steady stream of injuries league-wide, most clubs this season have taken advantage of all 17 roster spots (15 standard, two two-way) available to them.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), the six teams that haven’t signed a 15th man are all somewhat limited by their cap situations. Here are those six teams:

Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic

The Heat and Warriors literally can’t sign a 15th man unless they cut salary costs elsewhere, since they’re right up against the hard cap. The Thunder are already in the tax and – as Marks notes – the Cavaliers and Nuggets would go into the tax by signing one more player. The Magic wouldn’t technically become a projected taxpayer by adding a 15th man, but they’re close enough to that threshold that it makes sense for them to hold off until they really need to fill that spot.

There’s just one team that hasn’t used both of its two-way contract openings:

Phoenix Suns

The Suns have their own G League affiliate, so it’s not clear why they haven’t yet taken advantage of that second two-way contract slot. The deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts is January 15 — it’s a pretty safe bet that Phoenix will sign a second two-way player by that point.

In total, 450 standard roster spots and 60 two-way slots are typically available during the NBA season, for a total of 510 players on 30 teams. Currently, 504 players are on standard contracts or two-way deals (the Nets are carrying an 18th man while Wilson Chandler serves his 25-game suspension), leaving few NBA job opportunities up for grabs unless teams start making cuts.

Warriors’ Damion Lee Out At Least Two Weeks

November 12th, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The injuries continue to pile up for the Warriors, who announced today (via Twitter) that guard Damion Lee has suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand. Lee will be re-evaluated in two weeks, according to the team.

Technically, Lee isn’t even on the Warriors’ standard roster, as he’s one of the club’s two-way players. However, he has been playing about 25 minutes per night on the wing since Stephen Curry went down with a broken hand of his own, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes (via Twitter).

In 11 total games (21.9 MPG), Lee has averaged 10.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .385/.343/.848 shooting.

The Warriors will be without Curry and Klay Thompson until at least February, and Kevon Looney is sidelined indefinitely due to a neuropathic condition. An adductor strain will keep Jacob Evans on the shelf until later this month, and Alen Smailagic and Omari Spellman are recovering from ankle injuries.

Teams dealing with at least four extended injury absences can qualify for a hardship provision allowing them to temporarily carry a 16th man on their roster. However, that would be of no use to the Warriors, who can’t even carry a 15th man for now due to a restrictive hard cap.

Since two-way players don’t count toward the salary cap, Golden State could theoretically replace Lee with a new two-way addition. But that would mean waiving a player who has spent the last couple years with the franchise and could be healthy again within the next few weeks.

On the plus side, Lee’s 45-day NBA clock won’t continue to run while he’s injured, so a potential decision on whether or not to find room for him on the standard roster will be pushed further down the road, tweets Slater.

Stephen Curry Expects To Play Again This Season

November 11th, 2019 at 10:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors star guard Stephen Curry will require another surgical procedure on his broken hand but he’s optimistic he’ll play again this season, he told Anthony Slater of The Athletic and other reporters on Monday (Twitter link).

Curry is aiming for an early spring return from a broken left hand. He underwent surgery at the beginning of the month and is expected to miss a minimum of three months.

He’ll need another procedure in a few weeks to remove the pins securing the broken bones, Slater adds in another tweet.

“I have to get a second procedure done, beginning of December probably, remove some of the pins there,” he said. “So swelling is going to be of the utmost priority early in the rehab process, to give me a chance to come back and get my range of motion back pretty quickly.”

There’s also some concern about nerve damage. Curry said he experienced some nerve irritation and that will be closely monitored. He won’t be allowed to travel with the team until after the New Year

“Nerves are tricky,” he said. “They can come back quickly or over a sustained amount of time. … When you’re dealing with hands, that’s where it gets tricky.”

Curry suffered the break against Phoenix on October 30. The Warriors had gone 1-5 since the injury heading into their game with Utah on Monday.

Weather A Factor In D-Lo's FA Decision; Green On Verge Of Return

November 11th, 2019 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

Winter weather played a factor in D’Angelo Russell‘s decision to choose the Warriors over the Timberwolves in free agency this summer, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

The Timberwolves initially appeared to have the upper hand, led by Karl-Anthony Towns, one of Russell’s best friends, and Pablo Prigioni, one of his favorite assistant coaches with the Nets. However, the Warriors swooped in on June 30 with a maximum-salary offer as part of a sign-and-trade involving Kevin Durant.

“I thought the opportunity here was amazing … ” Russell said of the Timberwolves on Friday. “But then when this (Warriors) opportunity came, the weather is way better, so that helped me. … I did my first winter in New York and that was tough. So to get the opportunity to go somewhere where it’s warm again, I think that played a major part in my plan.”

The Warriors are still months away from getting Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson back, but it appears Draymond Green is ready to return to the lineup. Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that Green is “trending toward” returning on Monday vs. Utah after missing five games due to a torn ligament and small bone chip in his left index finger.

Burks Happy He Joined Team

November 8th, 2019 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Alec Burks doesn’t regret joining the Warriors despite their injury woes, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports. He originally committed to the Thunder in free agency, then shifted gears when their two stars were traded. Burks signed a one-year deal with Golden State.

“I committed here for other reasons besides playing with those great players. I like the culture. I like (Warriors head coach) Steve (Kerr),” he said. “I like (GM) Bob (Myers). That’s what sold me at first. And I like the people right here that’s playing, that’s healthy. We’ll eventually get those guys back. … I’m glad where I’m at. I’m proud I made a good decision.”