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Warriors Notes: Roster, Rotation, Looney, Kuminga, Moody, Staff

September 27th, 2024 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Thursday to reporters, including Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Kendra Andrews of ESPN, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the front office believes it “improved the team” this offseason, though he suggested the club will remain on the lookout for further upgrades.

“We’re probably as impatient a franchise as you can be right now given our time horizon and all that,” Dunleavy said, per Slater. “But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined. I feel good about the discipline that we held this summer and the roster we built and the growth from within that we’re going to have. I know everybody is always looking for big headline breaking news and all that, but I really like this team.”

As Slater writes, Dunleavy stressed that there’s “no point in going all in to be slightly above average,” but he and Warriors owner Joe Lacob have both expressed that they’re willing to surrender some future assets in order to upgrade the current roster.

“Does that mean we’re definitely going to do something? No,” the Warriors’ GM said. “We were super aggressive last year around the deadline. Didn’t do a whole lot. You’ve got to have a partner. Making deals in this league can be tough. But the effort and the urgency will always be there.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Head coach Steve Kerr feels good about the depth the Warriors have on their roster, suggesting that as many as 12 to 13 players have a case for rotation minutes and that multiple starting lineup spots could be up for grabs this fall, according to Andrews and Slater. “What I love about this camp is that we do have (starting) spots available,” Kerr said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have started a lot of games. Last year Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins), (Jonathan Kuminga), Draymond (Green), Trayce (Jackson-Davis) started some games. (Brandin Podziemski), De’Anthony (Melton), Buddy (Hield) has been a starter most of his career. It’s the easiest thing for me to do is just to tell the guys we’ve got starting spots available. That doesn’t mean I’m going to say how many to you or to them.” As Slater writes, Stephen Curry and Green are locks to start, and Wiggins is a relatively safe bet to join them unless he plays himself out of the job, but there could be a competition for the other two spots in the starting five.
While it’s unclear what sort of role he’ll have for the Warriors in 2024/25, veteran big man Kevon Looney is in “phenomenal shape,” a source told Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area, Looney agreed with that assessment. “I feel lighter on my feet, I feel like I can move better,” he said. “I can move the way I want to for longer and I feel like I got a little more stamina.”
Dunleavy said on Thursday that the team has had “positive conversations” with the representatives for Kuminga and Moses Moody about possible rookie scale extensions, tweets Andrews. “Regardless whether we get something done (by October 21), we want those guys here,” Dunleavy said. “Just because you don’t get an extension done doesn’t mean they’re not going to be here for a long time. We’ll still have their rights in free agency if we can’t come to an agreement by the 21st. I think for them, the most important thing is we’ll get through these next few weeks with a deal or not a deal, but all that matters is they have great seasons.”
The Warriors officially announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve hired Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse as assistant coaches, which was first reported early in the offseason. Khalid Robinson, Jacob Rubin, and Anthony Vereen have also been promoted to assistant coaching roles, the club confirmed.
Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard has passed along some of the highlights from his conversation with Kerr on a recent episode of his TK Show podcast. We relayed some of Kerr’s comments about Klay Thompson‘s departure on Wednesday.

Thunder Sign Cormac Ryan, Two Others

September 27th, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have signed rookie free agent shooting guard Cormac Ryan, the team announced today. While the terms of the contract weren’t revealed, it’s almost certainly an Exhibit 10 deal.

Ryan played college basketball for Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina from 2018-24, appearing in a total of 152 games at the NCAA level, including 36 in 2023/24 for the Tar Heels. As a “super-senior” last season, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 30.3 minutes per game with a shooting line of .382/.354/.874.

The Thunder added Ryan to their Summer League roster in July and he suited up in a total of seven games in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG on 19.4% shooting in 12.7 MPG. Despite his underwhelming Summer League performance, it seems the 6’5″ guard is in Oklahoma City’s plans for the coming season.

In all likelihood, Ryan will be waived at some point before the regular season begins and will report to the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the OKC Blue. If he spends at least 60 days with the Blue, he’ll be eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary.

In addition to announcing Ryan’s deal, the Thunder also confirmed today that they’ve signed forwards Malevy Leons and Alex Reese, whose Exhibit 10 agreements with the club were previously reported — one in June and one earlier in the day on Friday.

