Klay Thompson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Notes: Looney, Wiseman, J. Green, Poole, Thompson

November 15th, 2022 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

While Jordan Poole is the most obvious recent example of a Warriors player who benefited from a stint in the G League before breaking out at the NBA level, Anthony Slater of The Athletic believes Kevon Looney may be a better point of comparison for James Wiseman, who is headed to the Santa Cruz Warriors on Tuesday.

As Slater writes, Looney spent time in the G League in each of his first three NBA seasons, including a stint in his second year after he had been pulled from the team’s rotation. Looney has since evolved into one of Golden State’s most dependable and trusted veterans, but admits he wasn’t thrilled by the assignment at the time, and he knows it may not be easy for Wiseman to take his own G League assignment in stride.

“It’s really difficult,” Looney said. “Especially when you’re a high pick. You got all these expectations. You’re coming off injury. You want to prove yourself to all the doubters. You see all your peers doing well, everyone talking about how good they are and you feel like you’re just as good and things aren’t coming as fast. It makes it frustrating.”

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According to Slater, JaMychal Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Anthony Lamb are likely to remain in Golden State’s rotation with Wiseman in Santa Cruz. Head coach Steve Kerr said after Monday’s win that he hasn’t done Green “any favors” by how he has used him so far (video link via Slater). Kerr now believes Green is best suited to be a backup center, rather than a power forward, and believes Green’s ability to space the floor will help create room for Poole to operate.
After pouring in 36 points on Monday, Poole is now averaging 28.7 PPG on .475/.394/.944 shooting in three starts this season, compared to 13.9 PPG (.421/.323/.765 shooting) in 11 games off the bench. Kerr said on Monday that things come easier for Poole when an opponent’s top defender is focused on Stephen Curry and he can utilize screens set by Looney and Draymond Green (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN). However, as he said last week, Kerr stressed that he’s not considering moving Poole into the starting five on a full-time basis.
In a conversation with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Klay Thompson expressed some frustration that helping lead the Warriors to four titles and returning from two major leg injuries hasn’t earned him more leeway from critics as he works through an extended slump. The veteran sharpshooter remains confident that he both he and the Warriors will find their stride sooner or later. “I’m happy to go through this now compared to a few months from now,” Thompson said. “No need to panic. We’re like 14 games in. It’s a long season. We face a challenge of going back-to-back, which is incredibly difficult. And then trying to integrate the new guys. It’s going to take time but we’ll figure it out.”

Warriors Notes: Young Players, J. Green, DiVincenzo, Thompson

November 14th, 2022 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors‘ two-timeline plan of mixing young players with their established stars isn’t working, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. The latest example came Sunday against the Kings when coach Steve Kerr had to pull his reserves midway through the fourth quarter and reinsert Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

“We’re not a team right now where we can afford to let guys make mistakes,” Kerr said after the loss, which dropped Golden State to 0-7 on the road. “We’re not good enough to withstand a lot of mistakes.”

Third-year center James Wiseman, whom the Warriors valued highly enough to take with the second pick in the 2020 draft, has already fallen out of the rotation. Moses Moody hasn’t played at all the past two games, and his fellow 2021 lottery pick, Jonathan Kuminga, is seeing minimal time, usually early in the game. Even Jordan Poole, who received a lucrative long-term contract extension last month, sat out nearly the entire fourth quarter against Sacramento.

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Another problem for Golden State is that offseason additions JaMychal Green and Donte DiVincenzo haven’t replaced the production lost when Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II and Nemanja Bjelica all departed, Thompson adds. Green has lost his rotation spot, while DiVincenzo is coming off an injury and hasn’t been as productive as the front office was hoping. Thompson notes that Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson would both be seeing regular playing time if they hadn’t also left in free agency.
Draymond Green believes the Warriors are still adjusting to their reserves (video link from Anthony Slater of The Athletic). The second unit used to present opponents with a different look on offense, Green said, but now the first man off the bench is usually Poole, who is similar to Stephen Curry in his style of play.
Klay Thompson has been struggling with his shot so far, but he promises things are going to change, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. After Sunday’s loss, Thompson posted a message on Instagram that read, “My belief is stronger than your doubt. I PROMISE you it’s coming. And when it does, the floodgates will open.” His shooting percentage currently sits at a career-low 35.1%.

