Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

California Notes: Batum, Monk, Sabonis, Loucks, Curry

March 9th, 2025 at 1:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers forward Nicolas Batum made just his fourth start this year on Friday and helped his club notch a 105-95 win over New York, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Typical starter Derrick Jones Jr. is still dealing with a groin injury, opening up an opportunity for the 36-year-old reserve.

Batum, whose season-high 17 points against the Knicks included 5-for-7 shooting from deep, noted that his gig as a backup under head coach Tyronn Lue has meant staying ready and adjusting to an irregular role.

“I mean that was the talk I had with Ty during the offseason after the Olympics and during training camp,” Batum said. “I mean some games I play 25 (minutes), some games five minutes, some games I won’t play… But I knew, like maybe like down the road, like the last 20 games, I might mean more like (in) a game tonight (with) some injury, so I need to be ready to step up.”

The 6’8″ vet is averaging just 17.4 minutes per game this year, his lowest in 17 NBA seasons. All told, Batum is logging 3.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.2 APG and 0.7 SPG during his time on the hardwood for the 34-29 Clippers.

There’s more out of California:

Kings starters Malik Monk (sprained toe) and Domantas Sabonis (hamstring strain) have both been given the green light to resume on-court activity this weekend, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Both will miss Sunday’s clash against the Clippers, and Sabonis has been ruled out for Monday’s matchup with the Knicks as well. Jonas Valanciunas has served as Sabonis’ replacement, while Keon Ellis has been starting in place of Monk.
Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks is set to start his reported new gig as the head coach at Florida State immediately. According to Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL Sacramento (Twitter link), the 34-year-old Loucks logged his last game on interim coach Doug Christie‘s staff on Friday in a 127-109 win over San Antonio. Loucks played under 23-year now-former FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton in college.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry scored his 25,000th career point against Detroit during a 115-110 win Saturday, Golden State announced in a press statement (via Twitter). Curry, 36, is now just the 10th player in the history of the league to have reached that tally for a single team. Across 55 healthy bouts so far this season, the two-time MVP and 11-time All-Star is averaging 24.5 points, 6.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per night. He’s the best player on an ascendant Golden State squad, which has won nine of its past 10 contests and is currently the West’s No. 6 seed at 36-28 overall.

Windhorst/Bontemps’ Latest: Mavs, Lakers, Warriors, Blazers

March 7th, 2025 at 8:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in 2023, the Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving in a trade-deadline blockbuster, missed the postseason, then used a lottery pick that June to draft Dereck Lively, who played a major role on the team that made the NBA Finals in 2024. An injury-plagued Mavs team appears headed for a repeat of their 2023 finish this spring and may need to replicate their ’23 draft lottery success this offseason in order to put themselves in position to bounce back in 2025/26, as Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps write for ESPN.com (Insider link).

“When you have a setback like they’ve suffered, you have to identify what you can control and focus on improvement there,” a league executive told Windhorst. “They don’t control their first-round pick from 2027 to 2030, and this is a good draft.”

While Bontemps advocated on a recent Hoop Collective podcast for the Mavericks to trade Anthony Davis this summer, there’s no indication the organization will consider taking a step back by exploring that possibility.

One league executive told Bontemps that the Mavs are “doubling down” on their current group, while another predicted that the team will sign Irving to a long-term contract this summer even as he recovers from an ACL tear. That exec suggested the deal could start below Irving’s $43MM player option for 2025/26 in order to give the club some extra cap flexibility next season.

As for the Mavs’ outlook for the rest of this season? There’s not much optimism on that front from outside observers, given how thoroughly the roster has been decimated by health issues.

“Dallas is just hopeless right now,” one scout told ESPN. “There’s just no scoring ability without Kyrie. There’s just not enough talent with all these injuries.”

Here’s more from Windhorst and Bontemps:

