Chris Paul

Chris Paul After Ejection: “It’s Personal” With Ref Scott Foster

November 23rd, 2023 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

Chris Paul‘s return to Phoenix was cut short on Wednesday night, as the Warriors guard was assessed with a pair of technical fouls and ejected from the game during the final minute of the second quarter. The referee who handed out those technicals was Paul’s longtime nemesis Scott Foster, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com writes.

“It’s personal,” Paul said. “We had a situation some years ago and it’s personal. The league knows. Everybody knows. There’s been a meeting and all of that. … I’m OK with a ref saying whatever they’re saying, but don’t use a tech to get your point across.”

While Paul’s teammates and head coach Steve Kerr generally agreed that the veteran guard earned his first technical by complaining about a foul call, they took issue with Foster’s decision to hit him with a second technical just seconds later. Foster said after the game that both technicals were for “unsportsmanlike conduct” (Twitter link via Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports).

“I didn’t think Chris deserved to be ejected,” Kerr said. “The first tech, absolutely. But I thought the second one was unnecessary. Everybody gets frustrated out there.”

“When both player and ref engage in conversation, that has to stay there,” Stephen Curry said. “I told Scott that after he ejected him. There are certain situations where players overstep. There are times when you know you have to back off. But when both are engaging, I don’t like that.”

As Andrews details, Paul’s former teams lost 13 games in a row in which Foster was the crew chief, and he has a 3-17 playoff record in games that Foster has officiated. CP3’s teams were favored in 15 of those 20 contests, according to Tom Habertstroh (Substack link).

According to Andrews, the animosity between Paul and Foster may have originated during the guard’s stint with the Clippers. In his media session following Wednesday’s loss, Paul mentioned an incident involving his son and Foster from that time, adding that it led to a meeting that included him, his father, Foster, and former Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, among others (Twitter video link via NBC Sports Bay Area).

Paul declined to go into further detail about that incident, suggesting that he’ll simply need to avoid putting himself in position to be T’d up in future games that Foster officiates.

“I’ve got to do a better job at staying there for my teammates, but it is what it is,” he said, per Andrews. “I’ll probably see [Foster] in a Game 7 sometime soon.”

Warriors Notes: Green, Kerr, Kuminga, Savings, Curry

November 16th, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Warriors have lost their last four games, as well as five of their last six, and Draymond Green‘s suspension following an altercation with Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert on Tuesday makes matters more difficult, writes NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. Green was suspended five games by the NBA for “escalating an on-court altercation and forcibly grabbing (Gobert) around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner.”

On top of being without Green, Stephen Curry is battling a minor knee injury and will miss his second straight game on Thursday night against the Thunder. To overcome the absences of Green and Curry, the Warriors are going to need everyone else to step up, including offseason acquisition Chris Paul, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson. Paul started off the year with just six turnovers in his first eight games, including no turnovers in four straight games, but has 10 in his last four outings.

“We’re not doing a great job of getting organized,” Green said. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we’re getting into some things. Chris got to do a better job. We both need to do a better job of getting us into things. When Steph’s got it going, he’s just moving and going. It’s on us to realize that and learn how to also use him when he’s got it going to get other guys looks as well.”

Rookie Brandin Podziemski made the most of an extended opportunity without Green against Minnesota, finishing that game with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He’s going to stay in the rotation moving forward, according to Johnson.

“I look at myself like a spare tire,” Podziemski said. “Whenever something is wrong with the tire, I just go in and fix it. Whatever coach asks me, that is what I have to do.”

Trayce Jackson-Davis and Dario Saric should also see their opportunities continue to grow. Saric started against the Wolves and recorded 21 points. Both his and Podziemski’s contributions allowed the Warriors to almost win that game and should keep them competitive moving forward. Johnson adds that Klay Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Andrew Wiggins need to step up as well.

