Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Harris, Crawford, James Duo, Suns

October 7th, 2024 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jonathan Kuminga has high expectations for himself this season. The Warriors forward has set an individual goal of making his first All-Star appearance, he told Marc Spears of Andscape.

“That is my trajectory. That is what I’ve been working towards,” Kuminga said. “I did as much as I could working out, getting my body ready, learning the game, working on things on defense. It’s just a matter of when we start playing now and I can show what I’ve been working on and how my game has grown.”

The Warriors and Kuminga have an Oct. 21 rookie scale extension deadline and the forward will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension.

“My agent is taking care of that. I need to focus on what I’m trying to accomplish. The more I accomplish, the more things like that handle themselves,” Kuminga said.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings’ NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, have named Gabriel Harris as general manager and Quinton Crawford as head coach, according to a team press release. Harris, 33, served as the assistant GM for Stockton last season. Crawford, 34, was an assistant coach with the Suns. He also served as an assistant with the Mavericks in 2022-23 and the Lakers from 2019-2022.
LeBron James and Bronny James made history Sunday night as the first father and son to play together in an NBA game. They were on the court together at the start of the second quarter during the Lakers’ preseason game against the Suns. It coincided with Bronny’s 20th birthday. “For a father, it means everything,” LeBron said, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “For someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son. Be able to have moments with your son. And ultimately, to be able to work with your son. I think that’s one of the greatest things that a father can ever hope for or wish for.”
The Suns shot 41% on 3-point attempts in their 118-114 win over the Lakers on Sunday. Kevin Durant saw some good signs offensively, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “I liked that we generated good shots. We are able to get (21) 3s up in the 1st half,” he said. “Defensively, pick-and-roll coverage, it’ll get better. That’s where we struggled at the most.”

Buzzer-Beater From Lindy Waters Lifts Warriors In Preseason Opener

October 6th, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Lindy Waters, who’s in camp on a non-guaranteed contract, won the game for the Warriors with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Waters described the moment as the “cherry on top” after a long week of training camp. “I had already hit a couple of them, so that rim gets bigger and bigger,” he said. “So I just let it fly, and I knew it was good as soon as it left my hand.”

Warriors Notes: Frontcourt, Kuminga, Wiggins, Green, Payton, More

October 4th, 2024 at 6:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Draymond Green will be part of the Warriors‘ starting lineup this fall, but his exact role has not yet been determined. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the team’s decision on whether to use Green as a power forward or center will have a ripple effect on the rest of the starting five and the rotation beyond that group.

According to Slater, head coach Steve Kerr has expressed that he doesn’t love the idea of Green playing heavy minutes at the five, especially against teams using bigger lineups. And Green still considers power forward his true position.

However, starting Green alongside a center like Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney may push rising forward Jonathan Kuminga to the bench, since Kuminga hasn’t yet proven to be a reliable floor spacer and Kerr has spoken in the past about viewing the former lottery pick as more of a four than a three. For what it’s worth, Kuminga disagrees with that assessment but is willing to accept whatever decision the club makes.

“At the end of the day, I know I’m a small forward,” Kuminga said, per Slater. “I can do it. I can play it at the highest level. But going forward, it’s all about what the team wants me to do. It don’t matter, small forward or whatever.”

As Slater observes, Kuminga and Green would make more sense as the Warriors’ starting forwards alongside a big man who could stretch the floor, but Jackson-Davis and Looney don’t really possess that skill set. And even though Golden State drafted a player – Quinten Post – who could develop into that sort of stretch five, he likely won’t see much action with the NBA team as a rookie.

