- Klay Thompson “has an expectation” that the Warriors will offer him a max-level contract extension this summer, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Saturday’s “NBA Countdown” (video link). Thompson has one more year on his current deal at $43.2 MM and can become a free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t get an offer that he likes. Wojnarowski notes that the extension decision for Thompson will be influenced by luxury tax concerns, the uncertain status of general manager Bob Myers, whose contract will expire after this season, and punitive restrictions in the new CBA against the highest-spending teams.
After calling for your predictions for the four first round series in the Eastern Conference earlier in the day, we’re pivoting to the West this afternoon.
Here are the four first round series in the Western Conference:
Denver Nuggets (1) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (8)
Unlike in the East, where there are a handful of overwhelming favorites at the top of the conference, the Western Conference field appears more wide open as the playoffs begin. The Nuggets are heavily favored in this series, but their betting line (-550, per BetOnline.ag) isn’t anywhere close to the -1200 and -1300 lines we were seeing in the East.
As good as the Nuggets were this season, they weren’t playing their best basketball down the stretch, having lost five of their last seven games and 10 of their last 17 entering the postseason. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, had a disappointing year, but have a lot of high-end talent on their roster, including three-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, and ascendant All-Star Anthony Edwards.
A Timberwolves team playing to its full potential could give Denver trouble, but we haven’t seen that often this season. It would be a major upset if Tim Connelly‘s new team can get past his old one.
Memphis Grizzlies (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)
After incorporating their trade-deadline acquisitions on February 11, the Lakers went 18-8 to close the regular season, which would translate to a 57-win pace over 82 games.
Throw in the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are relatively healthy and two key members of the Grizzlies‘ frontcourt (Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke) aren’t, and it’s easy to understand why Memphis is only a slight favorite (-142) over Los Angeles (+122) in this series.
Still, the Grizzlies had the best net rating (+4.0) in the West this season and history is working in their favor — as John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the NBA’s No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds have lost 95 of 100 first round series in the last 25 years. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and company won’t be intimidated by the Lakers’ star power.
Sacramento Kings (3) vs. Golden State Warriors (6)
The Kings‘ reward for snapping a 16-season playoff drought is a first-round matchup against the defending champions, who have won titles in four of the last eight years.
The Warriors‘ impressive track record in the postseason has made them betting favorites (-265) in this series over Sacramento (+225). Golden State has had an up-and-down year, but has a huge experience edge in this matchup and seemed to be hitting its stride at the right time in the season’s final weeks. With Andrew Wiggins set to be available for Game 1, the roster is at full strength and will present a tough challenge for the higher-seeded Kings.
Still, the Kings have been exceeding expectations all season long, and their home crowd should be whipped into a frenzy for the first NBA playoff basketball in Sacramento since 2006. This has a chance to be a very fun series.
Phoenix Suns (4) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (5)
The key for both of these star-studded rosters is staying healthy. Suns forward Kevin Durant and guard Chris Paul have battled multiple injuries over the years, including this season, as have Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Suns have the health advantage entering this series, with George considered unlikely to play vs. Phoenix as he recovers from a sprained knee.
Even if PG13 can return to action before the series ends, the Clippers will be in tough against a Phoenix team that has looked incredibly dangerous with Durant on the court. The former MVP has only played in eight games for the Suns since being acquired at the trade deadline, but they’ve won all eight, outscoring opponents by a total of 88 points in those contests.
The Suns are considered strong betting favorites, with a -465 line at BetOnline.ag.
The NBA G League named the recipients of its All-League, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive teams on Thursday (all Twitter links found here). Many of the honorees are on standard NBA or two-way contracts.
Here’s the full list:
All-NBA G League First Team
Carlik Jones – Windy City Bulls ^
- Note: Jones was named G League MVP.
- Neemias Queta – Stockton Kings *
- Note: Queta placed second in MVP voting.
- David Duke Jr. – Long Island Nets ^
- Note: Duke placed third in MVP voting.
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. – Memphis Hustle ^
- Jay Huff – Capital City Go-Go *
All-NBA G League Second Team
- Sharife Cooper – Cleveland Charge
- Jamaree Bouyea – Sioux Falls Skyforce #
- Darius Days – Rio Grande Valley Vipers *
- Mfiondu Kabengele – Maine Celtics *
- Luka Samanic – Maine Celtics ^
All-NBA G League Third Team
- Chris Chiozza – Long Island Nets
- Xavier Moon – Ontario Clippers *
- Isaiah Mobley – Cleveland Charge *
- Moussa Diabate – Ontario Clippers *
- Justin Anderson – Fort Wayne Mad Ants
NBAGL All-Defensive Team
- Jay Huff
- Note: Huff was named G League Defensive Player of the Year.
