Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Part Ways With Stephen Silas

April 10th, 2023 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

April 10: The Rockets have officially declined their option and parted ways with Silas, the team announced.

“On behalf of the Fertitta family and the entire Rockets organization, I would like to thank Stephen for his contributions to the team and the Houston community over the past three seasons,” said general manager Rafael Stone. “I have great respect for Stephen both as a person and as a basketball mind. His character, leadership, and positivity have been invaluable during this stage of our growth.”

April 9: Stephen Silas won’t return in 2023/24 as the Rockets‘ head coach, according to reports from Kelly Iko, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Because he doesn’t have a guaranteed contract for next season, Silas isn’t technically being fired. However, Houston will turn down its team option on the final year of Silas’ deal and will hire a new head coach.

Rockets management is expected to meet with Silas on Monday to formally part ways, according to The Athletic and ESPN (Twitter link). Word of his exit broke moments after the club won its regular season finale on Sunday.

“I feel proud,” Silas said after Sunday’s game (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle). “I wanted to be a head coach my whole life like my dad (Paul Silas). I’m proud of these guys. There’s been a lot of talk about my job for a long time. They kept working and playing hard, playing hard for their coach. I’m proud of that.”

Silas was hired by the Rockets to replace Mike D’Antoni prior to the 2020/21 season, back when James Harden and Russell Westbrook were still on the roster. Both of those stars requested trades early in Silas’ tenure and the team pivoted to a rebuild, significantly altering the nature of the job. Silas ultimately led the Rockets to a 59-177 (.250) record during his three years with the club, which was the NBA’s worst record during that time.

According to The Athletic’s story, the Rockets seriously considered firing Silas after slow starts both last season and this season, but he was able to save his job in both instances due to timely wins during those evaluation periods. Following the passing on Stephen’s father Paul this past December, the Rockets intended to let Silas finish the season.

Iko, Charania, and Amick say that Houston believes a head coaching change is necessary to take a next step toward contention, adding that the team will prioritize a more established coach when seeking Silas’ replacement.

Sources tell The Athletic that Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, and former NBA head coaches Frank Vogel, James Borrego, and Ime Udoka are expected to be among Houston’s candidates. Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link) suggests that Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks, another former head coach, is also drawing interest from the Rockets.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse would be a target too if he doesn’t remain in Toronto, according to The Athletic’s reporters, who say the Rockets will have about eight candidates on their wish list.

As for Silas, he’ll likely be a popular target for teams seeking experienced assistant coaches this offseason, says Wojnarowski. Because he isn’t owed guaranteed money from the Rockets in 2023/24, Silas seems less likely to take a year off before finding a new job.

Klay Thompson Bullish On Warriors' Chances In Playoffs

April 8th, 2023 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

Now that Andrew Wiggins is back with the Warriors, the defending champions look like a legitimate threat to win another title, contends Sam Amick of The Athletic. Veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson agrees with that assessment, despite the fact that Golden State still hasn’t even secured a top-six seed in the West. “I don’t see a team who can beat us in a seven-game series when we’re healthy,” Thompson said on Friday, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.

California Notes: Powell, Thompson, Kings, Lakers

April 7th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers reserve guard Norman Powell appears to be rediscovering his fighting form of late. In his most recent contest, a 125-118 win over the Lakers Wednesday, Powell notched a team-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register.

“I think it’s like my fourth game back coming off injury after missing 11 games so it was just being prepared and just staying mentally locked in and as (head coach Tyronn) Lue says, not playing so angry,” Powell said. “It just shows how much I love the game and how much I commit to it, and my preparation every single day.”

Playing in his first full season with the Clippers, the 6’3″ swingman is averaging 16.7 PPG on .476/.404/.815 shooting splits. All but eight of his 58 healthy contests have come off the team’s bench.

There’s more out of California:

Starting Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has been dealing with a sore back of late, but head coach Steve Kerr said on Friday that the 6’7″ vet is feeling better and was a full practice participant today, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets.
The 48-32 Kings could be without several notable players against the Warriors tonight, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets. All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are both questionable with ankle injuries. Shooting guard Kevin Huerter is managing his own injury, while rookie power forward Keegan Murray has a foot ailment. The statuses of forward Trey Lyles and guards Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk are also up-in-the-air. If Sacramento wins out and the Grizzlies lose out, the Kings would be able to secure the West’s second seed by benefit of a tiebreaker, but it appears the team is happy with its current No. 3 seed.
Despite a clean injury sheet, the healthy Lakers‘ loss against a Clippers team missing All-Star forward Paul George exposes the club as being less than title-caliber, opines Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. Plaschke notes that stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James were clearly playing through ailments, and the rest of the team failed to step up to meet the moment.