We have more on the Warriors:

Head coach Steve Kerr was fully supportive of the NBA’s decision to suspend Green when speaking to reporters on Thursday. According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (Twitter link), Green took it too far in taking action against Gobert and Kerr called the suspension “deserved.” “Draymond has to find a way to not cross the line – I’m not talking about an ejection or a technical – I’m talking about a physical act of violence. That’s inexcusable,” Kerr said (Twitter link via Andrews).
Third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga is starting in place of Green on Thursday, tweets The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. Kerr’s instructions for Kuminga were to “run the floor, rebound, dive, get to the line. I want him to shoot the 3.” Kuminga is averaging 11.5 points in his first 11 games this season. Thursday’s game will be his 29th career start and he averages 12.2 points as a starter in his career.
The Green suspension also has some financial implications for the Warriors. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), Green will forfeit $769,705 in salary, which will save the Warriors $2,597,762. The Warriors receive a tax variance credit which is worth 50% of Green’s lost salary and that variance is applied to team salary that counts toward the tax, Marks explains.
Curry remains one of the league’s top players, but he’s thinking about his post-playing career, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson. Curry “absolutely” wants to be an NBA owner in the future. “Understanding the business and how the NBA is run, what all goes into this huge behemoth of an operation, it fascinates you to understand, where’s the future headed?” Curry said. “The league has changed so much in the 15 years I’ve been in and hopefully I’ll be still playing for a good while.“

Pacific Notes: Paul, Warriors, Ellis, Fox, Lyles, Kings

November 10th, 2023 at 8:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Logan Murdock of The Ringer takes an in-depth look at the Warriors‘ Chris Paul experiment, writing that the future Hall-of-Famer was eager to acclimate to his new team as soon as Golden State acquired him over the summer. The 38-year-old point guard is coming off the bench for the first time in his career, which he says is a work in progress.

“It’s figuring it out,” Paul told Murdock. “It’s going to be a process, but at the same time, you want to win in the process.”

According to Murdock, Paul’s first few months with the team have “brought harmony” to the Bay Area, as opposed to the poor locker-room chemistry of last season. Paul has been a connector both on and off the court, with several members of the organization showing appreciation for his leadership and elite basketball IQ.

“He connects all the lineups,” Stephen Curry told Murdock earlier this month. “He’s a gamer, a competitor, he lives and breathes basketball. And even at his age, he knows how to influence games with his brain and his IQ.”

Paul’s contract for 2024/25 is non-guaranteed, so his future with Warriors is uncertain. However, as Murdock writes, the 12-time All-Star has made an excellent first impression.

“It’s been cool, man,” Paul said. “In anything, as you get older, you learn things, you appreciate things more, and I think more than anything, we’re competitors before anything. So I’m excited to see what we all can do.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

The Warriors are tired of comparing this season’s team to the 2022/23 group, but Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic says it’s impossible not to notice the difference. Despite dropping Wednesday’s game to sit with a 6-3 record, Golden State battled the defending champion Nuggets to the wire in Denver, displaying a toughness that was often missing last season, Thompson writes. The Warriors have gone 5-2 on the road amid a tough early schedule, a “stark contrast” to the team’s 11-30 road record in ’22/23.
Second-year guard Keon Ellis, who is on a two-way contract with the Kings, received his first career start in Wednesday’s victory over Portland, which snapped a three-game losing streak, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Ellis replaced former lottery pick Davion Mitchell in the starting lineup, with both players filling in for De’Aaron Fox, who continues to be sidelined with a right ankle sprain. Ellis will start again on Friday, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com.
Prior to Friday’s game against OKC, Kings head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Ham (Twitter link), that Fox and Trey Lyles are making progress in their recoveries, but there’s no return timetable for either player. Lyles, who is battling a left calf strain, has yet to make his season debut.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Beal, Goodwin, Mann, Powell, Lakers, Warriors

November 1st, 2023 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

There’s no specific timetable for the return of either Devin Booker (ankle) or Bradley Beal (back), Suns head coach Frank Vogel said on Tuesday, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter links). Both players have been doing some on-court work, but it has mostly been light shooting, so they haven’t fully ramped up for game action yet.

While Beal has yet to make his Suns debut, Jordan Goodwin – the other player the team acquired in that blockbuster summer deal – has been playing regular minutes in his first four games in Phoenix.

