Stephen Curry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stephen Curry Would Have Supported Kevin Durant Trade

September 12th, 2022 at 9:50am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant is still in Brooklyn after his trade request dominated the news for most of the summer. No one was willing to meet the Nets‘ high asking price, but Stephen Curry tells Matt Sullivan of Rolling Stone that he would have gladly welcomed Durant back to the Warriors.

Golden State was believed to be in a strong position to bid for Durant because of the team’s collection of young talent and draft assets. Curry revealed that there was “a conversation internally” involving Warriors management and selected players about pursuing a trade, and he was completely on board.

“I was never hesitant,” Curry said. “The idea of playing with KD and knowing who he is as a person, from our history in those three years, I think KD’s a really good dude. I think he is misunderstood. I think he has had certain things happen in his life that hurt his ability to trust people around him, in a sense of making him feel safe at all times. So all of those things, I understand, having played with him and gotten to know him. I love that dude.

“And if you said, ‘Oh, KD’s coming back, and we’re gonna play with him,’ I had so much fun playing with him those three years, I’d be like, ‘Hell, yeah!’ Then you have to think: What does that actually mean? What does it look like? You tell me I’m playing with [Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Draymond Green], I’m like, ‘Hell, yeah!’ There’s all types of emotion and things that happen to the league. And if anybody’s saying that you wouldn’t entertain that conversation — no disrespect to anybody on our team — but you don’t know how things work. But you also understand, like, if we run this thing back, I’ve got complete confidence in my team that we can win it again, as constructed.

“So, all those things were true. And it started with me wanting to play with KD at the beginning. Yeah, it’s about winning, it’s about having fun, playing the game of basketball. And that was part of the reaction of, like, ‘Yeah, it’d be amazing.’ What does that actually mean?”

The Warriors were extremely successful during Durant’s three years with the franchise, winning two NBA titles and losing in the 2019 Finals amid bad luck with injuries. He averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists over those three seasons and was named Finals MVP in 2017 and 2018.

However, Durant was heavily criticized for his 2016 free agency decision to join Warriors, who were coming off a record-setting regular season and a seven-game loss in the NBA Finals. There were also outward signs of unhappiness, especially in his final year in the Bay Area. Durant ultimately made the decision to head to Brooklyn when he became a free agent again after the 2018/19 season.

One of Durant’s current Nets teammates is Seth Curry, who said he talked to his brother about the possibility of Durant returning to Golden State.

“For him to even be entertaining the thought of having KD back on the team kind of speaks to his character,” Seth told Rolling Stone in July. “Who knows? I might be in the trade with him.”

Sullivan also recounts a conversation that Stephen Curry had with Snoop Dogg regarding what Curry viewed as Durant’s unrealistic expectations of how much talent a team would have remaining after trading for him. Curry concluded that under the circumstances, Durant’s best move was to stay with Brooklyn.

Southeast Notes: Curry, Hornets, Harris, Magic, Heat

September 3rd, 2022 at 2:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Superstar guard Stephen Curry has no plans of leaving the Warriors, but he did admit which team he’d be willing to play for if that time ever came: the Hornets. Curry made his comments when the Charlotte City Council presented him with the key to the city this week (video link).

“I’ve always said I wanted to finish my career at Golden State because of how much it means and the experiences and teammates and the journey we’ve been,” Curry said. “Everybody asks me, ‘You wanna play one year for the Hornets and come back?’

“I am not breaking any news right now, I’m not making any promises. All I would say is if there was a team that I did want to play for that was not named the Warriors, that would be it.”

Curry grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father, Dell Curry, played 10 seasons in the NBA. But it remains unlikely that he ever leaves the Warriors. Through his 13 seasons, he has been named an All-Star eight times, earned two Most Valuable Player awards and won four NBA championships with the franchise.