Pacific Notes: Kawhi, Crowder, Poole, Thompson, Warriors

November 11th, 2022 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who has been out of action since October 23 due to right knee soreness, took part in a five-on-five workout on Friday for the first time since he has been sidelined, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard won’t be available on Saturday when the Clippers host the Nets, but head coach Tyronn Lue said he is encouraged by the forward’s progress.

“The first time he was able to get on the floor and play five-on-five and he looked pretty good,” Lue said. “Still have a ways to go, but that was the first sign of positivity of him getting on the floor, playing five-on-five.”

As Youngmisuk relays, Lue said that Leonard will need a “few more (workout) opportunities” before the team is comfortable clearing him. The Clippers’ head coach also said he’s not sure whether the former NBA Finals MVP will continue to come off the bench when he returns, like he did in his first two games of the season.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Since Cameron Johnson went down with his knee injury, the Suns have made an effort to reopen some old Jae Crowder trade talks, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated in the most recent episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). Like Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Windhorst and his ESPN colleague Tim Bontemps have both heard that there’s no indication the Suns and Crowder will mend fences and have the veteran forward report to the team.
Moving Jordan Poole into the starting lineup in place of Klay Thompson isn’t something the Warriors will consider to jump-start their struggling bench, head coach Steve Kerr said during an appearance on Damon & Ratto on 95.7 The Game (YouTube link). “No, that’s not something I’ve given any thought to,” Kerr said. “Jordan and Klay are very different players. Jordan’s more on the ball, Klay’s off the ball. … Klay is a starter. That five-man (starting) unit is the very best unit in the league.”
While it’s a good thing that Warriors two-way players Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome can be counted on to play regular roles, it’s not a great sign that they’ve already earned more trust from Kerr than the team’s young prospects, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who considers whether Golden State’s plan to develop three youngsters (James Wiseman, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga) while trying to contend is flawed.

Warriors Notes: Poole, Kuminga, Rotation, Thompson, Santos

November 5th, 2022 at 4:28pm CST by Rory Maher

The Warriors need Jordan Poole to play better after a “wildly inconsistent” start to the 2022/23 campaign, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. As Monte Poole notes, Jordan has recorded more turnovers (14) than assists (13) over the past three games during Golden State’s current five-game losing streak.

“He’s trying too hard,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Jordan is trying too hard to create every play. He’s at his best when there’s a flow to the game, he’s playing on and off the ball, getting some catch-and-shoot opportunities.”

According to Monte Poole, Jordan Poole is the key to fixing the second unit’s struggles, because he’s the group’s primary ball-handler and scorer.

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After losing to the Pelicans Friday night, the Warriors now sit with a 3-7 record. They’re the first defending champion to start 0-6 on the road in NBA history, per ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. Second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga played a career-high 38 minutes in the loss, and Kerr acknowledged his performance after the game. “It was apparent who really played tonight. [Kuminga] played really well,” Kerr said. “He’s earned some minutes … He showed tonight that he’s ready to step into the rotation and contribute. But that has to be every night … be able to play through the tough nights when maybe the minutes aren’t there.”
As Andrews relays in the same article, Kerr also marked Anthony Lamb, Ty Jerome and Moses Moody as noteworthy performers who could be in line for more rotation minutes. Lamb and Jerome are both on two-way contracts, while Moody was the 14th pick of last year’s draft.
On October 30, Kerr stated that Klay Thompson would be held out of one end of back-to-backs as he works on his conditioning, but it wouldn’t be for the full season like in ’21/22. However, apparently he’s changed his mind about that. “Klay may not play in a back-to-back all year. He didn’t last year because of two straight season-ending injuries,” Kerr said, per Andrews (Twitter link).
Gui Santos, a second-round pick in June’s draft (55th overall), is on the Santa Cruz Warriors’ roster to start the G League season, which means he signed an NBAGL contract. It’s essentially as though he’s a draft-and-stash prospect because the Warriors still hold his NBA rights, but having him play in the G league allows the Warriors to get a closer look at — and have a more hands-on approach to — the Brazilian forward’s development.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Westbrook, M. Brown, Wall