Known known more as a defender, Goodwin has provided some scoring and play-making off the bench with Booker and Beal out, writes Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. He has made just 34.3% of his shots from the floor, but has posted solid averages of 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 21.0 minutes per night.

“Just take advantage of the opportunity. Once we get all of our guys back, those shots, the ones I’m taking right now are gonna be even more open,” Goodwin told Scott over the weekend.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Clippers wings Terance Mann and Norman Powell were mentioned frequently in James Harden trade rumors in recent months, so they were relieved not to be on the move in the deal L.A. eventually made for the star guard, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “It shows the value that they see in us,” Powell said. “You always want that as a player in a league like this: to find a team, organization, and front office that believes in your ability, believes in what you bring to the table, and believes you can help them win at a high level.”
After promising to make tweaks to his rotation following Sunday’s loss to Sacramento, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham leaned on bigger lineups in Monday’s victory over Orlando, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Both Christian Wood (27) and Jaxson Hayes (10) set new season highs in minutes played, as the team frequently deployed a second big man alongside Anthony Davis. “Whenever (Wood is) in there with (Davis), they’re just two huge presences on the defensive glass,” Ham said. “Christian gets some of the toughest defensive rebounds I’ve ever seen anyone get. So, he and (Davis) being combined for, I think it was 25 defensive rebounds, we needed every one of them.”
Although it’s a small sample size, the Warriors‘ second unit is thriving and the team’s depth has been a strength in the early going this season, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Stephen Curry believes the strong play of the second unit – led by Chris Paul – is having a ripple effect on the starters. “That’s different for us, when that unit is so impactful,” Curry said, per Slater. “We’re over on the bench enjoying what we’re watching. When you’re watching good basketball, you feel good about how we’re all playing. It flows.”

Pacific Notes: Paul, Ham, LeBron, Morris

October 30th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Paul came off the bench for the first time in his career Sunday night, and it looks like an arrangement that’s going to be successful for the Warriors, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Paul became an immediate starter when he entered the league with New Orleans in 2005, but the possibility of being shifted to a reserve emerged when he was traded to a Golden State team that already had Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in its backcourt. Paul started the season’s first two games with Draymond Green injured, but moved into his new role when Green returned on Sunday.

“It works,” Paul told reporters after the game. “It gives us a bigger lineup. I’ve never been on a team probably with this type of depth. I’ve been on really good teams, don’t get it twisted. But not necessarily where you could say: ‘All these guys can start.’ And I think last year that was the best starting five in the league.”

The Warriors are coming off a season that was disrupted by players who were unhappy about their minutes and changes to their roles, so Steve Kerr sought to get control of the situation right away, Slater adds. Prior to training camp, he called in Paul, Green, Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney for a meeting where they discussed what to do about essentially having six starters.

Although it was decided that starting roles would be influenced by matchups, Kerr seems happy with Paul as the leader of the second unit and it appears that will continue as long as everyone stays healthy. Green is excited about the edge that brings to the team.

“When you’re talking about replacing Steph Curry with Chris Paul, it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said. “You’re taking your starting point guard out and the next point guard is Chris Paul? That’s incredible. We will have that advantage all year.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he needs to “tighten up” his rotation after Sunday’s loss in Sacramento, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ham has been trying to acclimate Gabe Vincent, who missed much of the preseason with tightness in his lower back, while also dealing with the loss of Jarred Vanderbilt, who is sidelined with bursitis in his left heel. “My rotation, we got to really dig into that,” Ham said. “Really take a close look and so guys are in rhythm. We have a great collection of players. And I played in this league. When you know when you’re going in and who you’re playing with, that matters. So buckling down on our rotation, I’ll start there.”
The minutes reduction that Ham planned for LeBron James hasn’t lasted past the season opener, McMenamin adds. James logged 39 minutes in Sunday’s contest, which was the first game of a back-to-back. “Obviously, I don’t want to run Bron into the ground,” Ham said. “I don’t want to run (Anthony Davis) into the ground too early. Obviously, it was an overtime game tonight and they’re playing at a high level, so you want to leave them out there. But just having that balance.”
Clippers forward Marcus Morris missed his third straight game Sunday, with “coach’s decision” being the explanation, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. However, coach Tyronn Lue said Morris is “very involved, and he’s been great, especially with our young guys.”

