Draymond Green

Warriors Notes: Paul, Wiggins, Moody, Rotation, Curry, Kerr

February 28th, 2024 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Playing on Tuesday for the first time since January 5 after recovering from a left hand fracture, Chris Paul helped lead the Warriors to a victory in Washington, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. In 22 minutes off the bench, Paul contributed nine points, six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. The Warriors, who won the game by 11 points, outscored the Wizards by 17 during Paul’s time on the floor.

“All season long, he’s been such a high performer,” head coach Steve Kerr said after the win. “All of our best lineups, he’s in.”

As Slater notes, the Warriors initially expected to finally have their full rotation available on Tuesday, but Andrew Wiggins missed the game for personal reasons. Kerr, who didn’t offer any specifics on when Wiggins might rejoin the team, inserted Moses Moody into the starting lineup in his place. Although Moody had been out of the rotation, Kerr didn’t want to alter his new second unit, which now features Paul playing alongside Klay Thompson.

When Wiggins returns, Golden State will have no shortage of rotation options, with Moody and Lester Quinones likely among those on the outside looking in. Slater suggests that Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Gary Payton II, Wiggins, Paul, and Thompson will all be candidates for closing lineups, with Dario Saric, Kevon Looney, and Trayce Jackson-Davis vying for minutes too.

“Steve said he’ll try to figure it out,” Paul said of potentially playing a reduced role in a crowded rotation. “Said sometimes he might mess it up. But we got a really good group of guys on this team, and we’ll need different things every night. But one thing about me, though, is I know who I am and what I’m capable of. Ain’t no question about that. I’ll always be ready. I think he knows that.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

While Paul figures to spend a little time playing alongside Curry, the plan is to have him on the court for all of the non-Curry minutes, according to Slater. The two-time MVP has shot just 31.5% from the field over the past three games, including 21.6% on three-pointers, so CP3’s return should allow the team to reduce his workload and have him play off the ball a bit more. “Steph has looked tired to me the last couple games,” Kerr said after Sunday’s loss to Denver, per Slater. “It makes sense. He did the All-Star Game stuff, not getting much of a break — three games in four nights. He looks a little tired. These stretches happen.”
Kerr said on Tuesday after officially finalizing his two-year contract extension that he felt “very comfortable” signing a relatively short-term deal, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com. “We’re in a really unique situation where we have an era that’s winding down and another that’s coming,” Kerr said. “We’re trying to make them merge and make the most of that this year and next year … let’s keep it rolling for another couple of years and then reassess it.”
Asked during an appearance on the Club 520 podcast which of the Warriors’ four championship teams was his favorite, Green cited the 2021/22 squad, since it wasn’t viewed as a title favorite entering that postseason. “2022 wasn’t really a championship team (compared to) the championship teams I’ve been on,” Green said (hat tip to BasketNews.com). “After every series, me and Steph would be walking to do an interview after we won a series, and we’d walk and laugh like, ‘Yo, how are we winning these series right now?'”

Pacific Notes: Kerr, Curry, Payton, Fox, Kings, LeBron

February 24th, 2024 at 3:52pm CST by Rory Maher

Stephen Curry smiled at his locker on Friday night when he realized Steve Kerr‘s new two-year extension now aligns with his own contract, which expires after the 2025/26 season, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Curry offered emphatic support for the deal.

“There’s a handful of player-coach and trio-coach stories in league history that are comparable to ours,” Curry said. “And that’s not by accident. … He’s been such a consistent presence. Not just the X’s and O’s, but of managing the lows and the highs, mainly the highs, that we’ve been at. People think it’s easy. But with success comes expectation. The nuance of keeping things together and managing not just in here, but managing up as well, it’s hard. It just reminds you of the special personality and character you have to have to do this job.”