Within a discussion about whether or not the Lakers‘ recent defensive performance is sustainable, Windhorst notes that the Luka Doncic trade has had an added benefit in Los Angeles beyond the addition of the 25-year-old superstar. “They didn’t just trade for Luka,” one league executive said. “They also traded for a more engaged LeBron (James).” Head coach J.J. Redick told reporters last week that James has been playing at an All-Defensive level as of late.
Although Jimmy Butler‘s numbers with Golden State have been modest – his .451 FG% and .143 3PT% are well below his career rates – the Warriors have a +13.5 net rating during his 341 minutes so far and he has transformed the team into a far more dangerous postseason opponent. “No one will want to play them in the playoffs,” one scout told Bontemps. “Jimmy with fresh legs and motivation … honeymoon-phase Jimmy is a motherf—er. … He’s not a franchise player in that he doesn’t do it in the regular season, but when it comes to the playoffs, he’s a franchise player. He’s a superstar when you need to be winning.”
Rival executives and scouts have been impressed by the Trail Blazers, who have won 15 of their last 22 games and remain in the postseason hunt, just four games back of No. 10 Dallas. Head coach Chauncey Billups has earned praise for how he has handled the rotation. “They have their guys in the right roles now,” one Eastern Conference scout told Bontemps. “It’s not that they don’t believe in [Shaedon] Sharpe now that he’s their scorer off the bench, but that’s the best role for him right now with this current team. … You go up and down the roster, and specifically with the young guys, that’s helped them a lot.”

Contract Details: Two-Ways, Springer, Champagnie, Miller, Spencer, More

March 7th, 2025 at 4:27pm CST by Luke Adams

A flurry of two-way signings occurred prior to Tuesday’s deadline and many of those players who received two-way contracts in the week leading up to March 4 agreed to two-year deals.

Hoops Rumors has confirmed that Patrick Baldwin and Seth Lundy of the Clippers, Pete Nance and Jamaree Bouyea of the Bucks, Lester Quinones of the Pelicans, David Roddy of the Rockets, Miles Norris of the Celtics, and Jared Rhoden of the Raptors all signed two-year, two-way contracts.

As our tracker shows, that means that 25 of the 90 players signed to two-way contracts have deals that will carry over to the 2025/26 league year. It’s common for many of the players on two-year, two-way pacts to be waived during the offseason if teams decide there’s an undrafted rookie or Summer League standout they’d rather add, but those two-year terms give clubs the option of retaining their two-way players for another year.

Here are a few more details on recently signed contracts around the league:

The Jazz used $634,437 of their room exception to sign guard Jaden Springer, who got a three-year contract that includes a non-guaranteed salary for 2025/26 and a team option for ’26/27. Springer will receive a $400K partial guarantee on next season’s salary if he remains under contract through July 25. That partial guarantee will increase to $600K if he makes the opening night roster in the fall.
Teams that used a portion of their mid-level exceptions to promote two-way players to multiyear standard deals include the Wizards with Justin Champagnie ($1,800,000), the Clippers with Jordan Miller ($1,005,000), and the Rockets with Jeenathan Williams ($515,881). All three players got four-year contracts that don’t include guaranteed money beyond this season, though Miller’s deal includes some trigger dates — he’ll get a partial guarantee of $350K for 2025/26 if he’s still under contract beyond July 15 and half of his $2,191,897 salary will become guaranteed if he isn’t waived before the start of the ’25/26 regular season.
Pat Spencer of the Warriors, Orlando Robinson of the Raptors, and Ryan Rollins of the Bucks all received straight conversions of their two-way contracts to standard deals, so they’ll each still be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason.
Dominick Barlow‘s new two-year contract with the Hawks is a minimum-salary deal that includes a team option for 2025/26.

Pacific Notes: Knox, Podziemski, Gillespie, Jones

March 6th, 2025 at 11:02pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Former lottery pick Kevin Knox is on his second 10-day deal with the Warriors and is hoping to stick with the team beyond the expiration of that contract, according to Andrew Crane of the New York Post (subscriber link). Knox suited up for Golden State’s summer team and G League squad to begin this year before his eventual promotion to a 10-day contract.

“At the end of the day, you gotta put your ego and pride aside and go out there and just do what’s needed, best for you,” Knox said of his time in the G League. “And I think that was the best at the time, me to go there and to get some more reps, more film so the coaches, people around the league can see that I still can play this game.”

Knox’s role is somewhat limited by the fact that he’s playing on a star-filled roster in the midst of a playoff race, but he’s still working to impress Warriors brass. In his seven games with the team, he’s averaging 4.0 points per night.

“I’m just so impressed with the fact that he’s on this path, on this journey and not giving in,” coach Steve Kerr said of Knox.