Pacific Notes: Green, Paul, Huerter, Lyles, Okogie

October 29th, 2023 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green, who’s set to make his season debut on Sunday, believes that he and Chris Paul will form a dynamic distributing duo, he told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

“How I see the challenge is for the other team,” Green said. “They’ll have players on the floor that have to think the game of basketball with us. Good luck. That’s how I see the challenge. You put Bill Gates and Paul Allen in a room and you get Microsoft. That’s how I see it.”

Paul will come off the bench for the first time in his career with Green back in the lineup, Slater tweets. The veteran point guard has started in his previous 1,216 regular-season games.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Kings coach Mike Brown did not rule out the possibility of a lineup change this evening against the Lakers. Shooting guard Kevin Huerter has struggled during the first week of the season. “There are plenty of guys who made mistakes, and when I evaluate the team, I’m not just looking at Kevin and thinking about taking Kevin out of the starting lineup,” Brown told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “There are other changes that can be made, so I always — with the flexibility we feel we have with this team — that’s something that I always have to take a look at.” Huerter went scoreless in Sacramento’s home opener against Golden State on Friday.
Trey Lyles, who remained with the Kings on a two-year contract, will miss Sacramento’s game on Sunday with a left calf strain, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Lyles has yet to make his season debut.
Forward Josh Okogie, who has started the first three games for the Suns, has already drawn a league fine under the new flopping rules. Okogie believes he’ll likely rack up several more, given the way he plays, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. “When I saw that, the first thing I thought was it’s going to be a long season,” Okogie said. “You call that a flop or if that’s considered a flop worthy of a fine, then it’s going to be a lot of money going into that fine box this year.” He signed a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract this summer with a player option for next season.

Warriors Notes: Thompson, Green, CP3, Kuminga

October 27th, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Klay Thompson and the Warriors can finalize an extension at any time between now and June 30, 2024, so they didn’t need to come to an agreement before the regular season begins. Still, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes (via Twitter video), some players view opening night as an artificial deadline and prefer to table those talks until after the season if they don’t agree to terms by then.

Asked if he’s taking that route, Thompson didn’t confirm it one way or the other, but he also didn’t sound like a player who plans to be actively engaged in pursuing a new deal during the season.

“I’m focused on the daily dedication it takes to do this job,” Thompson said. “I’m not worried about an extension right now. That’ll all play itself out.”

Recent reports from ESPN and The Athletic have indicated that the Warriors and Thompson are pretty far apart on years and money, increasing the likelihood that the veteran sharpshooter could reach free agency next summer. It’s very possible the two sides will bridge that gap at some point between now and June 30, but Thompson acknowledged that he intends to savor this season “just in case” it’s his last in Golden State.

“Oh yeah, you never know what’s going to happen,” Thompson said. “I’m going to savor this as much as I can, especially in this uniform. I was here before it sweet, before it was four championships. Twenty-three wins (in 2011/12). I was here building the foundation, so yeah I’m going to savor it. Because everyone around the world thinks it’s sweet when they look at (the) Warriors, but it hasn’t always been like this. So I’m going to savor the heck out of it.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Warriors forward Draymond Green won’t play on Friday vs. Sacramento, but he just needs to regain his proper conditioning and is “close” to returning to action, per head coach Steve Kerr (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).
Regardless of whether or not Chris Paul continues to start for the Warriors once Green returns, his main role will be as the floor general for the team’s second unit, a source tells Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Paul is the “quintessential” player for that role, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, who observes that the veteran guard’s playing style represents the counterbalance to Golden State’s “organized chaos.”
Even after Green is back, Kerr expects it to take a few weeks for the Warriors to get fully comfortable with their new lineups and the new additions to their rotation, according to Andrews. “This is just the first glimpse of the regular season,” he said. “It usually takes 20, 25 games to really know your team and feel the actions you need, the combinations you have.”
After rolling with Jonathan Kuminga over Andrew Wiggins – and giving Gary Payton II some playing time – in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, Kerr told reporters that he liked the way Kuminga and Payton were defending, and that he won’t hesitate to go with the hot hand in crunch time this season. “That’s how it’s going to be a lot of nights this year,” Kerr said, per C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle. “Whoever is playing best will finish the game.”

