Golden State Warriors Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Sign Andrew Wiggins To Four-Year Extension

October 15th, 2022 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have signed former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins to a contract extension, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log.

After Wiggins’ surprise extension showed up in the transaction log, his agents Drew Morris and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports confirmed the deal, telling ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Kendra Andrews (Twitter link) that it’s a four-year, $109MM extension.

The deal includes a player option on year four, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

Wiggins, 27, enjoyed perhaps the best year of his career in 2021/22 with the Warriors. Although he fell short of the scoring averages he posted in earlier seasons with the Timberwolves, he earned his first All-Star nod and emerged as a reliable two-way player, making a career-high 39.3% of his three-pointers and handling challenging defensive assignments on the wing.

Wiggins averaged 17.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 73 games (31.9 MPG) during the regular season, then played a crucial role in the Warriors’ title run, putting up 16.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .469/.333/.646 shooting in 22 playoff contests (34.9 MPG).

Having signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension while he was still in Minnesota, Wiggins will earn $33,616,770 this season in the final year of that deal, then take a pay cut on his new extension, which will be worth just over $27MM per year. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), Wiggins’ salary will dip to about $24.3MM in the first year of his next contract, which begins in 2023/24.

Wiggins’ agreement comes on the heels of Jordan Poole striking a four-year, $123MM+ deal with the Warriors earlier today. Golden State has now made nine-figure commitments to two of its key extension-eligible rotation players in less than 24 hours, further increasing the franchise’s record-setting payroll in the coming years.

With Wiggins and Poole locked up, the future of Draymond Green looms as a major question mark for the Warriors. Although it’s still possible that he’ll remain in Golden State for years to come, Green probably can’t realistically expect to receive a long-term contract that has an average annual value matching or exceeding his $27.6MM option for 2023/24.

If Green picks up that option, the cost of the Warriors’ ’23/24 roster – taking into account both player salaries and luxury tax penalties – is projected to exceed $500MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Warriors Convert Ty Jerome, Anthony Lamb To Two-Way Contracts

October 15th, 2022 at 5:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have made a series of roster moves in advance of the regular season deadline, announcing that they’ve converted guard Ty Jerome and swingman Anthony Lamb to two-way contracts while waiving guards Jerome Robinson and Pat Spencer (Twitter links).

All four players were in training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts, which can be converted to two-way deals or can make a player eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate. Robinson and Spencer look like candidates to take the latter route and join the Santa Cruz Warriors if they clear waivers.

The 24th pick in the 2019 draft, Jerome spent his rookie season with the Suns before being sent to the Thunder as part of the Chris Paul trade. The 6’5″ guard, who helped Virginia win an NCAA championship in 2018/19, spent the last two seasons with Oklahoma City, averaging 8.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG and 2.6 RPG on .410/.353/.790 shooting in 81 total games with the Thunder (19.6 MPG). He was traded to Houston last month and was subsequently waived by the Rockets.

Lamb went undrafted out of Vermont in 2020 and signed a two-way contract with the Rockets during the ’20/21 season, appearing in 24 games (17.3 MPG) while averaging 5.5 PPG and 2.9 RPG on .390/.324/.857 shooting. He spent most of last season in the G League with Houston’s affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, averaging 17.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.3 BPG on .466/.390/.757 shooting in 31 regular season games (34.4 MPG).

Jerome and Lamb will provide depth in the Warriors’ backcourt and are eligible to play in up to 50 regular season games on their two-way deals. They’ll earn $508,891 apiece this season.

While it’s possible Golden State will sign-and-waive more players on Saturday, the team’s roster looks fairly set for the regular season. The Warriors will keep the 15th spot on their standard roster open to start the year, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Warriors Rumors: Poole, Green, Klay, Wiggins, Moody, More

October 14th, 2022 at 7:42am CST by Luke Adams

If the Warriors want to sign Jordan Poole to a rookie scale extension before the October 17 deadline, it will likely require a baseline offer of $120MM over four years, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who said during an appearance on the HoopsHype podcast that Tyler Herro‘s deal with Miami raised the bar for Golden State and Poole.

Slater, who believes the two sides will get something done in the coming days, suggests that the incident with Draymond Green last week might’ve create some additional urgency on the Warriors’ side, since they won’t want Poole’s contract situation hanging over his head all year after what happened with Green.

Slater also observes that there are some teams who project to have cap room next year that could realistically offer Poole a maximum-salary offer sheet. In Slater’s view, the Magic and Spurs are among the rebuilding teams who could use a backcourt scorer like Poole and would have the financial flexibility to make life difficult for the Warriors if the 23-year-old makes it to restricted free agency.

