Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Durant, Suns, Kings, Clippers

June 2nd, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by clarkcrum

As relayed by The Associated Press, this Tuesday is the next time we may know more about a possible return of Warriors superstar Kevin Durant. Having already been ruled out for tonight’s Game 2, Wednesday night’s Game 3 marks the next opportunity for Durant’s return, but Tuesday is Golden State’s next practice.

Head coach Steve Kerr, having already said that Durant will need to practice before playing in a game, expounded upon his stance today, saying that Durant could potentially only need one day of practice to be cleared for game action.

“It’s really a day-to-day thing,” Kerr said “If we had a crystal ball, we would have known a long time ago what we were dealing with. But it’s just an injury (where) there’s been a lot of gray area. So, literally, it’s just day-to-day and how the progress is coming. And at this point he’s still not ready.”

But, when further pressed on the issue, and asked whether Durant will only need one practice, said “it’s feasible.” Accordingly, we should know a lot more on Tuesday as to whether Durant can return for Game 3.

There’s more from the Pacific Division this afternoon:

The Suns have worked out Tennessee’s Grant Williams, Boston College’s Ky Bowman, Florida State’s Terance Mann, and Michigan’s Charles Matthews, among many others (click here for links).
In their eighth pre-draft workout of the year, the Kings will work out guards Frankie Ferrari, Josh Perkins, Zach Norvell Jr., and Charlie Brown, and big men Dewan Hernandez and Sacha Killeya-Jones, the team announced.
According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, the Clippers will work out Dontay Carruthers, Sedrick Barefield, Ahmed Hill, Cody Martin, Daulton Hommes and Dean Wade.

Trail Blazers Notes: Kanter, Aminu, Workout, Durant

June 2nd, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Enes Kanter received a hero’s welcome Saturday as he returned to Oklahoma City for his annual youth basketball camp, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. The former Thunder center remains popular with local fans, many of whom encouraged him to return to OKC in free agency. While Kanter might be too pricey for the Thunder to consider, he can count on receiving a lot of offers after rebuilding his stock in Portland following his release by the Knicks.

The Trail Blazers were aggressive in recruiting Kanter, who also received interest from the Thunder and Lakers. Repeated calls and texts from coach Terry Stotts, GM Neil Olshey and Damian Lillard were enough to tip the scales in Portland’s favor, which became fortunate when starting center Jusuf Nurkic was lost for the season with a broken leg.

“I’m glad that Portland happened,” Kanter said. “I love Portland, I love the people there, I love the fans there. I just want to go – and Portland counts, too – somewhere I can win games. I’m going into my ninth year. I just want to go somewhere where I have a good situation, have some playing time and just win.”

There’s more Trail Blazers news to pass along:

Al-Farouq Aminu‘s agent is open to negotiating an extension with Portland before his client hits free agency, but the Blazers may not be able to afford a substantial raise, relays Jason Quick of The Athletic. “He wants to be there,” Raymond Brothers said. “He’s still committed to the Blazers. He likes the city, the team, the coach, he likes Neil. He’s happy. He just wants to win.” Any extension would be limited to $48MM over four years. Aminu made $6.96MM this season.
The Trail Blazers brought in six players Friday for their first pre-draft workout, notes Casey Holdahl of NBA.com. The session featured Wake Forest’s Jaylen Hoard, Memphis’ Jeremiah Martin, Arizona State’s Luguentz Dort, Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie, St. John’s Shamorie Ponds and Shaw University’s Amir Hinton. Portland enters the draft with just one pick, its first-rounder at No. 25.
Lillard is asking an Oakland-based rapper to help convince Kevin Durant to come to Portland, relays Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Mistah F.A.B. joined Lillard on Instagram Live following Game 1 of the NBA Finals and asked him which free agent the Blazers should pursue. “Just go in there and tell KD, say ‘KD, just go to Portland, bruh. I’m a Portland fan,'” Lillard responded. “You a Portland fan now, so just be like, ‘Bruh they left Oakland anyways, so just go to Portland.'”

Warriors Notes: Durant, Iguodala, Cousins, Green

June 1st, 2019 at 4:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant‘s return date remains uncertain, but he’s finding other ways to help the Warriors during their playoff run, writes Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News. Durant made a brief appearance at today’s practice before undergoing treatment for his strained left calf. He has already been ruled out of Sunday’s Game 2, which will mark the seventh straight contest he will miss because of the injury.

Durant has adopted a greater role behind the scenes and has been vocal during film sessions. He spent time talking with Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell and Damion Lee during today’s workout.

“His presence is becoming more and more evident and becoming more and more normal,” Draymond Green said. “It obviously means a lot. When you’re talking about a guy like Kevin and a talent like that, he comes from a different view. He sees the game from a different perspective. It’s always good to get that perspective and try to incorporate what people are doing.”