Here are some other notes from the Southeast:

Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel consulted multiple medical experts in examining the outlook for Gary Harris and the Magic. Harris underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus this week, but no timetable was announced. He averaged 11.1 points per game last season, starting in 30 of his 61 contests.
The Magic have unveiled a new state-of-the-art practice and training facility, the team announced in a press release. The $70MM facility spans 130,000 square feet. As relayed in the release, it’ll serve as the training site for the Magic and a sports medicine hub to Central Florida.
In his latest mailbag for the Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman considers whether the Heat can win big this season despite not making any noteworthy additions. Miami’s success will largely depend on the improvement of its younger players, including Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven. It’ll also hinge on how well Victor Oladipo plays, as he only appeared in eight regular season games last year.

Warriors Notes: Poole, Moody, DiVincenzo, Curry

August 31st, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors will either have to reach a rookie scale extension with Jordan Poole by October 17 or deal with him as a restricted free agent next summer. Either way, new contracts around the league are already setting his market value, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Anfernee Simons and Jalen Brunson, two guards with credentials similar to Poole, signed new free agent deals in excess of $100MM this summer. On Monday, RJ Barrett, who was part of Poole’s draft class, reached an extension agreement with the Knicks that could pay him up to $120MM over the next four years.

While those three players are accomplished, none has a playoff resume that can compare to Poole’s. At age 22, he was Golden State’s second-best offensive player on the way to an NBA title. He also showed that he can be a primary scorer if needed, averaging 26.0 points over 13 games late in the regular season while Stephen Curry was sidelined by a foot injury.

There’s more on the Warriors:

Moses Moody saw limited playing time as a rookie, but he projects to have a much bigger role during the upcoming season, according to C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle. Moody is expected to take over some of the minutes that formerly belonged to Gary Payton II, who signed with the Trail Blazers in July. “I’m telling you, he’s going to fill the stat sheet up,” an unidentified staffer said of Moody. “He’s just going to continue to get better and make plays.”
The Warriors believe free agent addition Donte DiVincenzo‘s intelligence and toughness make him a perfect fit for their system, Holmes adds in the same piece. The coaching staff and front office have been impressed with DiVincenzo this summer, even though they’ve only seen him in individual workouts.
Curry returned Wednesday to Davidson College, where he was inducted into the school’s hall of fame, had his number retired and received his diploma, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “This is an absolutely amazing day and an amazing moment for myself and my family,” said Curry, who completed his degree in May.

California Notes: Curry, Baldwin, Murray, L.A. Rivalry

August 25th, 2022 at 11:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Coming off his first Finals MVP award and his fourth title since 2015, Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry clearly remains one of the league’s elite players, and obviously its single-best shooter. Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area makes the case that it’s time to officially anoint the eight-time All-Star as the elite of the elites — the NBA’s current best player.

Johnson notes that Curry vanquished a series of All-NBA foes in his postseason run through the West, besting Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant, and Luka Doncic in plus-minus by an absurd margin in each case. In six Finals games, Curry posted averages of 31.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.0 APG and 2.0 SPG. He connected on 48.2% of his field goals and 43.7% of his long-range looks.

Johnson also discusses Curry’s astronomical on/off-court impact on the Warriors — Golden State’s offense rating was 27.2 points higher when he took the floor during the team’s Finals series against the Celtics, one of the league’s best defenses.

Here’s more from California’s four NBA teams:

In a Dubs Talk podcast interview with Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, Warriors rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. discussed the various contemporary players whose diverse approach to the game he hopes to replicate. “I like to watch [Kevin Durant], I like to watch Khris Middleton, I like to watch [Jayson Tatum],” Baldwin told Johnson. “I’m watching Otto Porter Jr., Michael Porter Jr. — guys that I think have roles that I can fill some day… It’s just important to be multifaceted and learn from everybody.”
With Thunder lottery pick Chet Holmgren now out for the 2022/23 season, Kings rookie forward Keegan Murray has seen his chances of earning Rookie of the Year honors improve significantly, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. Murray’s odds moved from 9-to-1 to 5-to-1 following Holmgren’s injury, per Anderson. Sacramento selected the 2022 consensus All-American out of Iowa with the fourth pick in this year’s draft.
The Clippers are hoping their expensive new Inglewood arena, Intuit Dome, will help improve their standing in the Los Angeles NBA pecking order with regards to the Lakers, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I think this’ll be so cool,” Clippers team owner Steve Ballmer said of the team getting its own home arena, separate from the downtown Crypto.com Arena, which they share with the Lakers, Kings and Sparks. “And it needs to be. You said this is a Laker town. No. [It’s a] Laker-Clipper [town]… And someday I want to be able to say Clipper-Laker [town].”

