Draymond Green Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Hustle Award, Free Agent Guards, Brooks, Hawkins

May 4th, 2023 at 12:44pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics guard Marcus Smart has won the NBA’s Hustle Award for 2022/23, the league announced in a press release (story via Brian Martin of NBA.com). The 29-year-old also won the award last season, becoming the first back-to-back winner, and has now been the recipient three times in the past five seasons.

This is the seventh season for the Hustle Award, which was created in ’16/17, Martin notes. It is a merit-based award reflective of NBA.com’s hustle stats, including charges drawn, loose balls recovered, deflections, box outs, screen assists and contested shots.

The top-five finishers for the award, in order, were Smart, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green, Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson and Pelicans forward Herbert Jones.

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

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report takes a look at the best guards available on the 2023 free agent market and their potential landing spots. Pincus thinks a team with cap room might try to pry restricted free agent Austin Reaves from the Lakers with a large offer sheet, but he thinks L.A. will ultimately match.
John Hollinger of The Athletic, who used to work for the Grizzlies and was part of the front office that drafted Dillon Brooks, believes the small forward can still be a positive contributor for a number of teams as long as he can toe “The Line” between “competitive and crazy.” Teams over the cap but below the luxury tax line could offer the impending free agent the full mid-level exception, and Hollinger points to the Bulls, Hornets, Mavericks, Kings, Trail Blazers and Hawks as clubs that could use defensive help on the wing. As for teams with cap room, the Pistons, Rockets, Pacers and Jazz might be interested in Brooks if they miss out on pricier targets, according to Hollinger.
UConn guard Jordan Hawkins has been invited to the NBA draft combine, which takes place later this month, according Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Considered one of the best shooters in the 2023 class, Hawkins is a potential lottery pick, currently ranked No. 13 on ESPN’s big board. As Zagoria previously reported, Hawkins will be joining a couple of his teammates (Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo) at the combine.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Looney, Thompson

May 1st, 2023 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Before he eliminated the Kings with a record-setting Game 7 performance, Stephen Curry delivered a memorable pre-game speech to his teammates, according to Marcus Thompson II and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Curry typically doesn’t talk a lot before games, but he was disappointed that the Warriors missed out on a chance to clinch the series at home and he was upset that Sacramento guard Malik Monk had called the team old. So Curry had the players’ full attention when he rose to speak.

“He is that guy,” Gary Payton II said. “So when he speaks, everybody better listen. Because 30 is usually quiet and lets his game speak for itself. But he had to say what he had to say, because he knew what type of vibe it was … and I don’t think he wanted to give this one up. So he led and we followed.”

According to Thompson and Charania, Curry expressed his belief in his teammates and assured them that they were ready to win in a tough environment. He also implored them to put personal feelings aside, which sources told the authors was a message for Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and others who have been unhappy with their roles and playing time during the series.

Curry backed up his words with a 50-point performance, the most anyone has ever scored in a seventh game.

“He’s got the same edge as any of the other greats,” Poole said. “That’s what makes him so special. Maybe his approach is a bit different than the other guys, but we know he’s a killer. Everybody in the world knows he’s a killer.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Rumors have persisted that luxury tax concerns will break up Golden State’s roster this summer, but Draymond Green told reporters, including Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, that shouldn’t be the focus right now. “Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” he said. “Stop trying to turn the page on (LeBron James). We get so caught up in what’s the next thing, we don’t appreciate the current. Then you get to the next thing and you’re looking back, like, ‘Man, I wish we still had that. I wish we could still see this.’ So for me and our guys, we are going to appreciate this every step of the way.”
Kevon Looney gets overlooked because his game isn’t flashy, but he played an important role in the first-round victory, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Looney collected 21 rebounds Sunday, including 10 in the third quarter as the Warriors pulled away with the game.
Klay Thompson is looking forward to his first-ever playoff matchup against the Lakers (video link from HoopsHype). Thompson was born in Los Angeles, and his father spent much of his NBA career as part of some legendary Lakers teams.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Green, Sabonis, Clippers

April 29th, 2023 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The player development effort that the Warriors launched four years ago didn’t offer much help in Game 6, leaving them in a must-win situation Sunday in Sacramento, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.

Thompson notes that Golden State has already given up on the two-timeline plan that was supposed to enable the team to remain title contenders without heavy minutes from the veteran core. He adds that seven veterans are likely to see the bulk of the playing time on Sunday, but the team could use a contribution from at least one of its young players.