November 4th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors‘ road trip, which began last Saturday in Charlotte, has been a disaster so far. Golden State has dropped consecutive road games to the Hornets, Pistons, Heat, and Magic and is now just 3-6 on the season. Recognizing that something needs to be done to jump-start the defending champions, head coach Steve Kerr said after Thursday’s loss in Orlando that rotation changes are likely coming, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.

“We’ve had nine games now, so we’ve had a decent look at combinations. It’s time to try something different,” Kerr said. “Everybody’s gonna get a chance to play. We’ve got guys who are dying to get on the floor, and we’ve got to find combinations that play. We will look at that as a staff.”

As Andrews points out, the Warriors’ starters haven’t been a problem so far this season — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney have outscored opponents by 60 points during their time on the floor, the best point differential of any five-man group in the NBA. However, things have generally gone downhill when the starters begin to check out of the game.

Kerr and the Warriors will get an opportunity to try to figure things out without their stars available on Friday. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links) relays, the team is resting Curry (right elbow soreness), Thompson (Achilles injury management), Wiggins (left foot soreness), and Green (lower back injury management) on the second night of a back-to-back.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Bringing Russell Westbrook off the bench has “undeniably unlocked” the best version of the former MVP, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who argues that the move could even change the course of the Lakers’ season. As Buha tweets, coach Darvin Ham said after Wednesday’s win that one of his goals is to get Westbrook into the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year, which signals that he doesn’t plan to move the point guard back into the starting five anytime soon.
Clippers two-way center Moses Brown had his best game of the season in Wednesday’s win in Houston, racking up 13 points and seven rebounds in just 12 minutes. However, an increased role for Brown may not be a long-term solution to the second unit’s struggles, since head coach Tyronn Lue wants to get more production out of the team’s small, center-less lineups, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.
Although John Wall is considered one of the Clippers‘ veteran leaders, his situation is different than it was in Houston, when he was a mentor to a very young roster, says Law Murray of The Athletic. “We have so many veteran guys here, so I don’t think they need no mentoring,” Wall said, adding that he’s still willing to help out young players like Brown, Brandon Boston Jr., and Moussa Diabate if they have questions for him.

Warriors Notes: Rotation, Thompson, Looney, Wiseman

October 31st, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors haven’t looked like defending champions in their three road games this season, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State dropped to 3-4 after losing a pair of games this weekend to the Hornets, who were playing without their starting backcourt, and the Pistons, who were 1-5 before Sunday night.

Coach Steve Kerr is searching for answers as he tries to develop an effective bench. James Wiseman committed three fouls in four minutes at Charlotte and wasn’t used in the second half, but he looked better in Detroit. Two-way players Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb both saw action Sunday, and Jonathan Kuminga logged a season-high 19 minutes.

While Kerr sorts through his reserves, Draymond Green said it’s up to the core of last season’s title winners to make sure the team stays successful.

“It’s not their fault,” Green said of the younger players. “It’s not solely their fault that we’re not playing well defensively or offensively. When you are playing younger guys, it makes it tougher to execute on both ends of the floor. But by no means is it the young guys’ fault. They have a part in it just like we all have a part in it.”