Trade Breakdown: Bradley Beal To The Suns

October 24th, 2023 at 5:07pm CST by Rory Maher

This is the second entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2023 offseason. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a three-team blockbuster between the Suns, Wizards and Pacers…

On June 24:

The Suns acquired Bradley Beal, Jordan Goodwin, and Isaiah Todd.
The Wizards acquired Chris Paul; Landry Shamet; the draft rights to Bilal Coulibaly (No. 7 pick); the Suns’ second-round picks in 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2030; first-round pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030; and cash ($4.6MM; from Suns).
The Pacers acquired the draft rights to Jarace Walker (No. 8 pick), the Suns’ 2028 second-round pick, and the Wizards’ 2029 second-round pick.

Notes:

We won’t be covering the Wizards/Pacers part of this trade because it’s pretty straightforward: Washington gave up a couple second-rounders (one from Phoenix) to move up one spot in the draft, while Indiana got the player it wanted plus a couple assets.
The Wizards will have the ability to swap their own first-round pick with the Suns’ first-rounder in 2024, 2026, and 2030. In 2028, the Wizards will have the ability to swap their own first-round pick with whichever one the Suns control (it could be the Suns’ own, the Nets’ first-rounder, or the Sixers’ first-rounder).
The Wizards generated two traded player exceptions in the deal ($5,379,250 and $300,000 for Beal and Goodwin, respectively).
Todd was later traded from Phoenix to Memphis and then waived by the Grizzlies.

The Wizards’ perspective:

Bradley Beal is the sixth-highest paid player in the league, only trailing former MVP winners Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic. He will make $207.74MM over the next four seasons, including a $57MM+ player option in 2026/27.

The cost of Beal’s contract on its own would have made it difficult to recoup significantly positive value for the three-time All-Star, in part because he has appeared in just 90 of a possible 164 games over the past two seasons due to a variety of injuries. And for all his offensive skill, Beal has never been a great defender.

Complicating matters further for the Wizards was the fact that Beal is the only player in the entire NBA – and only the 10th in league history – to have a full no-trade clause. That gave Beal an enormous amount of power to choose not only his next destination, but the outgoing pieces that he would be traded for, since he could (and still can) veto any trade for whatever reason he wants.

It’s easy to say now (a lot of people were saying it at the time as well) that the Wizards should have extracted maximum value for Beal by trading him a few years ago, instead of waiting, keeping him, and giving him a pricey new contract with an inexplicable no-trade clause. But that isn’t what happened, and you can only play the cards you’re dealt.

I used that idiom in particular because new front office executives Michael Winger (president) and Will Dawkins (general manager) did not sign Beal. They just inherited his contract when they took over the basketball operations department.

Over the past five seasons, with Beal as the face of the franchise following major injuries to John Wall, the Wizards have gone 161-229, a 41.3 winning percentage. They posted a losing record each season, including going 35-47 the past two campaigns.

Obviously, not all of that is on Beal. He has been a very good player when healthy, despite his defensive shortcomings. But not good enough on his own to lift Washington into relevance.

The Wizards have been just mediocre enough to hurt their odds of landing a top draft pick while also being bad enough to always be in the lottery. Clearly, they needed a change of direction, and that had to start with moving Beal, who had been with Washington for all 11 of his NBA seasons.

I’m still a little surprised the Wizards got as much as they did from the Suns, even if it doesn’t look like an impressive haul at first glance. For example, the 2024 first-round pick swap is essentially worthless; there’s virtually no chance that Phoenix will be worse than Washington in ‘23/24.

Still, the Suns literally gave up every movable draft pick they controlled at the time, plus Paul, Shamet and cash.