“He’s got a ways to go,” Kerr said of Post. “I’m not anticipating it this year. I think he’ll be in Santa Cruz a lot.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Andrew Wiggins is the best bet to open the season as Golden State’s starting small forward, but he has yet to participate in training camp due to an illness and has been ruled out for Saturday’s preseason opener, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
With Wiggins unavailable, the Warriors used a first unit of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Kuminga, and Green in a Friday scrimmage, tweets Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. However, asked if that would be the starting group on Saturday, Kerr advised reporters not to read too much into it. “No,” he replied, per Slater (Twitter link). “In fact it’s safe to assume that will not be the starters.”
While the Warriors aren’t generally viewed as a legitimately title contender entering this fall, Green appreciates the challenge of trying to get the team back to that level and has no desire to leave his longtime team to try to win another championship elsewhere, Thompson writes for The Athletic. “When you’ve built this s–t up from the laughingstock of the NBA, it feels a little different,” Green said. “I said to (team owner) Joe Lacob two years ago, like, ‘You should understand I think about this organization like it’s mine.’ No disrespect to them that own this, but I take a great deal of pride in what we built here. This is home for me. This is like Michigan State for me. Most people don’t have an NBA home. I care what this organization looks like in 10 years. That’s going to matter to me.”
The Warriors announced on Friday in a press release that Jonnie West has received a promotion to senior director of pro personnel, while Maclean Osborne and Michael Salame have been named scouts. Osborne and Salame previously worked in basketball operations for Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Warriors guard Gary Payton II spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about a wide range of topics, including his decision to exercise his 2024/25 player option to stick with Golden State and his favorite Curry and Green stories.
The Warriors liked Bronny James‘ skill set heading into June’s draft and weighed the possibility of selecting him at No. 52, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. However, Golden State ultimately decided to respect LeBron James‘ desire to join forces with his son in Los Angeles and passed on Bronny.

Warriors Notes: Offseason Moves, Curry, Kuminga, Starters

October 2nd, 2024 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

After being linked to big-name trade targets like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen during the offseason, the Warriors ended up not making a major deal and focused instead on bringing in a handful of role players at mid-level prices, including De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson. The team’s defensive anchor, Draymond Green, told reporters this week that he was on board with that decision, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN relays.

“One move in this league, it can pretty much set you up for how the next 10 years of your organization is going to go. Sometimes the best deal you can make is to not make a deal, and I think we did a great job in going out and getting pieces that are going to help this team grow,” Green said. “… Championships are won six through 10. Championships aren’t won one through five.”

Green compared the summer additions to the ones the Warriors made in 2021 when they brought in Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, and Nemanja Bjelica to bolster their depth ahead of a championship season. That doesn’t mean that Golden State will be a title team in 2024/25, but Stephen Curry believes the newcomers can help the club move toward that goal.

“All three guys we brought in all are veterans,” Curry said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Established veterans that know how to play the game. Good pieces that you need to be a championship-type team. Does that mean we’re there? I don’t know.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

After a disappointing 2023/24 season that saw Golden State finish 10th in the West and bow out of the postseason in the first play-in game, Curry said he’s coming into training camp with an “open mind of how we’re supposed to play” and that he’s embracing the idea of “evolving and pivoting” to figure out what works best for the current group. “I know there’s a Warriors mentality and culture of how we do things, there’s a system that we ran for a decade plus that has worked,” Curry said, according to Andrews. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how this team needs to play. We have to have kind of antennas up and an openness to accept what this team’s strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and kind of lean into those.”
Jonathan Kuminga, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 21, said he will “hopefully” reach a deal with the Warriors but that he won’t be worried if it doesn’t get done this fall, Slater writes. Kuminga would be a restricted free agent in 2025 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before the season begins. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s not my concern,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here, happy to start a new season. Fourth year. I’d love to have it, but I’m not really concerned about it. If I get it, if I don’t, it’s cool. I’m still going to be me. I’ll just go out there and perform.”
In a separate story for The Athletic, Slater evaluates the candidates for the starting shooting guard position, noting that the Warriors could go the defensive route with Melton, the floor-spacing route with Hield, or the long-term route with Brandin Podziemski.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stressed on Tuesday that shooting guard isn’t the only opening in the Warriors’ starting lineup, telling reporters that there’s an open competition for basically every spot besides point guard, where Curry will start. “There is competition across the board,” Kerr said (story via Andrews at ESPN). “It’s not as simple as, ‘Who is going to be the two?’ It’s got to be — ‘Who is going to be the five? Who’s the four?’ We know that Steph is the one. But what’s the combination? … The starting lineup is going to have to be dependent not only on the first five fitting, but the second fitting as well. We’ve got a lot of work to do to figure out lineups. All the guys can do is compete, play their ass off.”