Thompson points to a decision the Warriors made to focus on young talent after losing in the 2019 NBA Finals. They’ve had five first-round picks since then — and 11 draft choices overall — and they’ve hired five coaches to handle player development, but the payoff wasn’t there when they needed it most. Thompson notes that Jordan Poole had a terrible game on Friday, Gary Payton II played less than 11 minutes and Jonathan Kuminga was barely used at all. James Wiseman, the other hoped-for gem of the development program, was traded to the Pistons in February.

The Warriors’ offseason moves haven’t worked out either, Thompson adds, creating the need for a young player or two to step up. He states that Donte DiVincenzo hasn’t matched his regular season production in the playoffs, JaMychal Green doesn’t have a rotation role and coach Steve Kerr doesn’t seem to trust Anthony Lamb, whose two-way contract was converted to a standard deal so he could be playoff-eligible.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors forward Draymond Green often finds himself cast as an antagonist, but it’s not a role he seeks out, per Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. “I just be myself,” he said after Game 5. “I don’t go chasing after some villain title. Being the villain is no fun, it’s not enjoyable. But I’m also never ducking any smoke, whether that’s with a player or a fan or a fan base.”
Kings center Domantas Sabonis doesn’t expect to be hampered by a left eye injury he suffered when he was hit by Kevon Looney during a jump ball on Friday night. Sabonis displayed the damage during a session with reporters at Saturday’s practice (video link from James Ham of ESPN 1320). He said there’s no damage to the orbital bone, but there’s not a treatment that can improve the eye before Sunday’s game.
Following their first-round playoff exit, the Clippers have to decide whether they want to shake up their roster again just months after trading Reggie Jackson, John Wall and Luke Kennard, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Draymond, Kings, Clippers

April 29th, 2023 at 4:03pm CST by Rory Maher

It seemed as though the Warriors had all the momentum after winning three straight games to go ahead 3-2 in their first-round series against Sacramento, which made their Game 6 home loss Friday night all the more stunning, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

Kawakami calls the 19-point defeat Golden State’s “most disappointing” performance since the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green started making the postseason in 2013. The locker room was understandably quiet and reflective afterward.

Still, the team remains confident it will be able to rebound and emerge victorious Sunday afternoon in Sacramento for Game 7.

“It’s up to us to go to Sacramento and do everything we did tonight — but opposite,” Thompson said. “And I know we will respond. I just know this team. I know these guys. I’ve played at the highest level with them and I know what we are capable of, and we will respond like the champions we are come Sunday.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

It’s time for head coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors to re-insert Draymond Green into the starting lineup in place of the struggling Jordan Poole, argues Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who points to Green’s experience of winning in high-pressure situations and his defensive acumen as reasons why the change should take place.
The Kings made a “series-altering” adjustment in Game 6, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. They decided to go smaller and faster, with more shooting around De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, who both had terrific games. They went away from Alex Len as backup center and used Trey Lyles at the five, with Terence Davis, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray receiving more playing time, while Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell played less. “We knew we could run them a little bit and we took advantage of that tonight,” Monk said. “I felt it a little bit more on them. They were a little tired. We’re younger than they are. So we knew we could take advantage of that. We’re going to try to do the same thing Sunday.”
Confirming a recent report from Mark Medina, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says the Clippers will “continue to build around” Kawhi Leonard and Paul George despite their injury troubles, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays. “Kawhi’s a ceiling raiser,” Frank said. “When you study past NBA champions, they have a top-five guy on their team, and Kawhi has shown that when healthy he can be the best player in the world. Paul is an eight-time All-Star now. So we’re going to continue to build around those guys and look for every which way [to improve around them].”
Both Leonard and George are eligible for pricey contract extensions in the offseason, and the Clippers will discuss the matter with their star players when the time comes, per Youngmisuk. “Those guys are great players and they’re great partners and we want to keep them as Clippers for a long time,” Frank said. “And so we’ll look forward to those conversations. And the No. 1 goal is how can we build a sustainable championship team? And those guys have been great partners, so at the appropriate time, we look forward to sitting down with them.”

Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Green, Looney, Thompson

April 25th, 2023 at 1:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors small forward Andrew Wiggins has been a surprisingly excellent two-way contributor in the team’s 2-2 series against the Kings, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The 6’7″ swingman had been away from the team since February 13 tending to personal issues, but hasn’t missed a beat in his return — he has played a total of 139 minutes in the series, a total just below those of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. He’s averaging 19.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.3 BPG across the first four games of the series.