- Kris Dunn – Capital City Go-Go ^
- Note: Dunn placed second in DPOY voting.
- Shaquille Harrison – South Bay Lakers ^
- Note: Harrison placed third in DPOY voting.
- Neemias Queta
- Mfiondu Kabengele
NBAGL All-Rookie Team
Kenneth Lofton
- Note: Lofton was named G League Rookie of the Year.
- Lester Quinones – Santa Cruz Warriors *
- Note: Quinones placed second in ROY voting.
- Darius Days
- Note: Days placed third in ROY voting.
- Jamaree Bouyea
- Moussa Diabate
(^ denotes standard NBA contract)
(* denotes two-way contract)
(# Bouyea signed 10-day deals with the Heat and Wizards, but is now an NBA free agent)
Both Dunn and Samanic signed standard contracts with the Jazz, while Harrison signed with the Lakers at the very end of the season after playing with Portland on a 10-day deal. Duke and Lofton recently had their two-way contracts converted into standard deals.
Cooper, Chiozza and Anderson all hold NBA experience as well. Cooper spent 2021/22 — his rookie season — on a two-way deal with the Hawks; Chiozza has played for the Rockets, Nets and Warriors, and recently signed with a Spanish team; Anderson has appeared in 242 NBA games with six teams in as many seasons.
The Warriors will be getting one of their top players back to start the postseason, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), who report that Andrew Wiggins has been cleared for Game 1 against the Kings on Saturday.
Charania says the Warriors are “leaning toward” having the 28-year-old come off the bench initially, and he’s expected to play in the range of 20-25 minutes. As Slater notes (via Twitter), Golden State took a similar approach with Stephen Curry when the playoffs started last season after he had missed the last month of the 2021/22 regular season due to injury.
Both Curry and head coach Steve Kerr have said that Wiggins “looked good” in 5-on-5 scrimmages over the past week. Kerr told reporters on Thursday that he wasn’t sure if Wiggins would be on a minutes restriction.
“On one hand, Wiggs is one of those guys who doesn’t seem to fall out of shape … on the other hand he hasn’t played in 10 weeks,” Kerr said (Twitter link via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews).
The veteran forward last played on February 13, missing the final 25 games of the regular season due to a personal matter. Wiggins wound up playing a career-low 37 games (32.2 MPG) in ’22/23, averaging 17.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.2 SPG on .473/.396/.611 shooting.
A former No. 1 overall pick, Wiggins was pivotal during last year’s championship run and figures to be a major player in the Warriors’ chances to defend their title.
After saying earlier this week that he wants the Trail Blazers to pursue veteran additions during the offseason, Damian Lillard doubled down on those comments on Wednesday in an appearance on “Stephen A’s World” (Twitter video link). Following two straight years of losing marked by late-season tanking, Lillard said the organization understands how important it is for him to part of a contending team.
Lillard clarified that his statement shouldn’t be interpreted as a threat and indicated that he won’t demand a trade if personnel moves don’t turn out the way he hopes. However, he wants Portland’s management to make a firm decision on whether it plans to compete right away or try to rebuild.
“I ain’t gonna say I’m putting them on the clock,” Lillard told Stephen A. Smith.” I’m just saying if those things can’t be done — if we can’t do something significant like that — then we won’t have a chance to compete on that level. And then, not only will I have a decision to make, but I think the organization will, too. Because at that point, it’s like, ‘Are you gonna go young, or are we gonna get something done?’ I think we just kinda been on the fence with fully committing to either one. I just think we at that point now where everybody wants to win. They believe I deserve that opportunity.”
There’s more on the Trail Blazers:
- The Knicks, Nets, Heat, Warriors and Clippers are the teams most likely to pursue Lillard if he becomes available, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy. General managers throughout the league don’t expect the Blazers to consider trading Lillard unless he requests it, but he could throw the league into a frenzy if that happens. “They’re not just going to ship him out to get rid of him,” an NBA executive told Deveney. “He has shown them loyalty and they’re going to do the same. But more and more, there is a bigger chance he will ask out. He could very well be the focal point of all talk in the next couple months.”