Draymond Green, another key member of Golden State’s dynasty, was also happy to learn of Kerr’s extension, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

“I think it’s incredible,” Green said. “I wouldn’t want finish my time here with any other coach. The way he’s been to this franchise, what he’s done for us as players, the winning ways that he brought here, you can’t replace that. So, very happy for Steve and his family.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

After missing Thursday’s contest vs. the Lakers, Warriors defensive ace Gary Payton II was back in action on Friday against Charlotte, as Slater relays (via Twitter). Payton, who finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 11 minutes during the victory, has been limited to 21 games thus far in 2023/24 due to calf and hamstring strains.
According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links), Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox admitted on Tuesday that he’s been battling a right shoulder issue, but said the injury was minor and he hasn’t undergone an MRI because “it was never serious enough for me to do that.” There has been speculation that Fox might have been dealing with an ailment, as his offensive efficiency has waned a bit the past couple months after an excellent start to the 2023/24 campaign. The one-time All-Star had a strong performance in Thursday’s win over San Antonio, recording 28 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals while shooting 12-of-18 from the floor in 37 minutes.
Head coach Mike Brown has continually stressed that the Kings need to improve their defense to have a shot at postseason success, Anderson writes for The Sacramento Bee. After being ranked No. 25 in defensive rating last season, Sacramento is currently No. 19 in that category this season. However, the offense — which was ranked No. 1 in the league in 2022/23 — has slipped to No. 14. “We know we’ve got to improve the offense back closer to what it was last year,” GM Monte McNair said after the trade deadline. “If we do that, I think we can make some noise, but we’ve got some work to do because the West is tough 1 to 12 or 13 this year and every game is going to be a dogfight.” Anderson considers whether the team’s coach and top front office executive are on the same page when it comes to the balance of offense and defense.
As expected, Lakers superstar LeBron James returned to action on Friday vs. San Antonio after missing Thursday’s game with a left ankle injury that has been bothering him for some time. He was upgraded from questionable to probable before suiting up for the contest, tweets ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The 39-year-old finished with 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.

Pacific Notes: Podziemski, Green, Kuminga, Rivers, Harden

February 20th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

First-round pick Brandin Podziemski has been a revelation for the Warriors, quickly becoming an integral part of the team. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater details how Golden State’s front office became enamored with him and how quickly he earned a spot in the rotation.

However, the Warriors guard feels he has a much higher ceiling.

“I want to be an All-Star,” Podziemski said. “You know, (Jonathan Kuminga) has taken that next step of really being in that conversation. To see his growth just this year has been pretty special. So going into the summer after this year elevating my game to another level, doing the things that I’m deficient in now and making them as efficient as possible, I think I can get there.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

While Draymond Green contacted super-agent Rich Paul in an unsuccessful effort to get LeBron James to consider a trade from the Lakers to Golden State, Green told Warriors owner Joe Lacob to hold onto the team’s blossoming young forward in any trade discussions. “The one thing the NBA does not want to see, is Anthony Davis and Kuminga together for the next 10 years. That would be scary!” he said in an NBA on TNT interview (Twitter link).
Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers was consulted by the Clippers before they acquired James Harden from Philadelphia, he told Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points. Rivers has since taken over the Bucks’ head coaching job. “I was the one, obviously, they consulted,” Rivers said. “They made calls and I was one of the guys who said it would be a great deal for them because I thought he fit them better than he would fit the Sixers team. I think he’s a perfect fit there. It’s a league. We talk. They just talked, asked questions, and I was on board early.”
Speaking of Harden, Mark Medina of Sportsnaut.com describes how the Clippers guard has made changes to his game to fit in with his current teammates. That includes his mindset on the offensive end. “My job for this team is to touch the paint and get the shot, make the shot and make the game a lot easier for teammates,” Harden said. “Whether I have my step-back going or getting to the paint, I’m going to make a play for a teammate.”

Warriors’ Lacob Talks Payroll, Kerr, Kuminga, Thompson

February 16th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Warriors playing better basketball since Draymond Green‘s return from suspension last month, the organization decided ahead of this season’s trade deadline that it didn’t want to take a step backward by essentially selling off a veteran or two, even if it resulted in a significant financial windfall, team owner Joe Lacob said during an appearance on Tim Kawakami’s podcast at The Athletic.