The Thunder now have 20 players on their preseason roster. More moves are likely coming sooner or later, as they’ve yet to finalize reported Exhibit 10 deals with Buddy Boeheim and Javonte Cooke.

Spurs Notes: Vassell, Collins, Bassey, Wemby, Champagnie, Viera

September 27th, 2024 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran wing Devin Vassell won’t be available when San Antonio’s season tips off next month, the team announced today in a press release. According to the Spurs, Vassell is still recovering from surgery to address a stress reaction of the third metatarsal head in his right foot.

Vassell is taking part in non-contact basketball activities and his status will be updated on November 1, per the club. That means he’ll be sidelined for at least the Spurs’ five games in October and perhaps beyond that.

Vassell was the Spurs second-leading scorer last season behind Victor Wembanyama. The 24-year-old averaged 19.5 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 33.1 minutes per game across 68 outings. His 47.2% field goal percentage was a career high.

Here’s more out of San Antonio:

Although the news on Vassell isn’t ideal, the Spurs issued more positive injury updates on big men Zach Collins (labrum surgery) and Charles Bassey (ACL surgery). Collins has been cleared for all basketball activities, while Bassey is in the midst of a “progressive ramp up to live play.” Both players are expected to be available for the start of the regular season, according to the team.
Doug Haller of The Athletic spoke to several former NBA stars and head coaches about what to expect from Wembanyama in his second season and just how good the reigning Rookie of the Year has the potential to be. “Chris Paul is going to make him a lot better,” Hall of Famer Gary Payton said. “He’s going to get him in the right places and get him the ball at the right time, and then once (Wembanyama) gets stronger and a little bit more seasoning, it’s going to be hard to stop him.”
Following the offseason addition of Harrison Barnes, third-year forward Julian Champagnie almost certainly won’t match the 59 starts he made last season. However, he says he’s perfectly fine with coming off the bench and is more focused on continuing to develop his game and doing whatever he can to help the team, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News details in a subscriber-only story. “I’m into growth,” Champagnie said. “You’ve got to be better than you were last year. One percent better every day is still progress. … I know what they’re asking of me. I know what they’re shooting for. I have a good overview on where we are now and where we want to be in the next four or five years. I want to be part of it, so I’m going to do everything they ask of me to the best of my ability. And let the chips fall where they fall.”
Spurs minority shareholder Paul Viera has increased his stake in the franchise from 5% to 11%, according to Michael Ozanian and Jessica Golden of CNBC, who say that Viera’s latest purchase came “at a steep discount in a deal that values the team at $2.5 billion.” The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved the transaction, the Spurs announced in a press release. Viera bought out a stake that had been controlled by the food service company Aramark, per CNBC.

Pacific Notes: Jones, Suns, Kaminsky, Kawhi, Porter, Lakers

September 27th, 2024 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he had made 94 starts across eight NBA seasons prior to 2023/24, last season was Tyus Jones‘ first as a full-timer in that role — he started all 66 games he played for the Wizards. That sample size is good enough for new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, who tells Steve Aschburner of NBA.com that Jones has “established himself as a great starting point guard in our league” and that the plan is for the veteran to be in Phoenix’s starting five to open the 2024/25 season.

“When you put him out there with Kevin (Durant), Brad (Beal), Book (Devin Booker) and Nurk (Jusuf Nurkic), we feel like we’ve got a strong starting five,” Budenholzer said, confirming what he expects his initial starting group to look like. “And a really strong bench behind them.