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Klay Thompson sat out Sunday’s game after playing 32 minutes Saturday night. Kerr doesn’t plan to keep him out of back-to-backs entirely like he did after Thompson returned from his injuries last season, but it will continue until the veteran sharpshooter regains full conditioning, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
One positive sign is the recent rebounding surge from Kevon Looney, notes Monte Poole of NBC Sports. Looney had nine rebounds in 22 minutes against Detroit’s big frontline after pulling down eight against Miami on Thursday and nine in Charlotte.
In an interview with Katie Heindl of Uproxx Sports, Wiseman said he’s starting to feel like himself again after the long recovery process from a meniscus tear in his right knee. “When I first got injured, I was crying so hard I couldn’t even get to my mom’s apartment,” Wiseman recalled from when he hurt his knee in April of 2021. “My mom had to carry me to her apartment. I was just crushed. Having a lot of nights where I was crying a lot, like a lot of times where I had thoughts like … I wish this happened differently.”

Pacific Notes: Fox, Crowder, Booker, Klay, Wiggins

October 26th, 2022 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on The Draymond Green Show, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox recounted his reaction to the news that Sacramento had traded Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana at last season’s deadline, explaining that he viewed the deal as a strong message from his team.

“For me, it’s like yo, they believe in me,” Fox said, per Ajayi Browne of Slam Online. “But two, it’s like motherf—-r, we just traded somebody who could be a franchise point guard either here or somewhere else. So, you better get on your s–t; you better start winning.”

The Kings received plenty of outside criticism for their decision to trade a rising star like Haliburton in his second NBA season, but Fox is determined to prove that the Kings made the right move by handing him the undisputed reins at point guard.

“Does it add pressure? Yeah, a little bit,” Fox said. “But, at the end of the day, I’ve been trying to get us in the playoffs for years, so it’s a little added pressure. It ain’t hurt anybody.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter video link), Suns forward Jae Crowder pushed back against the idea that he demanded a trade because he was told he wouldn’t be a starter. “I do not want to get into the details just yet,” Crowder said, as Haynes relayed during a TNT appearance. “But it’s definitely not true, the narrative being pushed about me not starting or not, I can honestly say that.”
Asked about his impressions of Devin Booker so far this season, head coach Monty Williams described the Suns‘ star guard as “probably the most complete player in the league right now” (Twitter link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). Booker has averaged 32.5 PPG on .530/.480/.882 shooting through four games (38.8 MPG).
Williams’ comments on Booker came after a Suns victory over the Warriors in which sharpshooter Klay Thompson was ejected for the first time in his NBA career. Kendra Andrews of ESPN has the story on the chippy game between two Pacific rivals, Thompson’s first ejection, and Booker’s account of what Klay was saying to him before he left the floor: “They have four rings, repeated over and over.”
In a conversation with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins explained that he took a pay cut on his new four-year, $109MM extension with Golden State because he didn’t want to leave a “winning organization” that treats him well. Wiggins’ goal is to eventually join teammates like Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry as “Bay Area legends,” he told Medina: “Hopefully by the time I’m done, people will look at me like that. I just have to keep putting in the work and accomplish what they have accomplished.”

Injury Notes: Westbrook, Kawhi, D. Wright, Thompson

October 26th, 2022 at 8:07am CST by Luke Adams

After struggling during the Lakers‘ 0-3 start, point guard Russell Westbrook is unlikely to play in the team’s fourth game of the season on Wednesday in Denver. As Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, Westbrook has been listed as doubtful to play vs. the Nuggets due to a hamstring injury, which he sustained during the team’s preseason finale on October 14.

The injury didn’t stop Westbrook from suiting up for the last three games, but if it’s lingering at all, it makes sense for the Lakers to hold him out for a game or two, not only to ensure he gets 100% healthy but also to give him a respite from the criticism he has faced in the early part of the 2022/23 season.

Here are a few more health-related notes from around the NBA:

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard experienced some stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee and was held out of the team’s loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, who adds that Leonard has also been ruled out for the rematch between the two teams on Thursday. Head coach Tyronn Lue didn’t classify it as a setback for Leonard. “We want to be cautious, make sure we’re doing the right thing by him, even though he wanted to play,” Lue said. We just thought it wasn’t smart. He can be mad at us if he wants to but just not smart right now.”
Wizards guard Delon Wright left Tuesday’s game with what head coach Wes Unseld Jr. referred to as hamstring tightness, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Unseld wasn’t sure after the game about the severity of the injury or if it would require Wright to miss any additional time.
After tearing his ACL in 2019 and his Achilles in 2020, Warriors star Klay Thompson entered this season coming off a healthy summer, but he has still required a ramp-up process and a minutes restriction in the early going as he improves his conditioning, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I’m such a perfectionist, I want to be great right now,” Thompson said. “But I got to realize, man, it’s a long season. I’d rather peak come playoff time rather than early November or into January.”