Paul’s pseudo-expiring contract was later traded to Golden State for Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin, Ryan Rollins, a heavily protected 2030 first-round pick, a 2027 second-rounder and cash. We’ll dig deeper into that trade in a future article, but obviously it’s directly tied to this one, since Paul was the primary salary-matching piece for Beal.

In total: Poole, Baldwin, Rollins, Shamet, a top-20 protected first-rounder, four first-round swaps, seven second-round picks (one was sent to Indiana) and cash for Beal.

How Poole performs will ultimately go a long way to determining how valuable the return is, at least in the short term. He’s six years younger than Beal (24 vs. 30), will make $123MM+ over the next four years (instead of $207MM+) and doesn’t have a no-trade clause.

The 2030 pick swap has a chance to be very valuable, but only if the Wizards are better than Phoenix. It’s so far in the future that speculating about the possibility feels borderline pointless, though it’s worth noting that Kevin Durant will be 42 at that point.

Shamet is a decent player on a pseudo-expiring mid-sized contract — he’ll earn a guaranteed $10.25MM this season, but the final two years of his rookie scale extension are non-guaranteed. The 26-year-old has shot 38.8% from three-point range over his five-year career, which is valuable. When he’s on, he can make threes in bunches.

However, he doesn’t offer a whole lot else. It’s hard to say if he’ll be in Washington’s plans going forward, but his contract could be useful for trade purposes if he’s not.

Simply put, the Wizards needed to get younger, focus on player development, and rid themselves of Beal’s contract, which is arguably one of the worst deals in the NBA due to the no-trade clause — particularly for a team in no-man’s land. Washington accomplished all of those things, even if rebuilding is much easier in theory than it is practice.

The Suns’ perspective:

Clearly, new owner Mat Ishbia doesn’t care about spending money — the Suns added to their payroll (and luxury tax payment) by making this deal, both now and going forward. He just wants to win.

Beal doesn’t need to be the face of the Suns. He doesn’t need to be the team’s best – or even second-best – player. The Suns just need him to be an immediate upgrade over 38-year-old Paul, who was a key reason Phoenix reached the Finals in 2021 and had the league’s best record in ‘22.

The Suns were reportedly thinking about waiving Paul before they traded him in the package for Beal. While the future Hall of Famer was still effective last season, he has clearly lost a step on both ends, and remains a perennial injury concern. Turning a player you were contemplating cutting — plus other assets that may or may not be valuable — into an All-Star caliber player closer to his prime was a gamble worth taking for Phoenix.

It may seem like I’m not particularly high on Beal based on how I described things from Washington’s perspective. I certainly don’t think he’s the sixth-best player in the league, but that’s not really how contracts work.

Beal has had an interesting career trajectory. Early on he was primarily known as a jump shooter who would occasionally dabble in secondary play-making and driving. He wasn’t a great finisher in the paint and took far too many long twos, which hurt his efficiency.

For example, while Beal shot an impressive 39.7% from deep over his first four seasons, he only converted 44.0% of his twos and didn’t get to the line much, only posting a 52.1% true shooting percentage (for context, league average over that span was about 53.8%).

As with many talented scorers, Beal improved upon his weaknesses and became a much more dangerous and well-rounded offensive player from 2016 on, averaging 25.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals with a 58.1 TS%. He posted above league average scoring efficiency in six of those seven seasons.

Interestingly, his three-point percentage has actually dropped pretty significantly over the past five seasons, which included his two 30-plus points per game campaigns from 2019-21. He has only converted 34.7% from long range over that span, and he has attempted progressively fewer threes as well.

Part of that is actually by design, and it’s also what makes Beal such a dangerous offensive player. He’s still treated like a sharpshooter who is chased off the line while coming off screens, but now he leverages that threat to get into the paint, make plays, draw fouls, and take short range jumpers, which he is very efficient at converting.

There isn’t really a great way to guard a player like Beal one-on-one. He’s a smooth ball-handler who uses hesitation dribbles to gain an advantage, and he’s adept at playing off the ball. He’s also a solid play-maker and passer, though he can be turnover prone at times.

