Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Notes: Russell, Iguodala, Robertson, Smailagic

July 9th, 2019 at 12:22pm CST by Luke Adams

It took less than 24 hours after D’Angelo Russell had agreed to join the Warriors via sign-and-trade for the trade speculation to begin. Marc Stein of The New York Times suggested during a July 1 radio appearance that Russell isn’t a long-term fit in Golden State, adding that it’s “just a matter of when” – not “if” – he’ll be dealt.

Speaking to reporters, including Nick Friedell of ESPN, on Monday for the first time as a Warrior, Russell acknowledged that a trade is a possibility at some point down the road (he can’t be dealt until at least December 15). However, D-Lo didn’t make it sound as if he’ll be stressing about that scenario.

“That’s the business of it,” Russell said. “It is what it is. You put yourself in a position to go somewhere for a long period of time, and it may not be what it is a year later. And that’s the business. I’ve come to a realization of that, and I understand that, so whatever situation I’m in, I know the business side of it, so we’ll just see. I can’t predict it.”

For now, Russell slots in next to Stephen Curry in what should be a dynamic Warriors’ starting backcourt. It will be interesting how the team manages its lineup when longtime shooting guard Klay Thompson is ready to return from his torn ACL later in the 2019/20 season.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

In their press release confirming the trade that sent Andre Iguodala to Memphis, the Warriors also announced that they plan on retiring Iguodala’s No. 9. “He has been absolutely vital to our success during five consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals and three championships,” team owner Joe Lacob said of Iguodala. “We thank Andre for all of his contributions and look forward to seeing his number in the rafters at Chase Center.”
The Warriors are hiring Theo Robertson to fill a player development opening on their coaching staff, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Robertson played college ball at Cal in the late 2000s and has since held jobs with the Warriors, Lakers, and his alma mater. He’ll replace Willie Green, who joined Monty Williams‘ staff in Phoenix.
In an in-depth article for The Mercury News, Mark Medina explores how the Warriors first discovered young big man Alen Smailagic, how he impressed the team, and why management fully believes in his potential. The 39th overall pick officially signed his first NBA contract this week, as we relayed earlier today.

Warriors Sign Second-Rounder Alen Smailagic

July 9th, 2019 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have signed one of their second-round picks, forward/center Alen Smailagic, to his first NBA contract, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. The team also locked up its other second-rounder, Eric Paschall, as we detailed on Monday night.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Smailagic’s name began to surface prior to the draft as a probable second-rounder target for the Warriors. The 18-year-old Serbian played in the G League for Santa Cruz – Golden State’s affiliate – in 2018/19 but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and was “hidden” in Serbia from the rest of the NBA.

Despite trading for the No. 41 pick prior to the draft, the Warriors ultimately decided they’d have to move even higher to secure Smailagic. The club sent two second-round picks and $1MM in cash to the Pelicans in order to nab the No. 39 selection and draft him.

Details of Smailagic’s first NBA contract aren’t yet known, but he and Paschall will both likely earn the rookie minimum ($898K) in 2019/20 in order to help keep the Warriors below their $138.9MM hard cap. Smailagic’s deal could go beyond two years if Golden State used its mid-level exception.

Warriors Sign Eric Paschall

July 8th, 2019 at 11:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have officially signed second-round pick Eric Paschall to his first NBA contract, as the rookie forward himself announced today (via Twitter). NBA.com’s transactions log confirms the signing is complete.

Golden State used the 41st overall pick in the draft to select Paschall after acquiring the selection from the Hawks in exchange for cash a future second-round pick. The 22-year-old, who won a title with Villanova in 2018, followed it up with a solid senior year in which he averaged 16.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 36 games.

Terms of Paschall’s contract weren’t released, but he’ll almost certainly receive the rookie minimum of $898K, given the Warriors’ cap constraints. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), the Warriors will only be about $219K below their hard cap once they complete a series of moves that includes waiving and stretching Shaun Livingston‘s contract, as well as Paschall’s signing.

If they used their mid-level exception to complete the deal, the Warriors could go up to four years for Paschall.

Warriors Trade Graham, Napier To Timberwolves

July 8th, 2019 at 11:12pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The trade is official, with the Warriors receiving the draft rights to Lior Eliyahu in the swap, according to a press release from the team.

Because they had to be used for salary-matching purposes in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade, Graham and Napier both received significant partial guarantees. Graham had about 90% of his $1.65MM salary guaranteed, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North.

JULY 1: Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier, two of the three players the Warriors are acquiring from the Nets in their sign-and-trade deal for D’Angelo Russell, will be re-routed to the Timberwolves, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Minnesota will also receive cash in the deal, Woj notes.

As part of the agreement, Napier and Graham – who are both on non-guaranteed contracts – will receive partial guarantees, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Both players will have their minimum salaries for 2019/20 becomes guaranteed if they’re not waived by July 10, Marks adds (via Twitter).

It’s a cap-conscious move for the Warriors, for whom every dollar will count, since they face a hard cap of $138.9MM for this season. According to Marks (via Twitter), flipping Graham and Napier will save the team about $250K.