Texas Notes: Klay, Doncic, Adams, Rockets

September 29th, 2024 at 4:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban recently spoke with Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast (Twitter link) about a variety of topics, including Klay Thompson‘s to depart the Warriors for Dallas in free agency.

“Klay Thompson’s got a lot to prove,” Cuban said. “Klay was ready for a move. All the grief he got last year – particularly the way it ended. So the timing was right.”

Thompson agreed to a three-year, $50MM deal with Dallas as part of a six-team sign-and-trade.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Five-time All-NBA Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has had a busier-than-normal offseason in 2024. Since guiding Dallas to its first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years, Doncic suited up for the Slovenian national team for the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, but was eliminated by Greece before making the cut. Doncic subsequently remained in his homeland to prep prior to the Mavericks’ own training camp, as Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal details at his Substack (subscription required).
Veteran Rockets center Steven Adams didn’t suit up for Houston last season while recovering from a right knee surgery he underwent while he was a member of the Grizzlies. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle explores how the 31-year-old will be deployed in Ime Udoka‘s system in 2024/25. As Feigen writes, Alperen Sengun enjoyed a breakout run last year and seems likely to preserve his starting spot, and he and Adams likely won’t play together often. Still, Adams – who is on an expiring $12.6MM salary – could earn increased playing time in certain matchups.
The Rockets finished with a solid 41-41 record, but in a talented Western Conference it wasn’t enough to even make the play-in tournament. Instead, Houston finished with the West’s No. 11 seed. As Feigen writes in another story for The Chronicle, team owner Tilman Fertitta hasn’t clearly expressed what would constitute a successful season for the club in 2024/25, declaring that he has “high expectations” but not explicitly stating that he expects a playoff berth.

Warriors Notes: Roster, Rotation, Looney, Kuminga, Moody, Staff

September 27th, 2024 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Thursday to reporters, including Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Kendra Andrews of ESPN, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the front office believes it “improved the team” this offseason, though he suggested the club will remain on the lookout for further upgrades.

“We’re probably as impatient a franchise as you can be right now given our time horizon and all that,” Dunleavy said, per Slater. “But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined. I feel good about the discipline that we held this summer and the roster we built and the growth from within that we’re going to have. I know everybody is always looking for big headline breaking news and all that, but I really like this team.”

As Slater writes, Dunleavy stressed that there’s “no point in going all in to be slightly above average,” but he and Warriors owner Joe Lacob have both expressed that they’re willing to surrender some future assets in order to upgrade the current roster.