The fact that Beal has been a No. 1 option for several years and is now a second or third option while still playing at basically the same level is kind of ridiculous. If Durant, Devin Booker and Beal are healthy, the Suns’ offense is going to be outrageously good, and it should be even better in the playoffs because of how versatile their stars are.

Another benefit for the Suns is if Booker or Durant are injured, they can just increase Beal’s usage and run more plays for him. He isn’t quite at the same level of either of those two, but he’s still a top-tier offensive player.

Goodwin shouldn’t be overlooked as part of this trade either. He was quite effective as a reserve last season for the Wizards. While he isn’t a great shooter, he’s an outstanding rebounder for his size (he’s 6’3” and averaged 6.7 rebounds per 36 minutes), is a solid play-maker who takes care of the ball, and is a terrific defender. He’s also on a bargain contract, another huge plus.

It’s very difficult to get quality production from minimum-salary free agents, and the Suns had arguably the best offseason in the NBA as far as that goes. I thought Eric Gordon, Drew Eubanks, Keita Bates-Diop and Yuta Watanabe all could have gotten at least the bi-annual exception or part of the mid-level exception. Phoenix also re-signed Josh Okogie at near the minimum — he got a slight raise using his non-Bird rights.

Some writers/analysts have questions about the Suns’ depth, but I actually think they have one of the deeper rosters in the league. They have plenty of solid players capable of complementing their star trio, and if a role player is having an off night, they can just insert another player in his spot.

The Suns completely overhauled their roster, plus they have a new coach, so you could argue chemistry will be an issue, particularly early on. But I don’t think there’s any doubt that they have a more talented and well-rounded team entering 2023/24 compared to the squad that ended ‘22/23.

Out: Paul, Shamet, Deandre Ayton, Torrey Craig, Cameron Payne, Terrence Ross, Ish Wainright, Bismack Biyombo, Jock Landale, Darius Bazley, T.J. Warren.
In: Beal, Goodwin, Gordon, Eubanks, Bates-Diop, Watanabe, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Grayson Allen, Bol Bol, Chimezie Metu.

While Ross, Biyombo and Warren are all seasoned veterans, they remain free agents with the season starting today. Bazley signed a non-guaranteed deal with Brooklyn this summer but didn’t make the team. Wainright is now on a two-way deal with Portland after Phoenix waived him.

The biggest question mark for me with Phoenix isn’t depth, it’s health. Beal, Durant and Booker have all missed a significant chunk of time in recent seasons, and the Suns need all of them to be healthy in the playoffs (both Paul and Ayton were injured in the second round against Denver last season). Nurkic – a less critical piece of the puzzle — has also missed a ton of action over the past four seasons, but we’ll get more into that in a future article.

The fact that Beal (lower back) may not be available for Tuesday’s season opener against Golden State has to be a little discouraging, even if the team is likely just being cautious.

If things go really south in the next few years for whatever reason, worst-case scenario, the Suns could always trade Durant and/or Booker and retool the roster. If that were to occur, Beal would probably be happy to waive his no-trade clause again and be moved as well.

Still, there are lots of reasons for optimism for Phoenix. New head coach Frank Vogel has a well-deserved reputation as being a strong defensive coach, and there’s plenty of talent on that end for the Suns. If Beal can just be average or a little below, which is doable, they should be more than fine as far as that goes.

The Suns are on the short list of contenders this season. If they win, it would be their first championship in franchise history. Reshaping their roster on the fly was impressive, and a worthwhile risk – we’ll see if it pays off.

Warriors Notes: Podziemski, TJD, Wiggins, CP3, Kuminga

October 15th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

As head coach Steve Kerr told reporters before the Warriors‘ first preseason game, rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis aren’t expected to have roles in a veteran-heavy rotation when the regular season tips off later this month. Still, both Podziemski and Jackson-Davis have been impressing Kerr and the team in training camp and the preseason, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Podziemski, in particular, had a big game in a win over the Lakers on Thursday, racking up 10 assists to go along with his 10 points. And both rookies were part of the closing lineup that sealed the victory, Slater notes.