There’s a chance that one or both of Napier and Graham could stick in Minnesota for the season, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, that’s far from a certainty.

Warriors Sign Willie Cauley-Stein

July 8th, 2019 at 10:12pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8, 10:12pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets.

JULY 2, 4:31pm: Free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein has decided to join the Warriors, according to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports confirms (via Twitter) that the two sides are in agreement on a deal.

Although Cauley-Stein opened the free agent period as a restricted free agent, he didn’t stay restricted for long — the Kings rescinded his qualifying offer in order to create the necessary cap room to sign their other targets, including Cory Joseph. As a result, Cauley-Stein is free to sign outright with any team.

The sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Cauley-Stein spent the first four years of his NBA career in Sacramento, though it became increasingly clear as the Kings were linked to free agent centers in recent weeks that he probably wasn’t part of the club’s plan going forward. The Kings ultimately struck deals with Dewayne Dedmon and Richaun Holmes to address the five spot.

Cauley-Stein will head to another Pacific team in the Warriors, which is a little surprising, given the lack of cap flexibility for Golden State. The team is expected to fill out its roster with mostly minimum-salary players after hard-capping itself at the tax apron by acquiring D’Angelo Russell via sign-and-trade. However, Cauley-Stein will get a salary slightly above the minimum, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

In 81 games (27.3 MPG) for the Kings in 2018/19, Cauley-Stein averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG. He’ll join a new-look Warriors roster that will no longer feature Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala in 2019/20. In the wake of the team’s agreement with Cauley-Stein, it also seems increasingly unlikely that DeMarcus Cousins will return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Trade Jones, Second-Rounder To Hawks For Spellman

July 8th, 2019 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

3:36pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases issued by both teams. The second-round pick going to Atlanta in the deal is the Warriors’ 2026 second-rounder.

1:49pm: The Warriors and Hawks have agreed to a trade that will send big man Omari Spellman to Golden State, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links). According to Charania, Atlanta will receive center Damian Jones and a second-round pick in the swap.

Spellman, who will turn 22 later this month, was the 30th overall pick in the 2018 draft. He appeared in 46 games during his rookie season in Atlanta, averaging 5.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 46 games (17.5 MPG). The former Villanova standout also showed an ability to hit outside shots, making 1.0 three-pointer per game at a 34.4% rate.

As for Jones, he was the 30th overall pick two years earlier, in 2016, so he’ll be up for restricted free agency next summer. The 24-year-old opened the 2018/19 campaign as Golden State’s starting center, averaging 5.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 24 games (17.1 MPG), before a torn pectoral muscle sidelined him for the rest of the regular season.

The financial aspect of the deal is important for the Warriors, who are facing a $138.9MM hard cap. Spellman will earn about $1.9MM this season, while Jones is set to make $2.31MM. That difference may appear modest, but Golden State doesn’t have a whole lot of wiggle room, so the added flexibility will help the team fill out its roster.

Nets, Warriors Complete Durant, Russell Sign-And-Trade

July 8th, 2019 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The first-round pick going to Brooklyn in the deal is the Warriors’ 2020 pick, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, who tweets that it will be top-20 protected. If it falls in that range – and it very well could, given Golden State’s roster changes – the Nets would instead receive the Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick, per Scotto.

JULY 7: The Nets and Warriors have officially completed the sign-and-trade deal that sends Kevin Durant and a protected 2020 first-round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Treveon Graham, and Shabazz Napier, the two teams announced in a pair of press releases.

“Kevin is a champion, perennial All-Star and one of the great players of this, or any, generation,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “Adding a player of Kevin’s caliber to our organization elevates our ability to compete with the elite teams in this league. His tremendous abilities and dedication to his craft have made him as talented an offensive player our game has ever seen and we, as well as all of Brooklyn, are thrilled to welcome Kevin and his family to the Nets.”

Durant initially agreed to sign with the Nets outright using their cap room, but the Warriors engaged them in discussions last Sunday night and eventually agreed to a deal that would include a pair of sign-and-trades — Durant to Brooklyn and D’Angelo Russell to Golden State. Russell, a restricted free agent, became expendable when the Nets finalized agreements with Durant and Kyrie Irving.

“We’re excited to add a player of D’Angelo’s ability to our roster,” Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers said in his team’s announcement. “He’s coming off an All-Star season with the Nets and we feel, at the age of 23, his best basketball is certainly ahead of him in regards to his career trajectory.”

In order to incentivize the Nets to accommodate the Russell sign-and-trade, the Warriors sent a future draft pick to Brooklyn, and will also take on Graham and Napier — those two players will be flipped to Minnesota in a subsequent deal.

Durant, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, isn’t expected to be ready to return until the 2020/21 season, but the Nets have him the long-term — he reportedly agreed to a four-year contract (with a fourth-year player option) that will be worth the maximum salary, or possibly slightly below it to accommodate DeAndre Jordan‘s deal with the club.