However, Lacob acknowledged that keeping the Warriors’ payroll as high as it’s been for the last several seasons (relative to the luxury tax line) probably isn’t practical going forward, especially with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement introducing punitive roster-building restrictions for teams above the tax aprons.

“Our Plan 1, or 1A, is actually we’d like to be out of the tax, and we think that we have a way to do that,” Lacob told Kawakami. “That kind of is the plan, not just under the second apron. I’ll tell you why that’s important, because the truth is that we need to be out of the tax two years out of the next four, below the tax line, in order to get this repeater thing off our books. We don’t want to be a repeater. It’s just so prohibitive, not to say we wouldn’t do it if we had to, but you’ve gotta look at what the downside is to doing that.

“… There’s a Plan 1B, I guess, and 1B is we could go even further than that and we could make big changes if we had to. If this team were to slide all the way down and not do well the end of the year here, you know there’s gonna be big changes. But if we do really well, we might decide to go the other way. So everything’s open, we have to be flexible, I can just tell you that the goal is to not be a lottery team ever. The goal is to be competitive, the goal is to win and ideally, if it’s possible, to win championships or compete for championships.”

The Warriors have approximately $73MM coming off their books this summer in Klay Thompson‘s and Chris Paul‘s expiring contracts alone. Negotiating a new deal for Thompson would cut into that total, but there’s a path for Golden State to operate below the tax line, which is projected to be around $171MM in 2024/25.

Lacob discussed several more topics of note during his conversation with Kawakami, including his relationship with Green and his expectations for this year’s team. The podcast – or Kawakami’s round-up – is worth checking out in full if you’re a Warriors fan, but here are a few highlights from the discussion:

On the report that the Warriors pursued LeBron James prior to the trade deadline:

“We’re always going to try to be aggressive. … And we’re going to look at everything. When we acquired Kevin Durant many years ago, that was an incredibly aggressive move that we made, where I think half our roster went away to accomplish that. Even though we had a really good team, we felt we could be better, and we did.

“There are these inflection points, these times when sometimes players might be available. Even if it’s not something you maybe have considered, you need to consider it. My answer to your question is I’m always looking, we’re always looking at everything. I always tell (Warriors executives) Mike (Dunleavy Jr.) and Kirk (Lacob) and everybody, nothing is off the table, nothing. So we look at everything, and if the deal’s right, the timing’s right and we have consensus generally inside, then we’ve got to consider this thing.

“As far as the reports … I’m not going to say anything about any specific player or anything. I’m just going to tell you that, you know, we’re aggressive and we’re looking at things all the time.”

On head coach Steve Kerr’s expiring contract:

“I think we will work out a deal with him. He’s a very fair human being. We’ve never underpaid people. We always pay people well. We’re fair. We have to do what’s good overall for business, obviously. … I think he does want to stay coaching the team in the future. And we want him here, to be very clear. We think he’s a great coach. … I think we’ll have a contract done with Steve pretty soon. … I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I don’t think anybody else is going to have Steve Kerr as their coach.”

On Jonathan Kuminga‘s breakout following a report that he had lost faith in Kerr

“I know there’s been a lot of concerns. ‘Why wasn’t JK playing more, did our coaching staff hold him back?’ Look, we can debate all that. But if you look at the bigger picture, he’s 21 years old. He did not play college basketball. And year three historically is the year when players kinda take off or don’t … very rarely in their rookie year can a rookie make an impact, especially on a good team.

“… I think JK has had a tough go of it, Steve has been tough on him, but maybe at the end of the day, he winds up being a much better player and maybe Steve in the long term looks smart. I mean, that’s a possibility. It certainly could be. I think it’s year three, I think he’s taken off, we needed him, it turned out, the opportunity just happened to be right there, and he has fully jumped through the window and taken advantage of it.”