NBA Denies Mavericks’ Game Protest Vs. Warriors

April 6th, 2023 at 1:13pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has denied the Mavericks‘ protest of their loss to the Warriors on March 22, the league announced (via Twitter).

The protest was filed due to the Mavs’ claim that an officiating error occurred late in the third quarter, leading to an uncontested basket for Golden State (video link from The Athletic). All five Dallas players were on the opposite side of the court as the Warriors inbounded the ball, resulting in an easy dunk for Kevon Looney.

The league notes that there were nearly 14 minutes remaining in the game when the incident occurred, and the Mavericks later took the lead twice in the last four minutes. Thus, the protest failed because the Mavs were unable to prove that they were “deprived of a fair opportunity to win the game,” according to the NBA.

After the game, Mavs owner Mark Cuban incorrectly claimed that the officials signaled it was Dallas’ ball prior to a timeout and then changed the call to award Golden State possession without informing the Mavs. However, in their formal written protest, the Mavs agreed that the refs had initially awarded the ball to the Warriors.

The NBA says that while the “officials could have taken steps to better manage” the situation, it did not warrant the “extraordinary remedy” of upholding the protest.

Andrew Wiggins Won't Return During Regular Season

April 6th, 2023 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers savored Wednesday’s victory over their cross-town rivals in a game with huge implications for playoff seeding, but the win was a little sweeter for Russell Westbrook than anyone else, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Westbrook was a lightning rod for criticism and an easy target for all that went wrong during his season and a half with the Lakers. He was the subject of trade rumors dating back to last summer before being shipped to Utah in February.

Westbrook signed with the Clippers after reaching a buyout agreement with the Jazz and has been a productive if sometimes imperfect fit. With the chance to solidify a top-six seed on Wednesday night, Westbrook provided early energy with 10 first quarter points as the Clippers built a 19-point lead in the first half.

“It’s not about individual stuff, but we knew what was said about him and when he came over here, it’s the complete opposite of who he is,” Ivica Zubac said. “He’s a great dude, a great leader, always happy, always positive, always helping everyone on the court, helping a lot. So we just wanted to prove everyone wrong, all those rumors, all that stuff that was said about him, it just makes it better that it came in the biggest game of the season.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Andrew Wiggins is back with the Warriors, but he won’t play before the regular season ends, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Coach Steve Kerr said Wiggins had workouts on Tuesday with director of sports medicine Rick Celebrini and assistant coach Jama Mahlalela, then participated in a scrimmage on Wednesday with young players and staff members. “Full court, 5-on-5. He looked good,” Kerr said. “… He hasn’t played in two months and he’s out there running around and looking pretty good. He still has to stack a number of days like this before he’s ready to go out and play in an NBA game. We can’t put him in a bad spot, health-wise. We got to make sure we build him up, get his strength and conditioning in a good place before we put him out there.”
Now that the Suns are locked into fourth place, they may consider resting players for the final two games of the season, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix will face the Lakers on Friday and the Clippers on Sunday, so that decision will impact the playoff race.
Alex Len appears to have emerged as the Kings‘ primary backup center as they prepare for the postseason, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

Warriors Notes: Quinones, Thompson, Wiggins

April 5th, 2023 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors guard Lester Quinones, who is on a two-way contract with the team, was named the NBA G League’s Most Improved Player for the 2022/23 season, according to an announcement from the league (Twitter link).

Unlike in the NBA, the G League’s Most Improved Player award is given to the player who exhibits the most improvement over the course of the season rather than from one year to the next.