Meanwhile, the Warriors will be hard-capped at $138.9MM as a result of acquiring Russell via sign-and-trade, which will limit their ability to make roster moves during the 2019/20 league year. The club already had to send Andre Iguodala and his $17MM+ salary to Memphis in a cost-cutting measure.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Trade Andre Iguodala To Grizzlies

July 7th, 2019 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The deal is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Golden State is receiving guard Julian Washburn, who was on a two-way contract with Memphis last season, while the Grizzlies get $2MM in cash considerations in the deal, as well as Iguodala and the draft pick, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

JUNE 30: The Warriors have reached an agreement to trade Andre Iguodala to the Grizzlies, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Memphis will also receive a 2024 first-round pick (top-four protected) in the deal, according to Wojnarowski.

Moving Iguodala became a virtual necessity for Golden State once the team agreed to acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Nets in a sign-and-trade deal. The Warriors will pay Russell the maximum salary of $27MM+ in 2019/20.

After taking into account Russell’s salary, Klay Thompson‘s new max deal, and the rest of the team’s commitments, the club was in danger of surpassing the $138.9MM tax apron, which isn’t permitted — when a team acquires a player via a sign-and-trade, it becomes hard-capped at that figure, so shedding salary became a must.

It appears likely that Shaun Livingston and his partially guaranteed $7.7MM salary will be on the way out as well. ESPN’s Bobby Marks breaks down the Dubs’ financial situation more thoroughly via Twitter, but it seems safe to say that the club won’t be able to bring back several of its own free agents, including Kevon Looney.

As Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian observes (via Twitter), the Grizzlies will be able to take on Iguodala’s $17MM+ salary using the $25MM+ trade exception they’ll create when they officially send Mike Conley to Utah. The team should still be able to retain Delon Wright without going into the tax, but bringing back Avery Bradley appears unlikely, Herrington adds. Kyle Korver seems unlikely to remain in the picture in Memphis either.

It’s not clear whether Iguodala will stick with the Grizzlies. David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter links) suggests that Memphis would like to have Iguodala act as a veteran mentor to the team’s young players, but cautions that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a buyout. If the veteran swingman is bought out, he wouldn’t be eligible to re-sign with the Warriors in 2019/20.

Whether or not the Grizzlies retain Iguodala, it’s clear that the 2024 first-rounder is the prime asset in the deal. That pick will become top-one protected in 2025 if it doesn’t convey in 2024, according to Woj, who adds that it would be unprotected in 2026 if it doesn’t convey in either of the first two years.

Iguodala, who joined the Warriors in 2013, was a key part of the team’s run of success over the last several years. He won three titles with the club, earning the NBA Finals MVP in 2015.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Leonard, George, Caruso, Kings

July 7th, 2019 at 9:35am CST by Arthur Hill

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George may have permanently altered the perception of the two teams in Los Angeles, writes Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times. At one time, Leonard and George were both considered to be future Lakers. They were two stars who grew up in the L.A. area and wanted to leave their smaller-market teams for the comforts of home. That’s where they wound up, but they’re both Clippers.

Markazi recounts the history of the two franchises and how unbalanced the rivalry has been since the Clippers moved west. The Lakers had the stars, the famous fans and the titles, with 33 playoff appearances, 16 trips to the Finals and 10 championships from 1976 to 2011. Over that same time, the Clippers had just three winning seasons and made the playoffs four times.

The “Lob City” years and the purchase of the team by Steve Ballmer helped changed the balance of power as the Lakers fell onto hard times. Now with George and Leonard together on one side of Staples Center and LeBron James and Anthony Davis roaming the other, there finally appears to be a real rivalry.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers will sign Alex Caruso with part of their $4.8MM room exception, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. A full day of signings on Saturday plus the Davis trade left the team a little more than $1MM below the salary cap, and Marks believes that money may be used to give second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker a contract longer than two years. Dudley, Daniels and Rajon Rondo will all sign veteran’s minimum deals, Marks adds (Twitter link).
The Warriors had “significant interest” in Caruso before he opted to return to the Lakers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
The Lakers risk another “reality show” season with their flurry of signings in the wake of losing out on Leonard, observes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. L.A.’s front office was heavily criticized last summer for not surrounding James with more shooters, and although they improved in that area this year with Danny Green, Jared Dudley, Troy Daniels and Quinn Cook, only Green has proven to be a reliable two-way player. Goodwill is also concerned about the lack of young talent, with Kyle Kuzma left as the only prominent player with a chance to improve.
The Kings continue to move toward GM Vlade Divac‘s vision of a faster and deeper team with this year’s free agent signings, notes Jason Jones of The Athletic. Sacramento added veteran help for its young core by re-signing Harrison Barnes and adding Dewayne Dedmon, Trevor Ariza, Cory Joseph and Richaun Holmes.

Warriors Sign First-Rounder Jordan Poole

July 6th, 2019 at 9:10am CST by marksuleymanov

The Warriors have inked 2019 first-round pick Jordan Poole to a rookie scale contract, per the NBA’s transactions log.

Selected 28th overall in this year’s draft, Poole will make approximately $1.96M in his first NBA season on a max rookie scale contract.

The Michigan product averaged 12.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG while shooting 36.9% from three-point range in his sophomore campaign.