Warriors Notes: Green, Thompson, Wiggins, Rotation

October 20th, 2022 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are being eased into the season but that will change in the near future, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Thompson had 18 points in 20 minutes and Green added four points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes against the Lakers in the opener. The minutes restrictions on them will be lifted in a couple of weeks, according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

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Thompson heard of a report that he planned to retire after two more seasons. He shot that down, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. “There’s a report out there – I have no intention of retiring in 2024. If you write some dumb (stuff) like that, be held accountable,” he said. “That’s crazy. Just because I didn’t play 5-on-5 doesn’t mean I’m gonna retire. That is absurd.” Thompson, whose current contract expires in 2024, was addressing comments made by Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle during a radio interview on KNBR.
Andrew Wiggins has a feeling of contentment after signing a four-year extension, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. “I feel like here — you know, some people will say like, ‘We’re all just one big family.’ But they don’t really say that here. They just show it,” he said. “You know what I mean? They just show it. Families love to be here because they treat everyone so good, like a top-notch organization. And these guys, everyone wants to win, we’re all on the same page, from top to bottom. We all want to see each other succeed. It gives me peace.”
The Warriors showed their depth with an 11-man rotation in the season opener. It won’t be easy to fit all those players into the rotation throughout the season, Slater notes, but Stephen Curry believes each player can continue to contribute until the postseason. “You have 11 guys that probably deserve the opportunity to play and are going to be key for us to be the team that we want to be throughout the regular season and then identify what the best rotation is come playoff time,” he said.

Warriors Notes: Poole, Curry, Green, Toscano-Anderson, Thompson

October 18th, 2022 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After taking a punch from teammate Draymond Green, Jordan Poole was advised by some of his closest confidants that maybe he shouldn’t sign a rookie scale extension with the Warriors, Logan Murdock of The Ringer reports.

Members of Poole’s inner circle were concerned that the team dynamics would be too difficult to repair. Before Green was reinstated from his team-imposed suspension, Golden State officials ran it by Poole.

Ultimately, Poole couldn’t pass up the financial security, as he chose to ink a four-year extension that can be worth up to $140MM.

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Stephen Curry is confident that Green will handle the adversity that he brought upon himself, Curry told Shayna Rubin of the Orange County Register. “He’ll figure it out. We will have his back for the entire process,” he said. “He doesn’t need anyone to hold his hand. He responds well to adversity and critics.”
Juan Toscano-Anderson, now a member of the Lakers, received his championship ring during the season opener on Tuesday. He told Jovan Buha of The Athletic beforehand that he’s grateful to be part of the ceremony. “I think it’s bittersweet, man,” Toscano-Anderson said. “… I’m excited to go back and get my ring. It’s pretty dope that I’m gonna be able to celebrate the ring ceremony on opening night with those guys, when the actual ring ceremony is bound to happen.”
While some of his teammates signed extensions, Klay Thompson is now ineligible to ink one until July under current CBA rules because he has two years remaining on his contract. He anticipates everything will work itself out, as told Mark Medina of NBA.com. “I fully expect to earn another NBA contract, whether it’s this summer or next summer,” Thompson said. “I’m fully confident in my abilities. I’m not worried about an extension in the meantime because I know it’ll happen if I just do my job and I just be myself.” He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 if he doesn’t eventually sign an extension.
What is the Warriors’ approach to its title defense and remaining a perennial contender? Anthony Slater of The Athletic takes a deep dive into those topics, exploring how the team’s two-timeline plan is progressing.