Knox’s second 10-day deal runs through Monday. At that time, the Warriors will need to decide if they want to keep him for the rest of the season or extend a 10-day deal or standard contract to someone else. Yuri Collins also signed a 10-day deal on the same day as Knox, but he wasn’t given a second one.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Second-year guard Brandin Podziemski exited Thursday’s game against Brooklyn in the first minute, heading to the locker room after being seen grabbing his back, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Podziemski was later ruled out for the remainder of the game, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk (Twitter link). After the win, Kerr said the guard’s back simply tightened up and that the injury wasn’t serious. He’ll be listed as day-to-day moving forward, per Slater (Twitter link).
Suns players and coaches are happy, but not surprised, that two-way guard Collin Gillespie is contributing to recent wins. In the Suns’ last two victories, he’s totaled 19 points, seven assists and a trio of three-pointers. “It just seems like a story in itself, an all-time moment for him and a big moment for our team,” Devin Booker said, per PHNX Sports (Twitter link). “I’ve seen behind the scenes, it’s nothing that just popped up out of nowhere. I don’t think it caught any of us by surprise.” Gillespie spent the first two years of his career on a two-way deal with the Nuggets, missing his first season due to injury, before signing on with the Suns this offseason. “There’s a lot of confidence in him,” coach Mike Budenholzer said, as captured by PHNX Sports. “Collin just has a way, I think all his teammates love him. There’s a toughness, I think the Villanova coaching, the Villanova winning, it’s real.”
Derrick Jones Jr. is reaching new heights for the Clippers, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. He’s averaging career highs in points per game (10.6) and three-point percentage (35.6%) to help keep the team firmly in the playoff picture. In an exclusive interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Jones spoke about his role in Los Angeles, what he thinks he can improve, the coaching staff and more. “It’s just me having the same confidence as always,” Jones said of his success with the Clippers. “Whenever my opportunity comes, I go to score, I go to be aggressive or I make a play for somebody else. When I’m always on the floor, I’m always being aggressive and not having any seconds thoughts.“

Western Notes: Harden, Kuminga, Hawkins, Nuggets

March 6th, 2025 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers had lost six of their last seven games and had fallen to ninth in the Western Conference standings entering Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit. They were also missing top scorer Norman Powell. So James Harden‘s 50-point outburst, which helped the team snap a three-game losing streak, was a welcome sight.

As Law Murray of The Athletic writes, it was Harden’s first 50-point game since December 2019 and the first time a Clipper had achieved the feat since Lou Williams in January 2018.

“To see him come out and score 50 on (the second night of) a back-to-back at the age of 35 just says a lot about him and competing every night,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said after the victory. “Playing 38 minutes again on a back-to-back, but we needed every bit of it.”

It was a vintage performance for Harden, who set new personal season highs by making 14 field goals and getting to the free throw line 20 times. After leading the NBA in points per game for three straight years during his time in Houston, Harden has become more of a facilitator and a secondary scoring option in his mid-30s, but he made it clear on Wednesday he’s still capable of big scoring nights.

“I can do it, you know,” Harden said. “It’s not my first time. So somebody who has done it for the first time, it probably takes a lot of energy. For me, it’s just understanding the game. That’s the game within the game.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga won’t return on the team’s current road trip after all, having been ruled out for Thursday’s game in Brooklyn, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kuminga, who has been out since January 4 due to a right ankle sprain, has been scrimmaging and there was a sense he might return at some point during Golden State’s five-game trip. But with the team on a tear, having won of seven of eight games, there’s certainly no need to rush him back.
Pelicans second-year guard Jordan Hawkins is still bothered by the back pain that sidelined him earlier this season, but he has adjusted to playing through it and has been more effective as of late, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. Hawkins put up 14.8 points per game on 47.9% shooting (36.7% on three-pointers) during the team’s recent four-game road trip, well above his season-long averages. “He’s playing more consistent where he has more consistent minutes,” head coach Willie Green said. “He understands what his role is when he steps on the floor. This is a part of his growth.”
One month removed from the February 6 trade deadline, a panel of writers for The Athletic – Jovan Buha, Sam Amick, Christian Clark, and Anthony Slater – check in on where things stand in the Western Conference. The group largely agrees that the Warriors have improved most in the short term and the Lakers have improved most in the long term as a result of their deadline moves. However, three of the four panelists still view the Nuggets as the best bet to knock off the Thunder for a spot in the NBA Finals this spring.

Warriors Promote Pat Spencer, Sign Braxton Key To Two-Way

March 4th, 2025 at 4:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

6:07pm: Spencer has officially had his contract converted and Key has signed his two-way deal, the team’s PR department tweets.

4:57pm: The Warriors are converting Pat Spencer‘s two-way deal into a standard contract and will fill that two-way spot by signing forward Braxton Key, The Stein Line contributor Jake Fischer reports (Twitter links).