Here’s more out of Golden State:

The Warriors appear to be in “wait-and-see” mode on potential extensions for Green and Klay Thompson, says Slater. There’s no real urgency on the Thompson front because he’s under contract for two more guaranteed seasons. Green can become a free agent next summer, but the Warriors will likely want to see how this season plays out to get a sense of how he regains the team’s trust, what his market will be like, and whether he’ll be able to top his $27.6MM player option.
Andrew Wiggins is also extension-eligible, and Slater believes the Warriors would be interested in exploring a new deal if the former No. 1 pick is willing to take a slight pay cut (perhaps from his current $33.6MM into the 20s). But it’s unclear whether Wiggins would consider that as he comes off his best NBA season.
Slater believes Moses Moody is a better bet than Jonathan Kuminga or Patrick Baldwin Jr. to step into a rotation role immediately this season, since he’s a good fit for a three-and-D spot. While the Warriors like Baldwin’s long-term potential, Slater expects him to spend a lot of time in the G League as a rookie.
The Warriors allowed their veterans to take on a major role in the handling of the Green/Poole altercation last week, according to Slater, who points to Stephen Curry, Kevon Looney, and Andre Iguodala as players who were very involved. “The players are of the belief that it’s better for the team to bring Draymond back in now,” Slater said.

Warriors Notes: Green, Poole, Looney, Iguodala, Wiseman

October 13th, 2022 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

It feels like “the clock is ticking down” on the relationship between the Warriors and Draymond Green, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, who likens the situation to the start of the “accommodation stage in a turbulent but prosperous marriage,” with the strains becoming increasingly visible.

In Kawakami’s view, it seems safe to assume that Green’s future with the Warriors beyond the 2022/23 season is very much up in the air, since team executives already weren’t 100% sure about a lucrative new commitment to Green even before he punched teammate Jordan Poole in a practice last week.

Both sides need one another for now, since the Warriors probably can’t realistically win another title this season without Green, but the latest misstep by the former Defensive Player of the Year is a sign that a divorce is probably coming at some point, Kawakami writes.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

The Warriors may have been more inclined to suspend Draymond Green for his actions if they weren’t receiving their championship rings on opening night of the regular season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stated during a TV appearance (video link via ClutchPoints). “If this incident had landed in the middle of the regular season, there’d probably be a suspension. If the Warriors weren’t defending champions and were just playing an ordinary opening night, there might very well be a suspension,” Wojnarowski said. “Golden State did not want to punish Draymond Green in a way where he’d miss opening night where he’d get his fourth ring with the Warriors.”
Jordan Poole is the only reason the Warriors’ championship defense isn’t “in tatters,” according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who lauds the fourth-year guard for the role he has played in the team’s efforts to mend fences.
Head coach Steve Kerr praised Kevon Looney, whom he called the team’s “moral compass” – for the role he played in helping the Warriors navigate the Green incident. “He’s a special human being. Special,” Kerr said, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “And he was a key instrument in everything that we’ve had going the last week to try to get things back on track.”
Andre Iguodala still hadn’t scrimmaged as of Tuesday night and won’t be active when the Warriors begin their season next week vs. the Lakers, according to Kerr (Twitter link via Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area).
It has been 18 months since James Wiseman, who suffered a meniscus tear in April 2021, last played in a regular season NBA game. Kendra Andrews of ESPN takes a look at how Wiseman pushed through that long, challenging rehab process – which included multiple setbacks – to get back on the court this fall.

Warriors Waive Quinndary Weatherspoon, Lester Quinones

October 13th, 2022 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have opened up both of their two-way contract slots, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived guards Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lester Quinones. Both players had been on two-way deals.

With Weatherspoon and Quinones on waivers, the four players who are on Exhibit 10 contracts with the Warriors have become prime candidates to fill those newly opened two-way spots. Ty Jerome, Jerome Robinson, Pat Spencer, and Anthony Lamb are all eligible to have their Exhibit 10 deals converted into two-ways.

The 49th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Weatherspoon signed a two-way contract with the Warriors in January after spending his first two years in the NBA with San Antonio. The 26-year-old appeared in 11 games for Golden State, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 6.6 MPG.

Quinones, meanwhile, agreed to a two-way deal with the Warriors after going undrafted out of Memphis in June. Quinones averaged 10.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 1.2 SPG during his junior season in 2021/22, shooting 44.9% from the field and making 39.0% of his three-point attempts.

Golden State has until Monday to set its roster for the regular season.