“Tyus can help us play faster. He’s great with the kick-aheads, he’s great with getting teammates involved in transition. But then also in the half-court. He’s a guy who has always been a high assists guy, low turnovers. He can get us organized. Everyone talks about how much talent we have. Hopefully he can put them in positions to be their best.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Frank Kaminsky‘s new non-guaranteed deal with the Suns offers him no assurances for the regular season, but he’s still excited to be back with the organization after having worked out at the team’s practice facility in recent weeks, he tells Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. “I love it here,” the veteran big man said. “There’s no other way I can describe it. There’s just such a level of love and comfort that I have living here, being here. I’ve built a nice community here, have great friends — everything here is set up well for me. And that’s why when the camp deal started getting talked about, it’s the one I wanted, just because I love being here.”
This week’s revelation that Kawhi Leonard underwent another knee procedure in the offseason and will be limited in training camp is an ominous one for the Clippers, but president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank attempted to downplay concerns about the star forward’s status, writes Anthony De Leon of The Los Angeles Times. “It’s almost gone,” Frank said of the swelling in Leonard’s knee. “He wants to participate in everything during training camp, but we’re going to hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening.” The goal, Frank added, is “to get him to 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
New Clippers guard Kevin Porter Jr. will be allowed to take part in team activities during training camp while the NBA continues to investigate the domestic incident that occurred last September, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Porter reached a plea agreement of a third-degree reckless assault misdemeanor in January, but wasn’t in the NBA at that time and may still face a suspension from the league.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report reads between the lines of Rob Pelinka‘s and JJ Redick‘s comments to reporters at the Lakers‘ pre-camp press conference on Wednesday, sharing 10 observations about what the team’s head of basketball operations and new head coach had to say.

Timberwolves Sign Chasson Randle To Camp Deal

September 27th, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 27: Randle has officially signed with the Timberwolves, per a press release from the team.

Minnesota is now at the maximum offseason limit of 21 players under contract.

SEPTEMBER 9: The Timberwolves have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with guard Chasson Randle, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

Randle, 31, spent last season with AEK Athens but is quite familiar with the NBA. He has appeared in 119 regular season games, seeing action for the Knicks, Sixers, Wizards, Warriors, and Magic. His last stint came with Orlando, when he played in 41 games (five starts) during the 2020/21 season and averaged 6.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20.4 minutes per contest.

Earlier in the day, the Timberwolves’ G League team, the Iowa Wolves, acquired Randle’s returning player rights from the Oklahoma City Blue (Twitter link). That set the stage for an Exhibit 10 offer.

If they’re waived by their NBA club and join that team’s G League affiliate, players who ink Exhibit 10 contracts are eligible for bonuses worth up to $77.5K (on top of the standard NBAGL salary) should they remain with those affiliate squads for at least 60 days.

And-Ones: G League Trade, Brissett, Future Power Rankings, Lowe

September 27th, 2024 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns‘ and Pacers‘ G League affiliates have completed a trade involving a former No. 3 overall NBA draft pick, per a press release from the Valley Suns. Phoenix’s new affiliate acquired the returning rights to guard David Stockton from the Indiana Mad Ants in exchange for the returning rights to forward Garrison Brooks and former lottery pick Jahlil Okafor.

Brooks and Okafor were among the Suns’ picks in June’s expansion draft, but it’s unclear if either one intends to play in the G League at all in 2024/25 — they both competed overseas last season.

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

Free agent swingman Oshae Brissett is believed to be drawing interest from a EuroLeague team, according to a report from Sportske.net. As Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays, the Serbian outlet says that the Belgrade-based club Crvena Zvezda has its eye on Brissett as a potential target. The five-year NBA veteran, who won a title last season with the Celtics, has been on the lookout for a new home since he turned down his player option with Boston in June.
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, and Tim Bontemps (Insider link) have published the latest installment of their annual “future power rankings,” which are based on each team’s projected on-court success for the next three seasons. The Thunder top this year’s version of the list, while the Celtics drop from No. 1 to No. 2 despite their 2024 championship, since their salary cap situation may get untenable in the near future. The Knicks (third) Sixers (fourth), Mavericks (fifth), Rockets (seventh), Timberwolves (eighth), and Spurs (10th) each rose five or more spots to claim a place in ESPN’s top 10.
Howard Beck of The Ringer sorts the NBA’s 30 teams into six separate tiers based on how clear their plans are going forward. The Nets and Wizards, in full-on rebuilds, are among the teams in the “ever-clear” top tier along with championship hopefuls like the Mavericks and Sixers, while clubs with less obvious goals, like the Hawks, Bulls, and Raptors, find themselves in the lowest “fun-house mirror” tier.
ESPN has laid off senior writer Zach Lowe, sources tell Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Lowe is the second noteworthy NBA reporter to depart the network in recent weeks, joining Adrian Wojnarowski, who unexpectedly announced his retirement from the news industry last week.