There’s more Warriors news to pass along:

Andre Iguodala confirmed today that he will be ready for Game 2, relays Steven Loung of Sportsnet. Iguodala had an MRI Friday on his left leg after experiencing pain late in the series opener. He didn’t say how close he feels to 100%, but the Warriors need him to help contain Raptors star Kawhi Leonard. “It’s always difficult going up against top players,” Iguodala said. “You’ve gotta be locked in mentally, physically. It’s just part of the game, though. … If you’re injured or you’ve got pain, you just play through it and just try to help the team win.”
DeMarcus Cousins talks to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area about the rehab process that enabled him to get back on the court six weeks after an apparent season-ending quad injury. “Once I kind of started to the doctors, they gave me a little more knowledge on everything that was going on with injury and the usual timeframe,” Cousins said. “My first week I sat in a hyperbaric chamber for a week straight like two or three hours a day. That was my first week just to speed up the whole process of healing and things of that nature.” Coach Steve Kerr said Cousins didn’t experience any pain after playing eight minutes in Game 1, according to a tweet from Medina.
Green had an unlikely dinner companion Friday night, according to Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area. Raptors fan Drake, who had a verbal exchange with Green after Game 1, joined him and Alfonzo McKinnie at a Toronto restaurant.

Iguodala Expected To Play In Game 2

May 31st, 2019 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Andre Iguodala underwent an MRI on his left leg on Friday which revealed no structural damage and he is expected to play in Game 2 of the Finals, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. The Warriors swingman experienced left calf tightness in the late going of Game 1, the same injury that caused him to miss a game in the conference finals.

Durant Out For Game 2, Aiming To Return In Oakland

May 31st, 2019 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

12:43pm: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed today to reporters, including Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), that Durant is out for Game 2 on Sunday.

A Warriors source told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com that Durant would likely still be weeks away from returning if this were the regular season, due to the risk of re-injury. Kerr cited that possibility of re-injury today, telling reporters that Durant won’t return until he’s ready, no matter how the series plays out (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic).

8:34am: Despite some speculation that Kevin Durant may not be able to play at all during the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors don’t envision a scenario in which their star forward will be unavailable all series, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Unless he suffers a setback, Durant is expected to return from his calf strain midway through the Finals, according to Haynes, who writes that some members of the organization believe a Game 3 return could be viable. However, Game 4 looks like the more likely option at this point, Haynes notes.

Durant, who suffered his calf injury during Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Houston, will have been sidelined for four weeks as of next Wednesday, the date of Game 3 of the Finals in Oakland. However, he has been making positive progress in his rehab.

Sources tell Haynes that Durant began on-court basketball workouts earlier this week, and now has about three or four days of on-court work under his belt. His teammates have been encouraged by his progress, Haynes adds, though the two-time Finals MVP will need to go through at least one full practice before he’s cleared to return.

While the Warriors finished off the Rockets and swept the Trail Blazers without Durant in their lineup, their Game 1 loss in Toronto on Thursday showed that his presence may be more critical in this series, with the club struggling to generate offense outside of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

DeMarcus Cousins Will Be Active For Game 1

May 30th, 2019 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors won’t have Kevin Durant back in their lineup to start the NBA Finals, but another injured star appears set to return. Head coach Steve Kerr confirmed today to reporters, including Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), that DeMarcus Cousins will be active for Game 1.

Cousins, who missed more than half of the 2018/19 season while recovering from an Achilles tear, suffered a torn quad in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs against the Clippers. While that injury seemed likely to finish his season, he worked hard to rehab the quad and get healthy enough to return to the court before the end of the playoffs.

When Cousins signed a one-year, $5.34MM deal with the Warriors last summer, this was the sort of opportunity he anticipated. Having never appeared in a playoff game before, the 28-year-old wanted a chance to compete for a title, and he’ll get that chance beginning on Thursday night.

It’s not clear what sort of role Cousins will play against the Raptors. According to Medina (via Twitter), Kerr said he has a sense of the workload the big man will get in Game 1, but declined to offer specifics.

Technically, the Warriors were a better team with Cousins off the court than with him on it during the regular season and during his brief playoff stint. Plus, his presence would reduce the likelihood of Golden State playing Raptors center Marc Gasol off the floor. Those factors, combined with Cousins still needing to get his conditioning back to where it was, point to a limited role for the former All-Star, but we’ll see what Kerr has in mind.

As for Durant, Kerr said today that the former Finals MVP probably won’t be able to practice before Game 2, making it unlikely he suits up until at least Game 3 (Twitter link via Marc Berman of The New York Post).

Poll: 2019 NBA Finals Predictions

May 29th, 2019 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2019 NBA Finals are set to get underway on Thursday night. Game 1 will be the first Finals game to take place outside of the United States, as the 58-24 Raptors narrowly beat out the 57-25 Warriors for home court advantage.

Despite Toronto’s home court advantage and regular season edge – including a 2-0 record vs. Golden State – the Warriors will enter the series as the overwhelming favorites to win their fourth title in five years, and third in a row. Even without Kevin Durant in their lineup for the start of the series, the Dubs have enough weapons on both ends of the court that they’ll be difficult to beat.

Of course, Golden State’s top weapon is Stephen Curry, who has gone into full-on Human Torch mode since Durant went down vs. Houston. In his last five games – all Warriors wins – Curry shot 41.7% on 14.4 three-point attempts per contest, and has scored at least 33 points in every game.