Draymond Green Fined, Will Return To Warriors On Thursday

October 12th, 2022 at 7:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have opted to fine, but not suspend, forward/center Draymond Green for punching teammate Jordan Poole in a practice last Wednesday, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday night. As Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes, Kerr also said that Green, who has been away from the team since the altercation, will rejoin the club on Thursday.

Kerr acknowledged that the Warriors may face criticism for their decision not to suspend Green, but explained that the team made the decision it felt was best after a series of internal discussions involving players, coaches, and executives.

Poole was among the players consulted during the decision-making process, meeting with Kerr and the front office multiple times, and also meeting with Green, as Andrews relays. The fourth-year guard was “willing to get back out on the floor with Draymond and go to work,” according to Kerr.

“This is the biggest crisis that we’ve had since I’ve been the coach here,” Kerr said. “It’s really serious stuff. We’re not perfect. … But we’re going to lean on the experience that we have together and trust that this is the best decision for our team. We have a lot of work to do. All of us.”

Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers first said last Thursday that he didn’t think Green would be suspended, but it was unclear if the club intended to stick to that plan after TMZ published video of the punch on Friday.

Green, who privately apologized to Poole and the team on Thursday, reiterated that apology publicly on Saturday, announcing at that time that he would step away from the Warriors for at least a few days and admitting that he had work to do to regain the trust of his teammates and the organization.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kerr expressed confidence that Green will be able to mend the necessary fences, but said he’ll be keeping a close eye on how the team’s young players look at the former Defensive Player of the Year, according to Andrews. Some of those players are newcomers and don’t have a preexisting relationship with Green.

“There is no way around it: (Our) culture has been damaged by this incident,” Kerr said. “You have to work to repair that. … (Green) broke our trust, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt because I think he’s earned that.”

The expectation is that Green will play in Golden State’s preseason finale vs. Denver on Friday and will be available for the team’s regular season opener next Tuesday vs. the Lakers.

Former Assistant Joe Roberts Passed Away At 86

October 11th, 2022 at 3:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Warriors assistant coach Joe Roberts has passed away at age 86, the team announced (via Twitter). A former NBA and ABA player, Roberts coached the Warriors from 1974-79, including the team’s first championship-winning club in 1975. Roberts served as head coach for the final 44 minutes of the series-clinching Game 4 after Alvin Attles was ejected, the Warriors noted in their press release. We send our condolences to Roberts’ friends and family.

Western Notes: Poole, George, Kawhi, Collins, Pelicans

October 10th, 2022 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

If he was negatively affected by the leak of the video of teammate Draymond Green punching him in practice, Warriors guard Jordan Poole certainly didn’t show it on Sunday, as he poured in 25 points with six assists in just 23 minutes vs. the Lakers. According to head coach Steve Kerr, that performance illustrated why the team didn’t consider requiring Poole to take any time off following last Wednesday’s altercation.

“There’s a reason Jordan is who he is right now,” Kerr said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Especially considering where he was coming out of Michigan, a late first-round pick, struggling his first few months in the league. There’s a reason he’s in this position, about to sign a big extension, hopefully. He’s just tough. He’s mentally tough and physically tough and ultra confident in his game.”

After suggesting that Poole could be “about to sign a big extension,” Kerr later acknowledged that it remains to be seen whether the Warriors will work out a new deal with the 23-year-old in the next week. Still, it certainly sounds like a long-term extension is in play for Poole. If the two sides don’t reach an agreement by the October 17 deadline, the fourth-year guard will become a restricted free agent in 2023.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

With both stars healthy again, Clippers forward Paul George is happy to play second fiddle to former Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard on offense this season, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Everybody says, ‘Kawhi (and) you are 1 and 1, (or) 1A, 1B,'” George said. “I’ll publicly say, I’m the 2. Kawhi’s the 1, I’m the 2. So that part we nipped in the bud. Like there’s no ego when it comes to that.”
Spurs big man Zach Collins has entered the concussion protocol, tweets Michael C. Wright of NBA.com. Collins won’t travel to Utah for Tuesday’s game and his status for the Spurs’ preseason finale on Thursday vs. Oklahoma City is up in the air.
Even though John Hollinger of The Athletic thinks the Pelicans‘ decision to extend CJ McCollum “feels like a double-down on an iffy bet against Father Time,” he likes the team’s potential to take a major step forward in 2022/23. Hollinger projects a 48-34 record and a sixth-place finish in the West, writing that New Orleans could realistically get to 55 wins if Zion Williamson stays healthy and “everything clicks.”

Latest On Draymond Green

October 8th, 2022 at 8:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have plenty of reasons to be skeptical about Draymond Green despite the contrition he showed during today’s apology, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the punch that felled teammate Jordan Poole at Wednesday’s practice, Green apologized to Poole and his teammates, along with Poole’s family and his own family during a nearly 40-minute session with the media.