On Thompson’s up-and-down season and his contract situation:

“Honestly, I love him like a son is the way I feel about that. … He’s had a really tough time. He’s had some severe injuries, he played really well coming back from that until the playoffs last year, obviously wasn’t his brightest moment. And he’s had an up-and-down year this year. … But at the end of the day, I believe in Klay, I think he’s a very impactful player, and I think he’s going to come through for us in the clutch if we make another run here. I stand behind Klay Thompson, too. I know his contract’s expiring … that’s a flexibility-of-a-team thing. … I’d like to have him retire as a Warrior, that’s the bottom line.”

Suns Notes: Ishbia, Beal, Nurkic, Durant, Booker

February 14th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns owner Mat Ishbia said at the start of October that he felt Phoenix had the best team in the NBA. While injuries slowed down the Suns early in the season, they’ve won 13 of their last 17 games to move up to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference at 32-22. Ishbia tells Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he feels just as good about the roster now as he did in October, especially after the trade-deadline additions of Royce O’Neale and David Roddy.

“We have our three star players and we also have a lot of other players who could be considered stars as well. We have a great all-around team. I love our team. I feel excited about what’s going on,” Ishbia said. “… We’re jelling. We’re playing our best basketball right now. Just because we had the best to start the season or felt like we had the best roster, doesn’t mean you can’t improve it. So we’re always going to try to improve things and that’s what we did I think with the addition of Royce and David.”

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observed after the trade deadline, 10 teams projected to be taxpayers a month ago and nine of those clubs either reduced their salaries or stood pat through the deadline. The Suns, who increased their projected tax bill by more than $13MM, were the only one of those 10 teams to add money.

“When we come to Mat with ideas and suggestions on saying, ‘Hey, let’s go trade for Royce O’Neale and David Roddy, but it’s going to add a significant amount of money to our tax bill and to this team,’ he says, ‘Hey, if it’s going to make us better, and the answer is yes, then let’s go do it,'” Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein told Rankin. “Many people don’t do that, especially at the trade deadline. You saw several teams shed money. We’re all in to win a championship and when you have an owner willing to do that and use any resource possible, it makes your job easier. You can go after the best players no matter where their salaries are at.”

Here’s more on the Suns:

After Bradley Beal strained his left hamstring in Tuesday’s win over Sacramento, the Suns have ruled him out for their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday vs. Detroit. There’s optimism it won’t be a long-term issue though, Rankin writes for The Arizona Republic. “They don’t think it’s too serious,” head coach Frank Vogel said. “Hopefully with the (All-Star) break right after, he doesn’t miss too much more time. We’ll see where he’s at.”
In the latest episode of his podcast, Warriors forward Draymond Green ripped Suns center Jusuf Nurkic for his comments to reporters following Phoenix’s loss to Golden State on Saturday. “The little guy went into the media complaining like I did something to him as if he didn’t do the ‘too small’ celebration and then he starts to question my character,” Green said (hat tip to Rankin). “What a coward. You go questioning character about a basketball game you just lost that you got destroyed in. The only thing you should talk about his how you got punished.” Nurkic tweeted a reply accompanied by a crying-laughing emoji: “All good bad boy just don’t stay to long on podcast, gonna be late for therapy session.”
Sources who spoke to Rankin disputed ESPN’s report stating that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey inquired on Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Beal prior to last Thursday’s trade deadline. Whether or not it happened ultimately doesn’t matter that much, since all three players were considered unavailable and remained in Phoenix.
In case you missed it, the Suns officially announced today that they’ll have a G League affiliate of their own beginning in 2024/25. Phoenix is the final NBA team to secure an NBAGL affiliate.

Warriors Attempted To Get Lakers To Consider LeBron Trade

February 14th, 2024 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to last Thursday’s trade deadline, the Warriors tried – unsuccessfully – to convince the Lakers to consider sending superstar forward LeBron James to Golden State, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.