Klay Thompson has been a reliable No. 2 scoring option, averaging 22.6 PPG with a .400 3PT% over those five games, while Draymond Green has filled up the box score (14.8 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 8.4 APG, 2.4 BPG, 2.0 SPG) and been everywhere on defense.

Still, the Warriors have yet to face a defense like this Raptors’ unit in the postseason. Toronto’s starting lineup features a pair of former Defensive Players of the Year (Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol) and a former All-Defensive guard (Danny Green) to go along with stout and savvy point guard Kyle Lowry and an athletic forward who can guard all five positions (Pascal Siakam).

Throw in three-time All-Defensive player Serge Ibaka off the bench, and this is a Raptors team that’s capable of adjusting its scheme to a variety of offensive attacks, and switching, trapping, and helping as necessary. It’s possible that no NBA team can truly stop the Warriors, but this looks like the club that’s best equipped to slow them down.

The Raptors haven’t been as dangerous on offense during the playoffs, but Leonard is capable of single-handedly carrying the squad on that end of the court at times, and has turned in an all-time postseason performance through three rounds (31.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, .507/.388/.875 shooting). In Thompson, Green, and Andre Iguodala, the Warriors have plenty of excellent defenders to throw at him, but Leonard is talented enough to score 30 points even on nights when the defense plays him well.

What do you think? Will the Warriors cement their place in NBA history by becoming the first franchise since the 2000-02 Lakers to win three straight championships? Or will the Raptors pull off the upset and bring Canada its first ever NBA title?

After voting in our poll, head to the comment section to weigh in further on this showdown. Will we see much of Durant this series? How heavily will the outcome weigh on his presence or absence? Will other injured players like DeMarcus Cousins or OG Anunoby make an impact? Which matchups do you expect each team to try to exploit?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Durant Ruled Out For Game 1; Cousins Questionable

May 28th, 2019 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

MAY 28: Durant will travel to Toronto with the Warriors, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. That means the club isn’t yet ready to rule him out for Game 2 on Sunday.

MAY 27: Addressing the media today, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed that, as expected, Kevin Durant won’t be available for Game 1 of the NBA Finals (Twitter link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). Golden State’s other injured starter, DeMarcus Cousins, is being listed as questionable for Game 1, according to Kerr.

Neither of these updates comes as a major surprise, since last week’s check-ins on Durant (calf) and Cousins (quad) indicated that KD was unlikely to be ready for the start of the Finals, while Cousins was closer to returning.

Having already been officially ruled out for Game 1, Durant also appears unlikely to be back for Game 2. As Nick Friedell of ESPN.com tweets, Kerr said today that the Warriors still haven’t made a final decision on whether Durant – who has yet to be cleared for any on-court work with his teammates – will travel to Toronto. Game 3 will take place next Wednesday, June 5, in Golden State.

Even without Durant and Cousins, the Warriors are heavy favorites over the Raptors in the 2019 Finals. Golden State has won five games in a row – one vs. Houston and four over the Trail Blazers – without either player available.

Livington Remains Unsure If He'll Retire

May 27th, 2019 at 10:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Shaun Livingston remains undecided whether he’ll retire after the season, ESPN’s Nick Friedell tweets. The 33-year-old Warriors guard revealed last month that he was thinking of calling it quits, mainly due to knee soreness. He has an $8MM contract next season but only $2MM is guaranteed, which could lead the capped-out Warriors to release him. He’ll make a final decision once the season comes to an end, though Livingston said his balky knee is feeling better after an extended rest between series, Friedell adds.

Patrick McCaw Explains Why He Left Warriors

May 27th, 2019 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

One of the more bizarre stories this season has been Patrick McCaw‘s odyssey. The Warriors wanted to re-sign the reserve guard but McCaw played hardball with them. He eventually signed a non-guaranteed offer sheet with the Cavaliers. His stay in Cleveland was brief and he later signed for the remainder of the season with the Raptors.

With his current team set to play his former team in the Finals, McCaw spoke at length with Marc Spears of The Undefeated about why he chose that path.

Here are some of the highlights:

McCaw wanted to have a bigger role. “I just wanted more. Not necessarily more playing time, but more opportunity for myself. I’m not discrediting the Warriors and what they chose to do. I just think being a young kid, you see all the younger guys competing and doing their thing and you feel like, ‘OK, I’m just that kid, or I could be doing exactly what he’s doing.’ ”
His agents at the time, Marlon Harrison and Bill Duffy, urged him to accept Golden State’s two-year, $4MM offer but the restricted free agent but he wouldn’t budge. “Maybe I could just go back and finish, just go back for a year, see what happens, see where it took me,” McCaw said. “I just felt like once it got past preseason, I was just adamant about not going back. I was just stuck right there.”
There was a perception that Cleveland did him a favor by signing him to the offer sheet that the Warriors didn’t match, only to release him shortly thereafter. But McCaw denies that. “I didn’t like how the media portrayed it, like we had something (else) lined up already,” he said. “Yeah, that wasn’t the case at all.”
The personal reasons cited for McCaw’s absence during most of the Eastern Conference Finals was due to a family tragedy. His older brother, Jeffrey McCaw, died.