Quinones, who finished the NBAGL regular season with averages of 21.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, was especially productive down the stretch, putting up 27.7 PPG on .477/.381/.743 shooting in his last six games for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He previously averaged 17.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.6 APG during Showcase Cup play in the fall.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson was a late scratch on Tuesday due to lower back soreness, but head coach Steve Kerr said the decision was precautionary and doesn’t expect the issue to impact Thompson’s availability going forward, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday for the first time since leaving the team before the All-Star break, forward Andrew Wiggins declined to discuss the specifics of the personal situation that led to his 22-game absence, but said he expects to be back in action soon, according to Andrews. Based on comments made by Kerr, it sounds like Wiggins may not be available by Friday, but could be back for Golden State’s regular season finale on Sunday. “We’ll have a better idea in the next couple of days,” Kerr said. “There’s no way he’s playing in the next few days, I can tell you that. But I think once we have an assessment over the next couple of days, we’ll have a better idea of when he might be able to play.”
The manner in which the Warriors handled Wiggins’ personal absence and his return reflects well on the franchise, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “This organization, it’s a player-first organization,” guard Gary Payton II said. “They want to make sure we’re mentally and physically ready to come to work and do what we’ve gotta do. Wigs was gone for a period of time for Wigs’ reasons and they didn’t press him or push him to come back and get ready to play. Just what he had to handle and he came back.”

Pacific Notes: Jerome, Lakers, Westbrook, M. Brown

April 4th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Although Ty Jerome was a candidate to be promoted from his two-way contract to the Warriors‘ standard roster, that honor ultimately went to fellow two-way player Anthony Lamb, who had his deal converted last month. As a result, Jerome has been inactive since March 11 as the team looked to preserve his final three games of eligibility, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.

With just three games left in the Warriors’ regular season, Jerome is in position to be reactivated on Tuesday. However, unless the team waives someone else to make room for him on the 15-man roster, he won’t be eligible to play in the postseason. Speaking to Johnson, the 25-year-old guard said he understands the situation and has “zero hard feelings” toward Lamb or the organization about it.

“They were very open about it with both me and Anthony,” Jerome told NBC Sports Bay Area. “In the heat of it, we were both playing leading up to that decision. Steph (Curry) was out and a few other guys were out, and it really wasn’t on the forefront of my mind at the time. I was really locked in. I’m just trying to win games.

“We had a good stretch of like five in a row. We won some good games, and that was kind of more on the forefront of my mind, and then with Andre (Iguodala) being out for the year and (Andrew Wiggins) not being here, it just came down to positional depth.”

Assuming Jerome’s contract remains unchanged during the final few days of the regular season, he’ll be on track to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Within a larger story about the Timberwolves‘ duo of Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports looks back at how the trade deadline blockbuster involving the Wolves, Lakers, and Jazz came together, noting that Utah significantly dropped its asking price for taking back Russell Westbrook as the deadline neared. While those negotiations initially involved just the Jazz and Lakers, they expanded to include Minnesota in part because “some factions” of the Lakers’ front office preferred to acquire a point guard younger than Conley and zeroed in on D’Angelo Russell, Fischer writes.
Westbrook, who joined the Clippers after being bought out by Utah, is fitting in much better with his new L.A. team than he did with his old one, as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times outlines. Several people within the organization have expressed both privately and publicly that the union has gone better than expected, Greif writes, adding that the former MVP has been a “popular addition in the locker room.”
Kings head coach Mike Brown earned Mark Daigneault‘s vote for the Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year award, the Thunder coach said on Monday (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman). “There was an external stigma that existed around that team,” Daigneault said of Sacramento. “I really admire the energy he brought to that job … He’s really brought a swagger and confidence.”

Andrew Wiggins Nears Return To Warriors

April 3rd, 2023 at 12:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:56pm: Wiggins plans to attend (not play) Tuesday’s game against the Thunder, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Charania that Wiggins has been away from the team because his father has been dealing with a “serious” health problem.

11:49am: Andrew Wiggins is expected to rejoin the Warriors in the next few days, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wiggins has missed 22 games while attending to a personal matter, but team officials said repeatedly that they hoped he could return before the end of the season. The front office and his teammates frequently expressed their concerns for Wiggins without providing any specifics about his situation.

Wiggins was an All-Star for the first time last season, averaging 17.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 73 games. He has put up similar numbers this season, but has only been available for 37 contests.

Wiggins played a huge role in Golden State’s title run, bringing a strong defensive presence that has largely been missing this year. His return should help spark a Warriors team that is currently tied for fifth in the West at 41-38 and is hoping to avoid falling into the play-in tournament.

Wiggins hasn’t played since February 13, although the team said he continued to work out while he was away. He will presumably see some game action this week to help him prepare for the playoffs.

Curry Hopes Core Will Stay Together; Still No Clarity On Andrew Wiggins

April 3rd, 2023 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

After being drafted while the franchise was still in Seattle, Durant blossomed into a star during his eight years in Oklahoma City. He led the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012 and was named MVP in 2014, but he alienated the city when he signed with the Warriors as a free agent after the 2015/16 season.