Golden State had two open spots on the 15-man roster and needed to fill at least one of them. The signing of Kevin Knox to a second 10-day contract at the beginning of the month bumped its roster count to 13.

Spencer has appeared in 28 games off the bench for the Warriors this season, averaging 2.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 7.0 minutes per night. He scored a career-high 17 points against Indiana on Jan. 10.

Spencer, 28, went undrafted out of Northwestern in 2020. He had a brief stay in Germany but has spent the bulk of his pro career in the G League. He’s played five games for the Santa Cruz Warriors this season.

Key, 28, has appeared in 34 career NBA games, including 20 contest with Denver last season. He was part of the Clippers’ training camp roster last fall but was waived prior to the season opener.

Key has been playing in the G League with the San Diego Clippers. In a total of 38 NBAGL appearances, he’s averaging 14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals in 31.8 minutes per game.

And-Ones: Kerr, Traveling, Draft, Roberts

March 4th, 2025 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors rebounded on Monday from a Saturday loss to Philadelphia, getting back in the win column with a 119-101 victory in Charlotte. But head coach Steve Kerr had a bone to pick after the game, telling reporters that he believes NBA referees let far too many traveling violations go uncalled.

“I don’t understand why we are not teaching our officials to call travel in this league,” Kerr said, per Steve Reed of The Associated Press. “They do a great job and work their tails off and communicate well, but I see five or six travels a game that aren’t called.”

Kerr earned a technical foul in the third quarter on Monday for arguing with officials over what he believes what a travel by Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (video link). Officials let it go and the play resulted in a Warriors foul.

While Kerr was upset in that instance about a non-call that hurt the Warriors, he said his own team is just as guilty as any other, noting that when he watched film of the team’s loss to the Sixers, he noticed four Golden State travels that weren’t called.

“The entire game is based on footwork,” Kerr said. “We need enforce traveling violations and we are not doing it and I don’t understand why. … These (officials) are awesome. They do a great job, and they have a million things to watch, but footwork is the entire basis of the game and we need to call traveling. It will be a much better game if we clean it up.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of this year’s top 100 draft prospects. Texas guard Tre Johnson (No. 11 to No. 5) and French center Joan Beringer (No. 24 to No. 13) are among the big risers in the lottery, while French point guard Nolan Traore has dropped from No. 7 to No. 15 and Israeli guard Ben Saraf has fallen from No. 13 to No. 21.
Just one year ago, Long Island Nets guard Terry Roberts was in the hospital on a ventilator after being shot in the upper chest by a stray bullet. Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) takes an in-depth look at Roberts’ recovery and his road back to being a regular contributor this season for Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.
With less than six weeks in the 2024/25 regular season, several of ESPN’s NBA reporters pose 19 questions facing teams down the stretch as the playoff races in both conferences heat up. Among those questions: Do the Cavaliers have enough to beat the Celtics? How do the Bucks avoid another early playoff exit? Are the Grizzlies ready to take a step forward in the postseason? And what is the Warriors‘ ceiling?

Pacific Notes: Budenholzer, Booker, Bol, Jemison, Goodwin, Curry

March 1st, 2025 at 11:58am CST by Tristan Tucker

Weeks ago, Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer reportedly called on star Devin Booker to “tone it down vocally” during games, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). According to Haynes, Booker was surprised at the request.

As Haynes points out, Booker seemed to allude to that conversation during his post-game remarks on Thursday when he discussed what the Suns need to do to improve amid a stretch that’s seen them drop out of the play-in picture in the West.

“It can be fixed with just a little more talking I’d say,” Booker said. “Things get tough, we get quiet as a team and from my experience and what I’ve seen, that’s not the way to get through it.”

Budenholzer addressed the report on Friday, per Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic. According to the championship-winning coach, he and Booker talk often and have a healthy relationship and dialogue.