Thunder, Alex Reese Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 27th, 2024 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder and free agent forward Alex Reese have agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract, agent Billy Davis tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Reese, who played at Alabama from 2017-21, averaged just 5.4 points per game on .369/.282/.706 shooting during his senior season with the Crimson Tide, then spent a year away from basketball, working as a bartender and moving furniture, per GTV Hoops (Instagram link).

After taking some time away from the sport, Reese signed to play in Luxembourg in 2022/23, then spent the ’23/24 season with the Rip City Remix in the G League. In 43 total Showcase Cup and regular season games for Portland’s affiliate, he averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in just 17.3 minutes per contest, posting a solid shooting line of .442/.405/.766.

Reese’s strong showing in the NBAGL earned him a spot on Portland’s Summer League roster in July. He registered averages of 7.6 PPG and 2.2 RPG in five games (12.0 MPG) in Las Vegas, making just 32.4% of his shots from the field, including 29.6% of his three-point tries.

The Thunder most likely envision Reese suiting up for their G League team – the Oklahoma City Blue – in 2024/25, though they’ll have to acquire his returning rights from the Remix to make that happen. Assuming the Blue acquire those rights and Reese is waived by the Thunder, his Exhibit 10 contract will make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K on top of his standard G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with OKC’s NBAGL squad.

Grizzlies’ Vince Williams Out At Least Four Weeks With Leg Injury

September 27th, 2024 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

Grizlies wing Vince Williams, who recently experienced pain in his left shin during a training session, underwent imaging on the affected area and has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in the upper portion of his tibia, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

According to the Grizzlies, Williams will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks before being reevaluated. While the club says he’s expected to make a full recovery, there are no guarantees he’ll be ready to play at the four-week mark. Further updates will be provided as appropriate, per the Grizzlies.

Memphis will play its first game of the regular season in 26 days, so even if Williams makes a speedy recovery, it sounds like he won’t be available for opening night.

No NBA team was hit harder by injuries last season than the Grizzlies, and while there was hope that their bad luck wouldn’t carry over to 2024/25, Williams is the second player to be affected this fall by a relatively significant health issue. Forward GG Jackson underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot earlier this month and was ruled out for at least the first six weeks of the regular season.

The Grizzlies should have enough depth to withstand the losses early in the season, but Jackson and Williams both emerged as productive rotation players in expanded roles last season and were expected to play regular minutes again this fall.

Williams, who turned 24 last month, averaged 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 27.5 minutes per game across 52 outings (33 starts) in 2023/24, posting a shooting line of .446/.378/.800. He began the season on a two-way deal before being converted to a standard multiyear contract in January.

Jazz Exercise Option On Head Coach Will Hardy

September 27th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

11:00am: According to Haynes (via Twitter), the Jazz have actually exercised their fifth-year option on Hardy, which would mean he’s now under contract through the 2026/27 season.

10:23am: The Jazz have exercised a team option on head coach Will Hardy‘s contract, according to a press release issued by the club.

A former assistant in San Antonio and Boston, Hardy was hired by Utah in 2022 to replace Quin Snyder. The Jazz have a regular season record of just 68-96 (.415) since then and haven’t made the playoffs under Hardy, but the team exceeded expectations in the first halves of both seasons before the front office traded away veterans at the February deadline.

The Jazz – who traded away stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to jump-start a rebuild during the same offseason that Hardy was hired – are evaluating the head coach’s performance based on the job he has done developing young talent and establishing a positive culture within the organization. By those measures, his first two years have been a success, according to general manager Justin Zanik.

“Will has done a great job of guiding our program and instilling the right values and competitive habits with our young group,” Zanik said in a statement announcing the decision. “The organization looks forward to developing with Will as we strive for long-term success through strategic and deliberate growth.”

Reporting at the time of Hardy’s hiring indicated that he was signing a five-year contract; tweets from Chris Haynes and Michael Scotto today indicate that the option being exercised is Utah’s fourth-year option for 2025/26. It’s possible Hardy actually signed a four-year contract and the details were reported incorrectly back in 2022; the team may also hold another option for the ’26/27 season.