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Westbrook, Randle, Suns, Curry

August 24th, 2022 at 5:46pm CST by Rory Maher

Now that Kyrie Irving is reportedly off the table for the Lakers, Jovan Buha of The Athletic breaks down the team’s other potential options for dealing Russell Westbrook.

As Buha writes, a trade with the Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield makes sense for the Lakers, but they’d likely have to include both their 2027 and 2029 first-rounders to make that happen, which hasn’t transpired to this point. Buha wonders if Indiana would be interested in the move if the Lakers put protections on the ’29 pick or perhaps include a pick swap instead.

Turner and Hield would instantly become the Lakers’ “third- and fourth-best players on the roster, upgrading the starting lineup, depth and collective shooting,” Buha states, adding that Turner would complement Anthony Davis in the frontcourt due to his defensive versatility and ability to space the floor (.349 career 3PT%).

The Lakers could also get involved as a third team in a potential Donovan Mitchell trade, or target Jazz veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic, Patrick Beverley, Jordan Clarkson and Jarred Vanderbilt, Buha notes.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Within the same piece, Buha says the Lakers aren’t interested in a potential reunion with Knicks forward Julius Randle, whom L.A. drafted No. 7 overall in 2014, due to his long-term contract and “less-than-ideal fit” with Davis and LeBron James. According to Buha, New York, Charlotte and San Antonio are all unlikely trade partners for Westbrook for various reasons, even though the three teams theoretically make some sense.
With Kevin Durant said to be sticking with the Nets, at least for now, a trio of Suns players whose names were floated in trade talks for the star have a big opportunity entering 2022/23, per Greg Moore of The Arizona Republic. Moore thinks Mikal Bridges likely won’t be affected by the rumors, but wonders if Cameron Johnson and Deandre Ayton should have bigger offensive roles next season to improve the team’s versatility as Phoenix looks to win its first championship.
Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area details why Warriors star Stephen Curry, the reigning Finals MVP, is underpaid despite having the largest salary in the league in ’22/23 ($48.1MM). Golden State’s franchise valuation has increased a little more than 12-fold over the past 12 years ($450MM to $5.6 billion), the team is immensely popular both locally and nationally, and the Warriors have won the championship four times in the past eight years largely due to Curry’s impact, making him worth more than double his current contract, according to Poole.

Western Notes: Marjanovic, Cauley-Stein, Lakers Arena, Warriors

August 22nd, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

What is the status of the ever popular Boban Marjanovic? According to Marc Stein in a Substack post, Marjanovic has a place on the Rockets’ opening night roster despite an excess of big men.

Marjanovic was dealt by Dallas as part of its package for Christian Wood. He has one season left on the two-year, $7MM contract he signed last offseason.

Alperen Şengün is projected as Houston’s starting center, with Bruno Fernando and Willie Cauley-Stein also vying for spots on the regular season roster.

