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Warriors’ Draymond Green Suspended Indefinitely

December 13th, 2023 at 7:08pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has suspended Warriors forward/center Draymond Green indefinitely, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The league confirmed the news in a press release.

The suspension will begin immediately and Green “will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play,” per the NBA.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), it sounds like part of those conditions will consist of Green receiving counseling following his latest incident, which involved striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head on Tuesday (video link). He received a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game.

While Green has been unapologetic about previous incidents, he claimed hitting Nurkic was unintentional.

“I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said after the game, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I sell calls with my arms … so I was selling the call … and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.

“… You guys have known me long enough, if I intended to do something, I am not apologizing. But I did make contact with him, so I do apologize. … It’s a hard hit.”

As was the case when he was suspended for one game during last season’s playoffs for stomping on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis, and once again after he received a five-game ban for putting Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a headlock last month, the NBA cited Green’s “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts” as a factor in his indefinite suspension.

Sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that Green, his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. are expected to meet on Thursday to discuss “a path of counseling and help for Green to move forward.”

According to Wojnarowski, the NBA “didn’t want to put a specific number” on Green’s suspension, as the league wants him to “take the time he might need to deal with challenges he’s facing.”

It’s unclear what specific “challenges” Wojnarowski is referring to, but obviously Green’s behavior has become increasingly unhinged over the past year-plus. He wasn’t suspended for it, but he also punched former teammate Jordan Poole in the face during last season’s training camp, essentially torpedoing Golden State’s odds of defending its title before the 2022/23 season even began.

Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT hears Green will be able to practice with the Warriors during the indefinite suspension, which is an odd wrinkle in an unusual situation (Twitter link).

A former Defensive Player of the Year who has anchored the Warriors’ defense during four championships over the past nine years, Green re-signed with Golden State as a free agent over the summer, inking a four-year, $100MM contract.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Green will be docked $153,931 per game if he’s suspended fewer than 20 games. That figure will increase to $202,922 per contest if Green’s suspension exceeds 20 games. The Warriors, meanwhile, will reduce their projected luxury tax payment by $519,555 for each game Green is suspended, according to Marks (Twitter link).

There isn’t an obvious replacement for Green’s role on the Warriors, but it could result in more playing time for young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and perhaps Trayce Jackson-Davis, as well as veterans Dario Saric and Kevon Looney.

Warriors, Knicks, Lakers Top Latest NBA Franchise Valuations

December 13th, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico (subscription required), who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2023 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $8.28 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $7 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $7.43 billion, while the Lakers come in at $7.34 billion, per Sportico.

As Badenhausen details, Sportico spoke to more than 30 team executives, owners, investors, bankers, consultants, and lawyers in compiling their latest NBA franchise valuations. According to Sportico, the average value of an NBA team is up 33% from a year ago and 70% from when the site first started publishing valuations three years ago.

A combination of factors are contributing to the soaring value of NBA franchises, says Baudenhausen. Those factors include national media deals, international opportunities, scarcity (ie. only 30 teams are available), and an equal 1/30th stake in the league.

In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we’re highlighting Sportico’s projections in 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But thse projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2023:

Golden State Warriors: $8.28 billion
New York Knicks: $7.43 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $7.34 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.12 billion
Chicago Bulls: $4.83 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $4.56 billion
Miami Heat: $4.17 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.13 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.11 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.05 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.03 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $3.98 billion
Sacramento Kings: $3.46 billion
Denver Nuggets: $3.4 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $3.35 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.33 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.29 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.28 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.27 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.24 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.22 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.2 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.12 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.1 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.08 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $2.94 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $2.82 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $2.72 billion

For the most part, the most significant valuation increases (by percentage) within the last year belonged to the teams on the bottom half of this list. Besides the Bucks, whose projection rose by 32%, every franchise in the bottom 10 received at least a 50% bump from Sportico’s 2022 valuations.

The Nuggets, who cracked the top half of this list following their 2023 championship, were another big riser — their valuation increased by 60% and they moved up six spots.

It’s worth noting that the Mavericks‘ reported valuation in Mark Cuban‘s sale to the Adelson and Dumont families reportedly came in around $3.5 billion, well below Sportico’s valuation.

However, more recent reporting has suggested the final valuation will be closer to $4 billion when the transaction closes. That was also a unique situation since Cuban is retaining control of basketball operations as part of the sale agreement, despite surrendering majority control of the business. He’ll hang onto about 25% of the franchise, according to Sportico.