There’s more out of Golden State:

Following his very public physical training camp altercation with teammate Jordan Poole, Warriors power forward Draymond Green felt he had to work to regain his standing in the locker room, he tells Shams Charania of The Athletic. “We all know the situation,” Green said. “And I felt like I had to earn my voice. A voice isn’t given. For me, I wanted to do things to earn that back… I needed to earn respect and I needed to earn a voice. And not just because you’re Draymond… you’ve done this, you’ve done that in this organization and everyone’s just supposed to listen.”
Starting Warriors center Kevon Looney, who once again has emerged as a major figure in these playoffs, recently detailed how a rigorous yoga routine keeps him, well, centered, per Scott Cacciola of The New York Times. Looney, who has struggled with injuries in the past, has not missed a single game over the past two season, a fact he credits to “Jana Joga,”
Though Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson has yet to submit a massive offensive showing through four playoff games against Sacramento, history suggests that one is forthcoming, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “He’s in that weight room every day, training room every day,” Green said. “As far as him competing and looking like Klay? It’s April. That is who Klay Thompson is. He is one of the biggest and best winners I’ve been around, and that’s what matters most to him.”

Warriors Notes: Iguodala, Payton, Poole, Curry, Green

April 23rd, 2023 at 2:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Warriors have announced in a press release (Twitter link) that reserve swingman Andre Iguodala had the stabilizing splint removed from his left wrist and is set to be reevaluated two weeks from now.

Iguodala fractured the wrist during a March 13 game against the Suns. Golden State’s announcement notes that the 2015 Finals MVP has begun rehabilitating the wrist and that the team could give him the green light to start shooting drills and light ball-handling activities within the next week.

There’s more out of Golden State:

Warriors guards Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole have been listed as probable to suit up for today’s critical Game 4 against the Kings, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). Payton missed Game 3 due to a non-COVID-19 illness.
All-Star Warriors point guard Stephen Curry indicated that he and his comrades appreciated the urgency of Game 3 against Sacramento, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I mean, pretty bluntly, if we lost this game, it’s pretty much over,” Curry said. “You’ve got to understand the moment and we gave ourselves life. Biggest thing is, we’ve been in the situation where momentum doesn’t necessarily carry over from game to game unless you execute at the same level, so it’s just one game, but it was a big game for sure.”
Golden State will bring star forward Draymond Green off the bench and retain the Game 3 starting lineup they used while he was suspended, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweet that Green proposed the change. Poole will thus stay among the Warriors’ first five, separating the team’s two key shooting-challenged big men, Green and center Kevon Looney, for a crucial fourth game in their series against the Kings.

Green Says Suspension “Doesn’t Change Draymond”

April 22nd, 2023 at 7:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

As he prepares to return from his one-game suspension, Warriors forward Draymond Green delivered a defiant message in an interview with Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

Green was ejected from Game 2 and given the suspension for stepping on the chest of Kings big man Domantas Sabonis. The league cited his past transgressions and called him a “repeat offender,” but Green said he won’t let the incident change his approach on the court.

“Draymond won’t be moved by the Draymond rule,” Green said. “I’ll continue to play the game how I play the game, operate how I operate, be exactly who I am because that leads to winning. If I was losing, they wouldn’t be creating Draymond rules. As long as they create Draymond rules, that means we’re winning and that’s great … but it doesn’t change Draymond.”

Green remained close to his teammates, even though he wasn’t permitted to be in the arena for Thursday’s Game 3, Andrews adds. He addressed the team before Wednesday’s practice, then worked out for a few hours at Chase Center prior to the game and returned to the arena after it ended.

The Warriors responded with a 114-97 victory to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

“My message to them was that none of it matters. What matters is the task at hand,” Green said. “To know and feel they have your back is huge. It’s a great feeling. My focus was being as involved as I could be.”

Pacific Notes: Barnes, Booker, Craig, D. Green, Myers

April 22nd, 2023 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Kings forward Harrison Barnes will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and head coach Mike Brown is among those hoping the 30-year-old doesn’t go anywhere, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

Brown made it clear that he’ll leave the roster decisions to general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox, but made it clear he’d love for the Kings to re-sign Barnes, referring to him as “irreplaceable” and praising his “championship pedigree” and veteran leadership.