“Does that mean we’re definitely going to do something? No,” the Warriors’ GM said. “We were super aggressive last year around the deadline. Didn’t do a whole lot. You’ve got to have a partner. Making deals in this league can be tough. But the effort and the urgency will always be there.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Head coach Steve Kerr feels good about the depth the Warriors have on their roster, suggesting that as many as 12 to 13 players have a case for rotation minutes and that multiple starting lineup spots could be up for grabs this fall, according to Andrews and Slater. “What I love about this camp is that we do have (starting) spots available,” Kerr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have started a lot of games. Last year Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins), (Jonathan Kuminga), Draymond (Green), Trayce (Jackson-Davis) started some games. (Brandin Podziemski), De’Anthony (Melton), Buddy (Hield) has been a starter most of his career. It’s the easiest thing for me to do is just to tell the guys we’ve got starting spots available. That doesn’t mean I’m going to say how many to you or to them.” As Slater writes, Stephen Curry and Green are locks to start, and Wiggins is a relatively safe bet to join them unless he plays himself out of the job, but there could be a competition for the other two spots in the starting five.
While it’s unclear what sort of role he’ll have for the Warriors in 2024/25, veteran big man Kevon Looney is in “phenomenal shape,” a source told Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area, Looney agreed with that assessment. “I feel lighter on my feet, I feel like I can move better,” he said. “I can move the way I want to for longer and I feel like I got a little more stamina.”
Dunleavy said on Thursday that the team has had “positive conversations” with the representatives for Kuminga and Moses Moody about possible rookie scale extensions, tweets Andrews. “Regardless whether we get something done (by October 21), we want those guys here,” Dunleavy said. “Just because you don’t get an extension done doesn’t mean they’re not going to be here for a long time. We’ll still have their rights in free agency if we can’t come to an agreement by the 21st. I think for them, the most important thing is we’ll get through these next few weeks with a deal or not a deal, but all that matters is they have great seasons.”
The Warriors officially announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve hired Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse as assistant coaches, which was first reported early in the offseason. Khalid Robinson, Jacob Rubin, and Anthony Vereen have also been promoted to assistant coaching roles, the club confirmed.
Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard has passed along some of the highlights from his conversation with Kerr on a recent episode of his TK Show podcast. We relayed some of Kerr’s comments about Klay Thompson‘s departure on Wednesday.

Warriors Sign Kevin Knox

September 26th, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 26: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Warriors and free agent forward Kevin Knox have agreed to a one-year deal, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While Charania doesn’t specify the terms of the contract, Golden State is right up against a first-apron hard cap and can’t sign a player to a standard deal without a corresponding roster move, so it’s safe to assume Knox is inking a non-guaranteed camp contract that won’t count against the cap. It figures to include Exhibit 9 language and possible Exhibit 10 language too.

The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox began last season with the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate. He signed with the Pistons in early November and was in the NBA for three months before being sent to Utah at February’s trade deadline. The Jazz immediately waived him, and with no NBA opportunities immediately presenting themselves, the 25-year-old eventually reported back to the Remix.

For the season, Knox appeared in 31 games (11 starts) at the NBA level for Detroit, averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per contest. Those averages aren’t far off from the ones he has posted across 306 career outings for the Knicks, Hawks, Trail Blazers, and Pistons (7.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 18.0 MPG), though his field-goal percentage last season (46.2%) was well above his 39.2% career mark.

Knox suited up for Golden State’s Summer League team in July, playing in six total games in the Las Vegas and California Classic leagues. He averaged 16.0 PPG and 7.2 RPG on .471/.351/.792 shooting in those contests.

There’s technically a path for Knox to make the Warriors’ regular season roster if the team makes a trade or cuts either Lindy Waters or Gui Santos, both of whom are non-guaranteed contracts. However, recent reporting has indicated Golden State will likely hang onto Waters and Santos.

Knox isn’t eligible for a two-way contract and his G League rights are still held by Rip City, so unless the Santa Cruz Warriors trade for those returning rights or Golden State finds room for him on the standard NBA roster, the forward’s stay in the organization may only last a few weeks.

Warriors Waive Plowden, Sign Post To Two-Way Deal

September 26th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 26: Post’s two-way contract with the Warriors is now official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors have waived two-way player Daeqwon Plowden, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), and are signing second-round pick Quinten Post to a two-way contract, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Golden State was expected to open a two-way spot for Post. Pat Spencer and Reece Beekman hold the other two-way slots.

Plowden was signed to a two-way deal after strong Summer League performances for the Warriors. He averaged 14.6 points and shot 39.6% from three-point range in eight Summer League games combined in the Las Vegas and California Classic leagues.

Plowden, who went undrafted out of Bowling Green in 2022, has spent his first two professional seasons in the G League, playing for the Birmingham Squadron in 2022/23 and the Osceola Magic in ’23/24. In 49 Showcase Cup and regular season outings for Osceola last season, he averaged 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 25.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .472/.397/.797.