“That was the highlight of the game,” Kerr said. “Fourth quarter. Those guys doing a lot of good things to help us win the game. Good possessions, offensive boards, having to feel that game pressure and coming through.”

As Slater observes, while Podziemski and Jackson-Davis may find themselves on the bench when the regular season begins, a strong showing in the preseason is important.

Last season, when rotation players were injured or struggled, the Warriors looked up and down their depth chart for reserves who could give them solid minutes, but they were never fully comfortable giving rookies Patrick Baldwin and Ryan Rollins regular playing time, Slater writes. Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, who aren’t quite as raw, could find themselves called upon at some point in 2023/24 and may be in a better position to contribute.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Besides winning another title, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins says his goals for the 2023/24 season include being an All-Star, earning a spot on the All-Defensive team, and representing Canada in the Paris Olympics, according to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com. Wiggins also confirmed to Medina that he’s feeling healthy again after playing through a left costal cartilage fracture in the postseason, adding that he didn’t require offseason surgery to address the injury.
New Warriors guard Chris Paul has been pleasantly surprised by how “seamless” the transition to his new team has been, he told Zena Keita on the Dubs Talk podcast (story and quotes via Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area).
Kerr said on Friday that he appreciates CP3’s vocal leadership style, according to Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think most of our team is quiet, other than Draymond [Green]. But I think, frankly, Draymond needs another voice in that locker room,” Kerr said. “I think we have been at our best over the years when we’ve had veteran guys — guys like David West, Zaza [Pachulia], Shaun Livingston — whose voices really carried well in the locker room.”
While preseason performances doesn’t always carry over the regular season, the Warriors have liked what they’ve seen from forward Jonathan Kuminga, who has scored 50 total points in two preseason contests and is shooting a blistering 65.4% from the floor, writes C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). “He’s just more at peace with himself, embracing the coaching more,” Kerr said. “This is, I think, natural in your third year, to be more comfortable with your surroundings and expectations. He’s just doing a great job of staying poised through his mistakes and he’s really been aggressive.”
Will the Warriors win at least 49 games this season? Vote on their win total, along with the other four Pacific teams, right here.

Warriors Notes: Gay, Draymond, Paul, Kuminga

October 12th, 2023 at 1:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors forward Rudy Gay signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract to compete for a spot on the regular season roster. It’s the first time the accomplished veteran has been in this position in his lengthy career, but he’s confident he can still contribute.

“I’ve been humbled so many times in my career, so it wasn’t nothing,” Gay told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “This is the first time. Hopefully, the last. But it’s one of those things that you come in there and show my work. At the end of the day, throw some s— at the wall and see if it sticks.

“I know I still got a lot to give and I can help a team in this situation. I feel like it’s a pretty good situation.”

The 37-year-old said he considered several non-guaranteed offers from NBA teams, but believed the Warriors gave him the best chance to compete for a title, according to Spears.

“If you’re not competing for a championship 18 years in, what are you playing for?” Gay said. “I train my body all summer. The season is long. A lot of flights. You’re away from your family. You got to do it for something, especially at this point in my life.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green thinks Chris Paul will fit in well with Golden State, per Jordan Elliott of NBC Sports Bay Area. “When you can add a guy that has the respect around the league that Chris Paul has, that has the résumé that Chris Paul has, and the basketball knowledge, and the will to win that Chris Paul has, that’s a positive for any team,” Green said.
In a terrific story for The Athletic, Marcus Thompson II details how the Warriors’ annual trip to San Quentin prison shows Chris Paul‘s character and how he has embraced the team’s culture.
After failing to crack Golden State’s rotation at times during last season’s playoffs, third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga spent the offseason diligently working to improve his game, he tells Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I just want to keep growing as a basketball player,” Kuminga said. “Get better at reading the game. Making sure the game comes easier. Because the work you put in every day makes it easier. I was in the Bay as much as I could, just playing a lot. I did a lot this summer, just playing with the people that were coming in. Just trying to read the game, to be involved and learning the pace of the game and different things.” The former lottery pick hopes to be an All-Star within the next two seasons, according to Poole.

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