Warriors Reportedly Offered Klay Thompson Two-Year Extension

December 13th, 2023 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

Before the regular season began, the Warriors offered Klay Thompson a two-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $48MM, Shams Charania of The Athletic said today on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link).

Thompson obviously passed on that offer, with multiple reports at the time suggesting that he and the Warriors were far apart on both years and money. He remains extension-eligible and could sign a new deal with Golden State at any time before he reaches free agency on July 1, but both Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski have indicated there’s a very real possibility he reaches the open market next summer.

Thompson is in the final season of a five-year, $190MM contract that is paying him $43.2MM in 2023/24. He missed two full seasons due to knee and Achilles injuries at the start of the contract and appeared in just 32 regular season games in 2021/22.

After a solid showing in ’22/23, Thompson’s numbers are down across the board in the first couple months of this season — he’s averaging 15.4 points per game on .397/.343/.889 shooting and has recorded roughly the same number of assists (44) and turnovers (43). His field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and turnover rate are career worsts and that scoring average is his lowest since his rookie season in 2011/12.

There has been a sense that Thompson’s contract situation may be weighing on him and factoring into his slow start to the season. Head coach Steve Kerr has been patient with the veteran sharpshooter, keeping him in the starting lineup for all 22 games he has played so far this fall. However, Kerr did hold Thompson – and fellow slumping veteran Andrew Wiggins – out of Tuesday’s closing lineup, as we detailed earlier today.

“I deserved to be benched tonight. I played like crap,” Thompson said after the game, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “If you’ve ever played basketball before, you know what you’re capable of. You always want to be out there competing. That’s just facts. Whatever though. It happens. I deserved to be benched. I’ve been playing like crap. Twenty games in. I haven’t caught a good rhythm.”

Another long-term, maximum-salary contract for Thompson was never a realistic expectation, but teammate Draymond Green – who, like Thompson, is 33 years old – received a four-year, $100MM commitment from Golden State over the summer. With that in mind, it’s perhaps not surprising that the five-time All-Star would view a two-year, $48MM offer as insufficient after averaging 21.9 PPG with a .412 3PT% last season.

Still, unless he’s able to turn things around this season and bust out of his slump, it’s hard to imagine the Warriors adding any more years or money to the preseason offer they made to Thompson.

For what it’s worth, Thompson has said he “absolutely” wants to spend the rest of his playing career in Golden State.

Draymond Green Likely Facing Another Suspension Following Tuesday Ejection

December 13th, 2023 at 7:15am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from a game for the third time this season on Tuesday, earning a flagrant 2 foul for striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head during the third quarter of Phoenix’s win (Twitter video link via TSN Sports).

The NBA is expected to review the incident before the Warriors’ game against the Clippers on Thursday and will likely suspend Green for a second time this fall, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. The former Defensive Player of the Year was previously suspended five games for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock, with the league citing Green’s “history of unsportsmanlike acts” when announcing that penalty.

“I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said after the game, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I sell calls with my arms … so I was selling the call … and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.

“… You guys have known me long enough, if I intended to do something, I am not apologizing. But I did make contact with him, so I do apologize. … It’s a hard hit.”

Although the blow sent Nurkic to the floor, the big man was able to finish the game. After the victory, he told reporters that the play had “nothing to do with basketball,” while Suns head coach Frank Vogel referred to it as “reckless (and) dangerous,” according to Andrews.

“I’m sensitive to our guys getting hit on plays like that,” Vogel said. “I didn’t like it. The refs did what they had to do. The league will do what they have to do.”

Another suspension for Green could result in more playing time for young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and perhaps Trayce Jackson-Davis, as well as veterans Dario Saric and Kevon Looney.

Both Kuminga and Saric, as well as rookie Brandin Podziemski, were part of Golden State’s closing lineup on Tuesday, alongside Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, with Green unavailable and starters Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Looney on the bench.

Thompson, whose scoring and shooting numbers this season are well below his career norms, told reporters after the game that it was “strange” to be benched down the stretch, but he didn’t question head coach Steve Kerr‘s decision.

“I played like crap,” Thompson said, per Andrews. “If you’ve ever played basketball before, you know what you are capable of. You always want to be out there competing. That’s just facts … but I deserved to be benched. I’ve been playing like crap. Twenty games in, I haven’t found a rhythm.”