The Warriors’ pursuit of James occurred at multiple levels, per ESPN’s reporting. Klutch Sports client Draymond Green contacted agent Rich Paul in an effort to solicit his help getting LeBron on board with a move to Golden State, while Warriors owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. touched base with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

Ultimately, the same answer came back from all involved parties — the Lakers had no interest in trading James, and the four-time MVP had no interest in going anywhere, as Paul stated six days ahead of the deadline.

As Wojnarowski and Shelburne outline, the Warriors’ pursuit stemmed from the fact that James seemed to be frustrated by the Lakers’ up-and-down first half. He hinted at those frustrations in some comments to the media and posted a cryptic tweet consisting only of hourglass emoji.

When Lacob reached out to Buss, she told the Warriors owner that while she had no interest in trading LeBron, that she would check in with him and Paul to gauge their thoughts.

Sources tell ESPN that Buss has “operated with the mindset that she wants her star players content with the franchise,” so if he had been unhappy with his situation in Los Angeles, the team would have been open to changing its stance. That wasn’t the case, however, as Paul told both Lacob and Dunleavy that his top client wanted to remain a Laker.

ESPN’s report doesn’t include any details about the package the Warriors would have offered for James, but since the goal was to pair him with Stephen Curry and Green was involved in the recruiting, we can at least safely assume those two wouldn’t have been on the table. Beyond that, there are many permutations Golden State could have explored — an offer involving Chris Paul and/or Andrew Wiggins, plus prospects and draft picks, seems most likely, given that the Dubs reportedly weren’t interested in moving Klay Thompson.

According to Wojnarowski and Shelburne, the Warriors weren’t the only team to check in on James prior to the trade deadline. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey also inquired on LeBron’s availability, though that’s a common practice for Morey, who also contacted the Suns to ask about Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and/or Bradley Beal, per ESPN.

As ESPN’s duo explains, the Warriors situation was a little different because it began at the ownership level and included a conversation with Paul, whereas Morey is known around the league for making “bold” long-shot trade inquiries. When Morey asked the Lakers about LeBron, Pelinka responded by inquiring about the availability of reigning MVP Joel Embiid, which ended their brief conversation, sources tell Woj and Shelburne.

James will have a decision to make this summer on a 2024/25 player option worth $51.4MM. While he’s considered likely to either pick up that option or sign a new deal with the Lakers, suitors like the Warriors and Sixers may get a chance to pursue him again at that time.

Pacific Notes: Zubac, Green, Beal, Young, Gallinari, Leonard

February 13th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers center Ivica Zubac is dealing with a minutes restriction since returning from a calf injury, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register notes, averaging 20.5 minutes in four games. He had 11 rebounds in 23 minutes against Minnesota on Monday.

“I wanted to play a little more, but I got to trust the process,” Zubac said. “I didn’t go to my limits, so the game was like that. I can’t complain. If I was not in foul trouble, if I was playing a little better, I would have been out there more.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Warriors are riding a five-game winning streak and Draymond Green believes his 16-game league suspension played in a role in the resurgence, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews writes. Golden State had to adjust without Green and Jonathan Kuminga emerged as a starter in his absence, while other young players cracked the rotation. “I think me getting suspended helped in a weird way,” Green said. “Not that I wanted to get suspended, but I do think that helped us find different things we can go to and explore.”
Bradley Beal departed the Suns’ game on Tuesday early due to a left hamstring injury, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets.
The impending addition of Thaddeus Young will add size and physicality to the Suns, Bourguet writes. Young can serve as a small-ball center at times and a connector at the offensive end.
The Suns will still have a roster spot open when Young officially signs. They have also shown interest in Danilo Gallinari, who was waived by the Pistons after the trade deadline, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. It’s unclear whether they will still pursue Gallinari once they officially sign Young on the buyout market, given that they also added two forwards – Royce O’Neale and David Roddy – via trade last week.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard (left adductor strain) won’t play against the Warriors on Wednesday, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears tweets. It will be the fifth game he’s missed this season.