Either way, Hardy is under contract in Utah for at least the next two seasons. If the club’s young core continues to take promising steps forward in 2024/25, it seems relatively safe to assume he’ll be extended beyond 2026.

Hardy is the NBA’s second-youngest active head coach, Scotto notes, having been born just five months before Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.

Nets Notes: Thomas, Simmons, Bogdanovic, Core, Barrett

September 27th, 2024 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Cam Thomas took a big step forward as a scorer last season, increasing his points per game from 10.6 in 2022/23 to 22.5 in ’23/24 without a significant dip in efficiency — his .554 TS% last season was only a tick below his .567 mark from the year before.

With Mikal Bridges no longer in Brooklyn, Thomas figures to take on even more offensive responsibilities in his fourth NBA season, and new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez told reporters on Thursday that he’s looking forward to helping Thomas take on that challenge.

“Development is the No. 1 thing. For everybody, not just the young guys, but also the veterans. Everybody has to get better, there has to be a plan,” Fernandez said, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “And my conversations with Cam are ‘Can I help you be more efficient of a scorer?’ If you look at his numbers, the less he dribbles, the more efficient he is. Like, to the top of the NBA. It’s impressive.

“His superpower is to score the ball, and what we need to do is to help him do that, but in an efficient way. Same as his play-making, because he attracts so much attention, teams are going to try to blitz him, load to him, how he can kick that and create more assists. It’s on me and the rest of the coaching staff to help him, and we believe he can take that next step.”

Thomas, who is entering the final year of his rookie scale contract, is eligible to sign an extension at any time up until October 21. If he doesn’t sign a new deal by that point, he’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2025.

According to Lewis, the Nets aren’t believed to have engaged in contract negotiations yet with either Thomas or Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, who are also extension-eligible. General manager Sean Marks didn’t get into specifics when asked about the possibility of new deals for one or more of those players.

“In terms of extension talks, there are several guys on our team that we could be having those same conversations with. So we’ll certainly engage with agents and the players,” Marks said. “It’s important to always have that door open. The window will certainly close on the extension if we can’t get something done, but it’s important for those players to know we care about them, and here’s where we see them, whether the timing is right this year or if it’s next offseason from an organizational standpoint and also from their standpoint.”

We have more on the Nets:

The Nets confirmed on Thursday that Ben Simmons – who underwent back surgery earlier this year – has been cleared for the start of training camp, as his agent recently announced. However, veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic will be unavailable as he continues to recover after undergoing offseason surgeries on his left foot and wrist, Lewis writes for The New York Post. Although Bogdanovic was essentially just a salary-matching piece in the Bridges trade with the Knicks, he’s not believed to have had any discussions with Brooklyn about a buyout, Lewis notes.
Making sure Simmons is fully healthy will be the Nets’ top priority for the former No. 1 overall pick, new head coach Jordi Fernandez said on Thursday, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. As long as Simmons can stay off the injured list, Fernandez is optimistic about how the three-time All-Star will fit in his scheme. “We wanna play fast. He’s still one of the best play-makers to be able to do that,” Fernandez said. “If you can play fast, touch the paint, move the ball, reverse the ball, all that stuff, Ben really fits all that. Now, are playing like this because of Ben? No. We’re playing like that because that’s the style of play we want for our team.”
Although the Nets can’t realistically have championship aspirations in 2024/25, Marks observed on Thursday that it will be an important year for determining which of the team’s current players can be part of the long-term core. “For me, myself, from the front office side, we’re looking at it from, ‘Who are the next Nets?'” Marks told reporters, including Evan Barnes of Newsday (subscriber link). “Who do we look at and say, OK, this person can be part of this rebuild and this person is on the team for the next two, three years. That’s going to be important for us.”
NetsDaily has a full transcript of Marks’ and Fernandez’s comments from Thursday’s press conference.
Jordan Greene of NetsDaily spoke to Bronx native Andre Barrett, who was hired by the Nets as a scout this summer, about his new position, how he ended up in Brooklyn, and his thoughts on the team’s offseason moves.