Changes could be coming to the Warriors this offseason, including the loss of potential free agent Draymond Green and general manager Bob Myers, but Stephen Curry believes the current core can be retained both on the court and the front office, relays Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think we can all acknowledge and keep it real that had we not won a championship last year, then those questions would have been a lot more … everyday, I guess?” Curry said in a radio show appearance Friday. “But when you prove that you can win, then you kind of hold off the dogs in terms of how hard it is to do what we’ve done and keep this together for as long as we have.”
The Warriors are still hoping that Andrew Wiggins will return from his leave of absence in time for the playoffs, but time is running out for him to make an impact, observes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Warriors’ Steve Kerr Talks GPII, Kuminga, Myers, More

April 2nd, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

Two longtime members of the Warriors organization could become free agents this summer. President of basketball operations Bob Myers is on an expiring contract, while former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green holds a player option for 2023/24.

Despite some uncertainty about whether Myers and Green will still be in Golden State in the fall, head coach Steve Kerr isn’t viewing this season as a “Last Dance” for this version of the Warriors, as he told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic this week on The TK Show, referencing the 1997/98 Bulls team that he played for.

“That was made clear in Chicago (in 1997), that that was going to be it, Phil (Jackson) was done and everybody’s contracts were up. That was going to be it,” Kerr said. “That’s not the case here at all. I know that (Warriors owner) Joe (Lacob) would love to keep this thing going. He’s been incredible in his financial commitment to keep this team strong and relevant for a decade. He’s always committed to that. So I think there’s a really good possibility that we keep things going here.”

As Kawakami points out, the idea of bringing the entire gang back for 2023/24 would presumably look more appealing to Warriors ownership if the team makes another deep playoff run. Golden State’s up-and-down performance this season has created some doubts about the viability of such a run, but Kerr feels like the team has played some of its best basketball of the season as of late, crediting Gary Payton II‘s return and Jonathan Kuminga‘s emergence as a reliable rotation piece as key factors.

“We look more like a two-way basketball team more often now than we did even a few weeks ago,” Kerr told Kawakami. “We’re not there yet, obviously. I mean, we’re not consistent enough. But I think we know we’re capable of getting where we need to be.”

Here are a few more highlights from Kawakami’s conversation with Kerr, which is worth checking out in full if you subscribe to The Athletic:

On whether he’s concerned that Myers won’t be back with the Warriors next season:

“Yeah, for sure. The fact that he doesn’t have a contract, the possibility is there that he won’t be back. I think that’s obvious. I’m not breaking any news. I can tell you without a doubt everybody wants him back.

“Bob is amazing at his job. His job goes so much further than just drafting or signing players or trading for players. It’s the overall management of the organization. The way he helps me navigate the season through his communication with our players is so valuable for me. Bob is a masterful communicator in every direction and he’s a great friend. He and I have so much trust in one another. So I hope he’s back, and I think everybody feels that way, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

On why it has been challenging for young players (like James Wiseman) to crack the Warriors’ rotation on a consistent basis:

“The hard part for any fan or anybody to realize is just how much knowledge and wisdom you need in this league to really impact winning. I remember early in the season I had dinner with Steph (Curry) and Draymond on the road and I asked them each how long it took them early in their NBA careers to feel like they could directly impact winning. Draymond said three years, Steph said four. And Draymond played four years at Michigan State. Steph played three at Davidson.

“So for each of them, they were talking about seven seasons after they left high school was when they could impact winning in the NBA. You’re talking about Hall of Fame players. So when we get 19-year-old guys like Kuminga or (Moses) Moody or Wiseman, who are really gifted, it’s just not going to click right away. … There are exceptions. But the rule is generally young players have a long way to go to really figure out how to win and to absorb everything you need to know to play at this level.”

On whether the Warriors are capable of winning a title if Andrew Wiggins doesn’t return from his personal absence for the postseason:

“I think so; I really believe in this team. I think the fact that we traded for Gary and the way that JK has stepped up in Wigs’ absence. If you look at last year’s team, we had the two on-ball defenders in Wigs and Gary. And you plug JK into that Wigs spot now. It’s not as seamless as it was a year ago because we had a whole season together and we had all that rhythm and continuity, but I do feel good about our chances just with the talent that we have and the experience that we have.”