Green called himself “a flawed human being” and pledged to work on his shortcomings. He will spend some time away from the team, and it hasn’t been decided if he’ll return for the regular season opener October 18.

“You apologize with words,” he said. “But, ultimately, your actions show your apologies. I’ve apologized with my words to my team and to Jordan. And now I will allow my actions to show my apology.”

Although Green said all the right things, Monte Poole notes that it’s the latest in a string of troubling incidents. Green tried to attack coach Steve Kerr during halftime of a 2016 game at Oklahoma City, he got suspended for Game 6 of that year’s NBA Finals after hitting LeBron James and he had a heated on-court argument with Kevin Durant while they were teammates in 2018.

Kerr, who has witnessed all of Green’s bad behavior, seemed to express doubt over the apology, Poole adds. When asked whether Green had compromised his trust with the team, Kerr responded, “no comment,” and when a follow-up question addressed whether Green would be ready to rejoin the lineup after missing most of the preseason, Kerr only said, “speculation.”

There’s more on the Green situation:

Kerr was angry that video of Green’s punch was leaked to TMZ, telling reporters that he’s seen similar incidents during his three decades in the NBA and it’s best if they’re handled internally, Poole tweets. “It’s just so much cleaner and smoother and you can move forward,” Kerr said. “As soon as things are leaked, you know, now all hell breaks loose and that affects every single player, coach, but especially the players and because of that, because everything is out there, the players are now having to deal with all of this stuff.”
Kerr explained that it was a “mutual” decision to keep Green away from the team for a while and it was made after discussions involving Green and team leaders, Marc Stein tweets.
Making things right with Jordan Poole should be the Warriors’ priority moving forward, argues Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. The 23-year-old guard is a vital part of the organization’s future, and through October 17 he’s eligible for a rookie scale extension that could pay him upward of $30MM per season. If Poole no longer feels comfortable after what happened Wednesday, that could force Golden State to start exploring the trade market for Green, Kawakami adds.
Rival executives and agents don’t expect the Warriors to try to move Green in response to the punch, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Pincus also talked to sources close to Green, who believe that he and the team will be able to move past the incident.

Draymond Green To Spend Some Time Away From Warriors

October 8th, 2022 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing the media on Saturday for the first time since punching Jordan Poole in a Wednesday practice, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green said he intends to step away from the team for a few days to get his mind right and to allow the club to heal, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

Green said he’s not sure exactly how long he’ll be away from the Warriors, adding that the team still has to decide whether or not he’ll be permitted to play in the regular season opener later this month.

“I expect to play,” Green said (Twitter link via Mark Medina of NBA.com). “But will I play? That is a completely different story and something we will figure out.“

Green, who already reportedly apologized privately to Poole and his teammates for the incident, reiterated that apology publicly during his session with reporters on Saturday. According to Green, he also apologized to his own family and to Poole’s family for the embarrassment that his actions caused (Twitter links via Mark Medina of NBA.com).

Referring to himself as a “flawed human being,” Green said he was in a bad mental space on Wednesday due to some issues in his personal life, but admitted that was no excuse and said he needs to do some work on himself. He declined to offer any additional details about why he escalated the altercation with Poole, explaining that doing so would be a “sympathy tactic” (Twitter links via Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports).

Responding to rumors that his and Poole’s contract situations played a part in the altercation (both players are entering potential contract years and are extension-eligible), Green vehemently denied that, telling reporters it had “absolutely” nothing to do with contracts and insisting that he doesn’t “count other people’s pockets” (Twitter link via Medina).

According to Green, he has taken Poole under his wing since the guard arrived in Golden State in 2019 and the two teammates have had a good relationship, but he’s not sure where things stand now. While Green – who acknowledged that he’ll have to regain the trust of Poole and the rest of the Warriors – said he thinks his apology was accepted by the team, he’s unsure how Poole took it and wants to give him some space (Twitter links via Rohlin and Medina).

“Jordan’s feelings are most important. to be honest, I don’t know how he really feels,” Green said (Twitter links via Medina). “That’s not a bridge we really crossed yet, nor should it be a bridge we should cross yet.

“… I love Jordan Poole. That’s my guy. I will still ride for Jordan, still advocate for Jordan and do anything I can to make Jordan’s job easy.”

As for the fact that video of the punch surfaced two days after the practice in question, Green expressed displeasure about the leak, but conceded that he watched the video “15 times, maybe more,” and that it looks “even worse” than he thought (Twitter links via Medina and Andrews).

“What I did was wrong, regardless of the video leaking,” Green said.