“I’m not trying to be funny, but that’s what irreplaceable means. He’s irreplaceable,” Brown said. “Having said that, that’s Monte and Wes’ area. … There’s nobody, at the end of the day, who’s going to be forever and ever in this league and this organization, but HB definitely is a guy who has been a big, big part of what we’ve got going here, and I hope he’s a big, big, big part of what our future looks like.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Devin Booker was an All-Star before the Suns acquired Kevin Durant, but Durant’s arrival has helped Booker take his game to another level, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. “You can’t leave (Durant), obviously. He draws a lot of attention,” Booker said after scoring 45 points in a Game 3 victory on Thursday. “A lot of the buckets I scored, I went right to him right after and said, ‘You opened that up.'”
Reinserted into the Suns‘ starting lineup when the playoffs began in order to match up defensively against Kawhi Leonard, Torrey Craig has had a monster series so far, averaging 18.0 PPG and making 10-of-16 three-pointers (62.5%) through three games. As Doug Haller of The Athletic details, Craig’s performance is all the more impressive given the path he took to get here — he went undrafted in 2014 and spent the first three years of his professional career playing in Australia and New Zealand.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic explores the bond between Warriors forward Draymond Green and president of basketball operations Bob Myers and muses about what it would mean for the franchise to lose one or both of them as free agents this offseason. Elsewhere at The Athletic, Anthony Slater explores how a big game from veteran center Kevon Looney helped nullify Green’s absence in Game 3.

Warriors Notes: Green, Game 3 Prep, Looney, Role Players

April 20th, 2023 at 9:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Warriors have put on a brave public face following the news that forward Draymond Green has been suspended for a game after bruising Kings center Domantas Sabonis‘ sternum late in Golden State’s 114-106 Game 2 loss to Sacramento. However, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN confirms that the team didn’t agree with the ruling. Green was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the contest.

“We are livid,” an anonymous source told Shelburne. “We paid the price already [when Green was ejected] in Game 2. We get that. No problem there. But this suspension was unnecessary.”

Warriors team president Bob Myers, who like Green could become a free agent himself this offseason, spoke to Shelburne about how Green and his occasionally over-the-top passion function within the larger team concept.

“There’s so many positives, but when you play with so much emotion, sometimes it runs over,” Myers told Shelburne. “But for the most part it’s been a tremendous driver of success.”

There’s more out of Golden State:

With Green sitting out tonight for a critical Game 3 in their series against the Kings, Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle believes the situation once again highlights the cold hard reality that it might be easiest to part with him this summer. Thanks to an even more punitive incoming CBA, Golden State may need to move on from at least one of its pricier players. Letourneau writes that the behavior that got Green suspended proved that his ultimate selfishness may just make him the most expendable part of the club’s championship core.
Starting Warriors center Kevon Looney must limit his fouls tonight, now that Green won’t be able to give his team any help as its small ball center, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 6’9″ big man out of UCLA was whistled for two quick fouls in the first quarter of Golden State’s last game in the series on Monday. “I can’t be out there fouling like I was last game as much, because we don’t have Draymond to back me up,” Looney noted on Wednesday night. “I don’t think my minutes are going to change too much. I just got to go out there and play a little bit smarter.”
Trailing 2-0 in their current series, the Warriors have been hoping that the team’s young role players can help prop up their stars. That hasn’t been the case thus far, argues Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Specifically, reserve guards Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo and backup swingman Jonathan Kuminga didn’t provide enough of a spark and proved too unreliable for head coach Steve Kerr to give them big minutes in the first two games.

Warriors Reportedly “Shocked,” Angry Over Draymond Green’s Suspension

April 19th, 2023 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

There was surprise and anger when the Warriors learned about Draymond Green‘s suspension for Game 3 of their playoff series with the Kings, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his latest podcast (hat tip to RealGM).

Green will be forced to sit out Thursday’s game for stepping on Domantas Sabonis while he was lying on the court during the fourth quarter of Game 2. Green was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected after spending several minutes inciting the Sacramento crowd during a review of the play.

NBA vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars explained on Wednesday that Green’s status as a “repeat offender” factored into the decision to impose a suspension without pay, rather than just a fine. Dumars also cited “excessive and over-the-top actions” and “conduct detrimental (to the league).”

Lowe adds that part of the Warriors’ frustration with the ruling is their feeling that Sabonis has been allowed to be overly physical in the first two games of the series. Golden State players and coaches believe that referees are permitting him to get away with too much, which is why Green reacted in the way that he did.

“There’s a sense in the organization that Sabonis is shoving people on offensive rebounds and playing with his elbows out and using the ball as a weapon on offense,” Lowe said. “So, ‘Of course someone eventually retaliated.’ You can give that any validity you want.”

Speaking today with reporters, coach Steve Kerr admitted being “extremely surprised” by the suspension, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Green addressed the team during today’s practice, Andrews adds, but Kerr declined to reveal any details (Twitter link).

“There’s no time to spend worrying about it … it doesn’t matter,” Kerr said about the suspension. “We know what the league decided to do and we have to respond accordingly.”