Draymond Green, Jusuf Nurkic Exchange Barbs During, After Warriors Win

February 11th, 2024 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

A forearm strike to the head of Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in December earned Draymond Green a suspension that ultimately cost him 16 games, but it was the Warriors forward/center who got the last laugh in a 113-112 win over Phoenix on Saturday.

As Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes, Nurkic and Green exchanged words a few minutes into the fourth quarter after a foul was called on Green. Several seconds later, Nurkic was whistled for an offensive foul against Green, prompting the former Defensive Player of the Year to point to his own head twice on his way back up the court.

“I was calling him a dummy when I was pointing to my head,” Green said. “I wasn’t saying I was keeping my head. I was saying, you can’t start talking and then charge into me. That’s not smart.”

The two big men got into it again in the third quarter when Nurkic scored over Green and taunted him with a “too small” gesture. Green returned the favor a couple minutes later by backing down Nurkic for a basket and making the same gesture.

“You can’t be a nothing defender if you’re going to do that,” Green said. “You probably outweigh me by 70 pounds and you get put in the rim? Got to be more careful.”

Following December’s incident, Nurkic wished Green well as the Warriors star underwent counseling and learned to manage his behavior following a series of violent on-court incidents. However, his tone had changed following Saturday’s game, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic details.

“It’s sad,” Nurkic said. “He didn’t learn anything, man. Just a matter of time. He’s going to knock somebody else again. Take everything back what I said. He don’t deserve a chance.

“… Just his antics,” Nurkic continued when asked why he felt Green hadn’t changed. “Try to hit people. The stuff he shouldn’t do, but I don’t care. At the end of the day, he tried to play that way. No one is worried about him. They got the win tonight. We’ll see what happens in a few games.”

As Nurkic’s comments reached the Warriors’ locker room, some key members of the team scoffed at them, suggesting that Green’s ability to play a physical, fiery game without crossing the line was a sign that he had taken the lessons learned during his suspension to heart. Green was assessed with a technical foul on Saturday for the first time since returning from his 16-game absence, but helped lead the team to victory with 15 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.

“That month off, that suspension was real,” head coach Steve Kerr said, per Andrews. “(Draymond) knew that his career was on the line or is on the line. He understands that he’s got to be the guy he’s been the last nine years, not the one he’s been the last year. I see him doing that.”

Stephen Curry, who hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, called Nurkic’s comments “idiotic.”

“You can tell when someone is in your head when you go out of your way to celebrate,” Curry said of Nurkic’s “too small” gesture. “Then Draymond comes back at him. All of the talk, Draymond was in his head — plain and simple.”

Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Quinones, Kuminga, Thompson, Green, Paul, Payton

February 10th, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Andrew Wiggins got his wish to stay with the Warriors past the trade deadline, so now he has to prove the team made the correct choice, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Golden State delayed its toughest roster decisions until the summer, Thompson notes, and one of them will surely involve Wiggins, who was spectacular during the run to the 2022 title, but has played a significant role in the team’s failure to meet expectations this season.

The Warriors were barely active at the deadline, with their only move being a trade of Cory Joseph and cash to Indiana for a second-round pick. Thompson points out that they didn’t acquire another wing, a rim protector or a reliable scorer to take some of the burden off Stephen Curry, which means Wiggins will be counted on to contribute in all those areas.

Wiggins was the subject of trade chatter heading into the deadline, and he understood there was a significant possibility that he might be moved. After a disastrous start to the season, he gave the front office a reason to hold onto him with improved play of late, Thompson adds, noting that Wiggins is back in the starting lineup and the unit that coach Steve Kerr uses to close out games.