Paul, Thompson Practice On Monday

December 11th, 2023 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors’ Chris Paul and Klay Thompson are expected to play on Tuesday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Paul missed the last game with an illness and Thompson sat out Sunday’s practice because he was under the weather. Both practiced on Monday in Phoenix.

Warriors Notes: Starting Five, CP3, Kuminga, Klay, Haliburton

December 9th, 2023 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

There was an expectation heading into the Warriors‘ game on Friday in Oklahoma City that head coach Steve Kerr might make a change to a starting lineup that has struggled this season after being one of the NBA’s best in 2022/23. Entering Friday’s action, the five-man group of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney had posted a minus-13.0 net rating in 113 minutes.

However, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets, Kerr stuck with that lineup on Friday and it was relatively effective, outscoring the Thunder by three points in nearly 16 minutes of action. Still, it wasn’t enough. After taking a 14-point lead in the first half, the Warriors watched it slip away and eventually lost in overtime in OKC.

“It’s a pattern right now,” Kerr said after the game, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I watched this same group win a championship a year and a half ago. They’re champions. But they’re not playing like it. I’m not coaching like it. We have to figure this out.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Veteran point guard Chris Paul was a late scratch on Friday due to an illness, tweets Slater. The Warriors announced their starters before ruling out Paul, so the starting five presumably would have been the same even if he had been available.
Golden State committed 29 turnovers in Friday’s loss, which is the most in any game in the Kerr era and the most by any Warriors team since 2002, writes Slater. Kerr referred to it as an “obscene” amount of turnovers and said he plans to hold a film session to try to address the issue. “You want me to go through them?” Kerr said when asked if there were any in particular they needed to eliminate. “We will watch all 29 as a team. I can tell you that. We will watch all 29 turnovers.”
Klay Thompson praised Jonathan Kuminga for his recent play, referring to him as “the future,” according to Slater. Thompson also said he’ll “never, ever lose faith in this group” and shrugged off Charles Barkley likening the 10-12 Warriors to the Titanic on TNT’s Thursday broadcast.“The only frustration with that is will this guy ever give us any credit?” Thompson said when informed of Barkley’s comments. “You know how hard this is to do? Annually? You’d think Charles would understand how hard it is to win a championship. To do that annually? And we’re still here. What are we — 10 and 12? There’s 60 freaking regular season games left. But he’s been hating on us since 2015. So this is no surprise.”
During that same TNT broadcast, former Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers spoke about bringing Tyrese Haliburton in for a workout prior to the 2020 draft and ultimately passing on him (Twitter video link). “What bothers me more than anything was — his workout was good (but) when we met with him after, I should have known then because of who he is as a person and a leader,” Myers said. “… That conversation left a mark because of how smart he is and how confident. It’s not fake, it’s not arrogant, it’s confidence. When you talk about players wanting to play with him, that’s real. … There’s a lot of great players in the NBA that people do not want to play with. (If) you are a great player and a great person, then people want to play with you.” Haliburton said at the time that he thought he’d be a “really good fit” in Golden State — he wasn’t really in the conversation for the No. 2 overall pick, but there was a sense that he could be one of the Warriors’ targets if they traded down.

Warriors’ Gary Payton II (Calf) Out At Least One More Week

December 7th, 2023 at 8:12pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors swingman Gary Payton II will miss at least one more week due to his right calf strain, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State announced that Payton is “making good progress” from the injury and he will be reevaluated next week, per Slater.

Payton, 31, is averaging 5.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 1.2 SPG in 14 games (17.3 MPG) thus far in 2023/24. He sustained the injury on November 28 against the Kings.

Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga figure to receive more minutes with the defensive stalwart sidelined, though all three players have seen their playing time fluctuate to this point.

Payton, who helped the Warriors win a championship in 2022, is making $8.72MM this season and holds a $9.13MM player option for ’24/25.

Golden State has had an uneven start to the ’23/24 season, currently sitting with a 10-11 record, good for the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference. That said, it’s obviously early, and the Warriors are only two games back of the current No. 6 seed, Sacramento.

Warriors Notes: Paul, Foster, Kuminga, Jackson-Davis, Looney

December 7th, 2023 at 10:31am CST by Arthur Hill

In an interview Wednesday on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Commissioner Adam Silver called on Warriors guard Chris Paul and referee Scott Foster to get control of their long-running feud, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

The latest incident took place November 22 when Foster ejected Paul in the second quarter of a game at Phoenix. Afterward, Paul told reporters that he and Foster “had a situation some years ago” that he described as “personal.” Paul has repeatedly expressed frustration with Foster over the years, and his teams are just 3-17 in playoff games that Foster has officiated.