- Jusuf Nurkic prefers to stay in Portland, but his contract could be a useful piece for salary matching in the type of trade that Lillard wants, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. The veteran center still has three seasons remaining on the four-year, $70MM deal he signed last summer. “As long as I’m wanted, if people want me here, I’m going to be here,” Nurkic said. “I’m not going to ask for a trade to try to go somewhere else.”
- Nassir Little underwent surgery on Thursday for a right-side core muscle injury, the Trail Blazers announced in a press release. Little was limited to 54 games this season and has been sidelined since March 31.
The Warriors haven’t determined when Andrew Wiggins will resume playing, but there’s optimism that he’ll be ready when their playoff series with the Kings begins Saturday, writes C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Wiggins has participated in two scrimmages since returning to the team last week, and coach Steve Kerr said he was impressive both times. Kerr added that Wiggins will be watched closely for the rest of the week as team officials try to determine whether he can play in Game 1, if he will start, and what type of minutes restriction he might be under.
“A lot of good, positive signs have come out of this past week, and we’ll just play it by ear as we get ready for Saturday,” Kerr said.
General manager Bob Myers expressed similar sentiments in a radio appearance Wednesday, according to Holmes, and Wiggins’ teammates are getting excited about the prospect of bringing back one of the key pieces of last year’s title team.
“He looked good,” Stephen Curry said of Wiggins’ scrimmage performances. “He, for the most part, played most of the action we had. He really hasn’t lost a step. I know it’s just scrimmaging and getting back into the pace of live basketball, but he looked pretty spry, fresh legs. And hopefully that bodes well for his return this weekend.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Even though they’re the defending champs, the Warriors may need a long playoff run to keep the core of the team together, states Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Draymond Green has a $27.6MM player option this summer on the final year of his contract, and Klay Thompson will be eligible for a new extension. Contract extensions for Wiggins and Jordan Poole will kick in next season, and a new CBA contains harsher restrictions for teams that far exceed the luxury tax threshold. Marcus Thompson notes that the team has a projected salary and tax bill for next year that could approach $500MM, which owner Joe Lacob has called untenable.
- Green said on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast that he would like to play four more seasons and retire as a Warrior, relays Shayna Rubin of The East Bay Times. “I would love to finish my career here,” he said. “That’s been my goal since signing this current contract that I’m on. It’s looking like a more realistic thing to be finishing here. And I also don’t want to play 20 years in the NBA, I want to play 15 years in the NBA. In four more years, it’s likely I’ll be contributing at a high level and living up to the contract I’ll be on. As far as the probability, I can’t give you that because it isn’t up to me. If it was up to me, I can tell you 100 percent I would finish my career here.”
- Curry’s new deal with Under Armour includes shares of the company worth $75MM, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.
The Rockets aren’t wasting any time seeking out a replacement for former head coach Stephen Silas, whose team option for 2023/24 was declined on Monday.
Houston has sought and received permission to interview Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), and was also granted permission to meet with Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).
In addition to Atkinson and Griffin, the Rockets are securing permission to interview Suns associate head coach Kevin Young, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).
Houston is also in the process of scheduling meetings with former NBA head coaches Ime Udoka, Frank Vogel, and James Borrego, with Raptors coach Nick Nurse expected to be another top target if he becomes available, says Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Multiple reports have indicated that the Rockets are expected to meet with about eight or nine candidates as they look to replace Silas. Not counting Nurse, the team’s list of interviewees is already at six names. Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks was previously identified as a candidate too, though there’s no word yet on the club lining up a meeting with him.
There has been speculation that the Rockets will look for a more experienced candidate during their latest head coaching search, but not all of their candidates fit that bill. While Atkinson, Udoka, Vogel, and Borrego have previously served as head coaches, Griffin and Young would be first-timers.
It’s worth noting that Atkinson tentatively accepted the Hornets’ head coaching position a year ago before backing out of that agreement and staying in Golden State. If he emerges as the Rockets’ top target, the team would obviously look to avoid a repeat of that situation. Additionally, Houston will have to do plenty of background work on Udoka, whose Celtics exit was related to an extramarital affair he had with a member of the organization.
Feigen previously reported that the Rockets would likely begin conducting interviews before the end of this week.
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.
- 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.
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.