“At one point,” Wiggins said, “I told myself, ‘It can’t get no worse than this. Keep swinging and you’re gonna get out of it. Sometimes in the NBA, in basketball itself, it can be a roller coaster. Roller coaster of emotions, doubt, uncertainty. But it can also be great things, success. It’s a roller coaster. I’m glad I’m feeling better. On the court, I’m in a greater rhythm.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Two-way player Lester Quinones looks like a strong candidate to have his contract converted and fill the roster opening left by Joseph, according to Andrew Slater of The Athletic. Quinones played regular minutes during the team’s five-game road trip, and Kerr cited the energy and ball pressure he brings to the defense.
The Warriors reportedly refused to part with Jonathan Kuminga in trade talks with the Bulls regarding Alex Caruso, and Slater asked general manager Mike Dunleavy if Kuminga is considered untouchable. “Virtually,” Dunleavy said. “I mean, as untouchable as guys can be in this league. He’s certainly at that level. I didn’t see a scenario where Jonathan wouldn’t be on our team after this deadline.”
Dunleavy also didn’t rule out the possibility of eventually trading Klay Thompson or Draymond Green despite their role in winning four NBA titles, Slater states in the same piece. “You know, for me personally in this situation, I’m always going to do what’s best for the organization moving forward,” Dunleavy said. “Based on that, that’s how we’re going to operate — whether it’s this deadline, this summer, in the future.”
Chris Paul‘s $30MM non-guaranteed contract for next season will give the front office plenty of flexibility this summer, Slater adds. The Warriors can either let Paul go, try to re-sign him at a lower price or work out a trade in which they would guarantee the amount of salary they’re taking back.
Gary Payton II, who has been sidelined since January 2 with a strained left hamstring, will return on Saturday, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Kerr told reporters that Payton won’t be on a set minutes restriction.

Warriors Notes: Green, Podziemski, Kuminga, Moody, Saric

February 3rd, 2024 at 7:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Draymond Green expects to receive a large share of the blame if the Warriors can’t get back into title contention, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Green’s absence from the lineup during two suspensions disrupted the first half of Golden State’s season and played a significant role in a 21-24 start. Green has resumed his normal duties since returning from his latest punishment, which resulted in 16 missed games, but he knows fans and the media will single him out if the team fails to reach the playoffs.

“Who we are, what we stand for is enough of a burden,” Green said. “We’re never expected to lose. There’s a standard that’s been set. So for me, that’s enough burden. So I don’t go around thinking every day like, ‘F—, we got to make these games up that I missed.’ But what I do know is if it doesn’t get turned around, then that’s kind of what’s going to be said.”

Green told Slater that he considered signing with the Grizzlies in free agency last summer, but only for “an eensy bit of time.” He credits the Warriors’ front office for being “straightforward” in negotiations, which eventually produced a four-year, $100MM contract with a player option for the final season. Green also said owner Joe Lacob talked to him about expectations regarding his behavior before approving the deal, which had a massive effect on the team’s tax bill.

Green felt like he broke the promises he made to Lacob and didn’t pick up the phone when the owner called after the indefinite suspension was handed down in December.

“I couldn’t answer it,” Green said. “I couldn’t talk to him. I did not talk to him. I didn’t call back. I almost hid. He gave me his word and he stuck by it. I gave him my word and I’ve let him down. It was probably a little cowardly. Like, I couldn’t face the music.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Klay Thompson returned from an illness Friday night, but coach Steve Kerr replaced him with Brandin Podziemski for the closing minutes of the first half and the game, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Podziemski handed out 14 assists, which Gordon notes is the most by any rookie in a single game this season. “Love that group,” Podziemski said, pointing out the flexibility that he and Green bring to the lineup. “Having two of us out there like that, playing with Jonathan (Kuminga) and (Stephen Curry), who are really good scorers, along with (Andrew Wiggins), who picks his spots — I think it’s a good group. We played well together. Most importantly, we got stops when we needed to.”
Kuminga reached rare territory with his eighth straight 20-point game while shooting at least 50% from the field. Gordon states that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard are the only other players to accomplish that this season.
Meeting with reporters tonight, Kerr said Moses Moody was able to work out today and should return from his left calf strain sometime in the next three games, Slater tweets. Dario Saric, who was out Friday and tonight due to an illness, is expected to rejoin the team Sunday in New York.

Load More Posts