According to Slater, the Warriors still intend to bring Plowden to camp to compete for a two-way spot, which suggests Spencer and Beekman aren’t entirely safe yet.

The Hawks’ G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, recently acquired Plowden’s returning player rights, so if he doesn’t earn a roster spot with Golden State, he may end up with the Skyhawks.

As for Post, he spent his last three college seasons with Boston College. Post averaged 17.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season. The 24-year-old 7-footer was selected with the No. 52 overall pick.

Southwest Notes: Monroe, Pelicans, T. Allen, Klay, Mavs

September 25th, 2024 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA center Greg Monroe is joining the Pelicans‘ coaching staff in a player development role, according to Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The seventh overall pick in the 2010 draft, Monroe averaged 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest in 646 regular season games across 10 NBA seasons with the Pistons, Bucks, Suns, Celtics, Raptors, Sixers, Timberwolves, Wizards, and Jazz. He last played in the league during the 2021/22 season, when he spent time with four different teams from December to April. The 34-year-old has also competed in Germany, Russia, China, and Puerto Rico.

As Clark observes, Monroe is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana who attended high school in the New Orleans area and won Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball Award in 2007 and 2008 before playing college ball at Georgetown. Monroe told The Times-Picayune in 2023 that he was living in Metairie – which is where the Pelicans’ practice facility is located – when he wasn’t playing overseas.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Word broke back in May that the Grizzlies would retire Tony Allen‘s No. 9 jersey during the 2024/25 season. Now there’s an official date for the ceremony. According to a press release from the team, Allen’s No. 9 will be retired on Saturday, March 15 after the Grizzlies’ game against Miami. The former defensive standout will be the third player in team history to have his jersey hung in the rafters, joining Zach Randolph (No. 50) and Marc Gasol (No. 33).
Appearing on The TK Show with Tim Kawakami (Spotify link), Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he believes Klay Thompson will benefit from a fresh start with the Mavericks, as Grant Afseth of The Dallas Hoops Journal relays. “We all wanted him to stay. I wanted Klay to be a Warrior for life, it felt like the right thing. (But) you never really know what the right thing is for someone else, only that person knows,” Kerr said. “And I think by the end of the year, I think Klay knew for his own sake that he wanted to leave. … I’m happy for him, I think this will be a great move. He’s going to play for a great team, two high-level creators, he should get a lot of open shots. I think sometimes a career change, a late-career change can refresh and recharge you.”
Although the addition of Thompson might increase the Mavericks‘ ceiling in 2024/25, repeating as Western Conference champions won’t be an easy feat, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com, who looks at some of the challenges standing in the way of another trip to the NBA Finals for Dallas.

Warriors Sign Blake Hinson To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 24th, 2024 at 6:30am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors have officially signed Hinson, per RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 19: The Warriors and free agent wing Blake Hinson have agreed to terms on an Exhibit 10 contract, league sources Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Hinson began his college career at Ole Miss in 2018 and spent two years with the program before transferring to Iowa State. He never ended up playing for the Cyclones, transferring again to Pittsburgh, where he played from 2022-24. The 24-year-old put up impressive stats in his super-senior year in ’23/24, averaging 18.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He was one of the NCAA’s best outside shooters, making 42.1% of 7.9 three-point attempts per game.

After going undrafted in June, Hinson signed a two-way deal with the Lakers during the first week of July and played for the team at the Las Vegas Summer League. However, he was waived on Monday when Los Angeles needed to open up a two-way slot for big man Christian Koloko. Hinson, who cleared waivers on Wednesday, chose Golden State over “several” interested clubs, according to Scotto.

While Hinson’s Exhibit 10 deal will make him eligible to be converted to a two-way contract before the regular season begins, the Warriors have no shortage of candidates for those spots — all three two-way slots are currently occupied and second-round pick Quinten Post is still expected to sign a two-way deal, supplanting one of the current players.

Hinson may end up being waived and then earning an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K by spending at least 60 days with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G League affiliate.