“You have there — two veterans who are the best at what they do,” Silver said. “Scott is one of the most respected NBA officials, one of the highest-rated NBA officials, which is why he referees in our Finals games. Of course, Chris’s track record speaks for itself. The way you handle that, at least the way we’ve tried to handle that, is talk to both of them and say, ‘The expectation is that you’re going to be professional.’ And deal privately with the two of them and say guys, ‘Whatever the bad blood is between you two, you don’t have to be friends, but you’ve got to both go out and do your jobs.’ So that’s my expectation moving forward.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Jonathan Kuminga made a strong bid for more minutes on a night when he wasn’t expected to play at all, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kuminga was bumped from the rotation with Paul and Andrew Wiggins returning from injuries, but he entered Wednesday’s game against Portland with 17 minutes remaining and never came off the floor. Kuminga rejected the idea that he only excels against young, athletic opponents. “I can play against any team,” he said. “It don’t matter. I enjoy playing against anybody.”
Injuries and the suspension to Draymond Green have forced coach Steve Kerr to juggle his lineups at the beginning and end of games, and he indicated that process will continue, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “Every night is going to be different with this team, that’s what I am figuring out,” Kerr said. “What we need each night seems to be different depending on the matchup, depending on how the game is going. It’s hard to predict what is going to happen each night, it’s also hard to play 10 to 11 guys. … We don’t have roster clarity in terms of who’s going to play every single night.”
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis may get a chance to show that he can be the rim protector the Warriors need, Poole adds in a separate story. Jackson-Davis is averaging just 7.8 minutes in 13 games, but Kerr suggested this week that he might get an increased opportunity. “We’re trying to get certain lineups going, trying to get certain guys going,” Kerr said. “… Trayce is in our back pocket. We like him. He may get that chance at some point.”
Kevon Looney‘s dependability has put him on a significant list in franchise history, per Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. Wednesday’s game was the 214th consecutive for Looney, which ties him for 10th place with Klay Thompson. “That’s the one name I really care about,” Looney said. “I want to say I beat him at something.”

Paul, Wiggins Probable To Play

December 5th, 2023 at 8:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins are probable to play on Wednesday against Portland, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr. Both participated in practice on Tuesday, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets. Paul has been out since Nov. 28 due to a lower leg injury. Wiggins has also missed the last two games due to a finger injury.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Paul, Wiggins, Harden, Westbrook, Beal

December 3rd, 2023 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Extension talks between the Warriors and Klay Thompson have been “dormant” since training camp and likely won’t get serious until after the season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown (video link).

That means there’s a decent chance Thompson will become a free agent on June 30, but Wojnarowski notes that’s typical of the way Golden State handles its most prized assets. Draymond Green was allowed to reach free agency before he signed his latest deal, the team didn’t come to an agreement with former general manager Bob Myers before his contract expired, and there hasn’t been an extension yet with head coach Steve Kerr.

Thompson is earning $43.2MM in the final year of his current contract and will be eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $220MM. The Warriors will almost certainly be unwilling to offer him anything close to the full amount because of his age and declining production. Thompson will turn 34 in February and is averaging just 15.7 PPG this season while shooting 40.6% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins missed the Warriors‘ game on Saturday, but they’re both expected to return soon. Paul, who suffered a lower left leg nerve contusion earlier this week, was able to go through his normal pre-game shooting routine, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Wiggins, who hurt his right index finger in a car door, also warmed up before the game and expects to be able to play in a couple of days, Slater adds (Twitter link).
James Harden offered words of encouragement to Russell Westbrook during the Clippers‘ game on Saturday, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Westbrook has shifted to a sixth-man role and has seen his playing time decline since Harden was acquired in a trade last month. Westbrook played just 19 minutes Saturday, and Harden could sense that he was getting upset. “I told him to just stay with it. It’s a long season and I know it’s probably frustrating for him because his minutes are fluctuating,” Harden said. “But I think all of us are trying to figure out how we want to play our different lineups and see who works better with who and things like that.”
Suns coach Frank Vogel said Bradley Beal is in a “workload and then see how his back responds type of phase” as he rehabs his low back strain, tweets Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Beal, who has only played three games this season, is scheduled to have his condition reevaluated this week.