“Devin always starts with himself,” Budenholzer said. “He’s always pushing us to be better. Devin is awesome and his communication is awesome. His style is great. I get it, I understand. I don’t have a lot more to say. There’s conversations I have with Devin all the time. I’m good with those conversations. We don’t always agree on everything. I think he actually appreciates it, I appreciate it. I’ll leave it there.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns have leaned heavily recently on Bol Bol, who has started five of their past eight games. He’s been impressive in those five starts, averaging 19.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 55.2% from the field and 41.2% from three (on 6.8 attempts per game). His strong play drew praise from teammate Kevin Durant, per PHNX Sports (Twitter link). “I think a lot of younger players can learn from how he approaches the game,” Durant said of Bol. “And it’s not as glamorized, people don’t think that about Bol, because he’s so quiet and unassuming, but he’s a pro’s pro, and he’s shown that ever since he came here to Phoenix. And ever since he’s been my teammate, I’ve been blown away by how hard he works, how much he cares, how much he wants to go out there and play well, how great of a teammate he is.“
Two-way center Trey Jemison played a big role in the Lakers‘ win over the Clippers, recording five points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. As Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times points out (via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin’s Twitter), the Lakers are 10-0 this season when Jemison plays. The big man said he’s impressed with how L.A.’s bench is shaping up in the late stretch of the season. “If you want this win, you have to come fight us. Literally fight us,” Jemison said of the bench identity, per The Athletic Jovan Buha (Twitter link).
Another two-way player for the Lakers has also stood out as of late — in his eight games with Los Angeles, Jordan Goodwin is averaging 6.1 points and 1.3 steals. According to Buha (Twitter link), head coach JJ Redick said he foresees Goodwin continuing to play a rotation role moving forward. The Lakers don’t have any roster spots open and two-way players aren’t eligible for the playoffs, so if they want Jemison or Goodwin to have a role in the postseason rotation, they’d have to clear spots for one or both by waiving players on guaranteed deals.
Stephen Curry‘s 56 points on Thursday emphasized the fact that he and the Warriors are still worth monitoring as a potential contender, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. While Thompson suggests it may be premature to call the Warriors true contenders, he notes that Curry continues to prove there are few players in the league worth taking over him in a seven-game series.

Warriors Sign Kevin Knox To Second 10-Day Contract

March 1st, 2025 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

March 1: Knox’s second 10-day deal with the Warriors is official, according to a team release (Twitter link).

February 28: The Warriors intend to sign forward Kevin Knox to a second 10-day contract once his initial deal expires, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Knox’s current 10-day contract will expire tonight, so he’ll need to be re-signed on Saturday in order to be active for Golden State’s game in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Knox has been in the Warriors’ organization since last July, having played for Golden State in Summer League and during the preseason before spending the majority of the 2024/25 campaign with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League.

Although he played a modest role off the bench on his 10-day contract, Knox impressed the team with his contributions in limited action, according to Slater. The former ninth overall pick scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting in 29 minutes across four games while also contributing eight rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocks.

Knox will earn $150,179 on his second 10-day contract, with the Warriors taking on a cap hit of $119,972.

Since Golden State is navigating a hard cap, it will be interesting to see whether the team signs a second player to a 10-day contract alongside Knox in order to remain at 14 on standard deals. With Yuri Collins‘ 10-day contract also set to expire on Friday night, the Warriors will temporarily dip down to 12 players before re-signing Knox to get to 13.

Golden State can only carry fewer than 14 players for up to 14 more days this season, so that clock would begin to tick again starting Saturday if the club doesn’t sign a second player, whether that’s Collins or someone else.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Durant, Curry, Kuminga, Clippers

February 28th, 2025 at 10:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns dropped five games below .500 with a loss to the Pelicans on Thursday. Devin Booker expressed his frustration after Phoenix lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

“Skipping over the details and always taking the ‘get ’em next game’ mentality,” Booker said, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “At some point, you got to draw a line and should’ve been drawn a long time ago.”

Kevin Durant was also exasperated but chose his words carefully.

“I don’t want to say the wrong thing and people take it out of context. So I’m just going to agree that we got to be better,” he said.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Stephen Curry had a magical night against the Magic on Thursday, pouring in 56 points, including a dozen 3-pointers. Curry reached the 50-point mark for the 14th time in his career. Warriors coach Steve Kerr feels Curry has been energized by the Jimmy Butler trade, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “He’s the one that keeps using the term ‘meaningful basketball,’” Kerr said. “Which I love. It’s so eloquent and humble. Steph just wants to play meaningful basketball. You can see we’re now in the fight, in the mix. This is what Steph loves. As great a player and shooter as he is, his competitiveness is probably his most underrated quality. He was dying to be back in the mix. Now we’re back in the mix. He’s energized by that.”
Jonathan Kuminga has gone through three scrimmages, including one full-court scrimmage, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. However, Kuminga’s return isn’t imminent, according to Kerr, as the Warriors are playing it cautious with their young forward. Kuminga hasn’t played since Jan. 4 due to an ankle injury.
The Clippers are suffering from chemistry issues due to a number of factors, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes. They were in a good flow earlier in the season but roster moves and injuries have disrupted the rotation. They are 4-6 this month, with a pair of three-game losing streaks.