We have more from the Western Conference:

The addition of Cauley-Stein isn’t official yet, as Houston must clear a roster space to sign him. He’s a low-risk, potentially solid-reward addition, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag. Over the past five seasons, Cauley-Stein’s teams defended nearly five points better with him on the floor, Iko notes. He’s still athletic enough to play in Houston’s up-tempo system and should help the team defensively.
The home arena for the Lakers and Clippers in undergoing major renovations over the next three summers, according to David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times. Upgrades are being made at every level of Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center. The upgrades include new jumbo screens, updated concession stands, a better sound system and an enhanced “fan experience.” The Clippers are scheduled to leave for their new arena in 2024.
Which member of the Warriors’ big three will leave? In a mailbag post, Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett speculates that Draymond Green is the only one who might depart in the near future. Stephen Curry has four years left on his deal and is the face of the franchise, while Klay Thompson has two years left on his contract and will likely sign another with Golden State. Green can opt out of his contract after next season and the heavily taxed Warriors may pin their hopes on one of their young frontcourt players emerging at a lower cost, Bulpett writes.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Ballmer, George, Kings

July 27th, 2022 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry is under contract through the 2025/26 season and he hasn’t considered finishing his career with anyone other than the Warriors. In an interview during this afternoon’s Oakland A’s baseball game (video link), Curry talked about his love for the Bay Area and his plans for the future.

“I’ve been out here … I just finished my 13th year,” Curry said, “and to be able to say I’ve played for one team my entire career, and also to say between the 10 years in Oakland and these last three years in San Francisco, I can honestly say how special this place is. Also, there’s a huge need here that we can really kind of tackle some of those challenges, and do it in a meaningful way. Honestly, I don’t want to leave ever. I want this to be my one and only home, and even thinking about what happens after basketball is done.”

With four championship rings and two MVP trophies, Curry is among the most popular and successful athletes in the history of the Bay Area. He’ll be 38 when his current deal expires and hasn’t given any indication about whether he plans to continue playing after that.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

In a tour of the Inuit Dome construction site, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer tells Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN that he wants to have the premier team in Los Angeles (Twitter link). “You said this is a Laker town. No, Laker-Clipper,” Ballmer said to Youngmisuk. “And someday I want to be able to say Clipper-Laker.” Of the new arena, Ballmer said, “I think it’s another statement that says, ‘Hey look, we’re nobody’s little brother. We’re a real team.’”
Clippers forward Paul George will be the latest NBA star to make an appearance at the Drew League, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. The pro-am league in Los Angeles has attracted numerous NBA players this summer, including LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, Trae Young and John Collins. This will be George’s first Drew League appearance since 2014.
James Ham of Kings Beat offers four suggestions on how the Kings can improve their defense for the upcoming season.

Warriors Rumors: Green, Wiggins, Poole, Thompson

July 27th, 2022 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Signing all of Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Klay Thompson to lucrative contract extensions that lock them up long-term probably isn’t financially viable for the Warriors, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.

As Slater and Thompson outline, extending Green, Wiggins, and Poole to deals that are worth a combined $90MM or so in 2023/24 would result in that season’s roster costing a projected $550MM+ when accounting for team salary and luxury tax penalties. Joe Lacob and Warriors ownership spent a record $362MM on the roster this past season, but Lacob has suggested that even $400MM+ may be too step a price for the organization to stomach, per The Athletic’s duo.

Removing even one of those three hypothetical extensions (worth approximately $27-30MM) from the Warriors’ books for 2023/24 would result in the projected cost of the roster decreasing by more than $200MM, due primarily to the tax savings, according to Slater and Thompson.

In other words, unless they can negotiate some very team-friendly deals, the Warriors may soon face a major decision on which one of their core players they’re most comfortable moving on from.

Here’s more from Slater and Thompson:

Draymond Green believes he has earned a four-year, maximum extension from the Warriors, sources tell The Athletic. Such a deal would begin in 2023/24 and would be worth about $138.7MM. However, there are no indications that Golden State plans to put that offer on the table for Green this offseason, even though he can reach unrestricted free agency next year if he turns down his ’23/24 player option.
Green wants to remain with the Warriors, but his contract situation will be worth keeping an eye on, according to Slater and Thompson, who suggest the former Defensive Player of the Year could be willing to explore other options to get the kind of contract he wants. Sources also tell The Athletic that Stephen Curry wouldn’t be happy if the club lost Green for financial reasons.
Andrew Wiggins may be the best candidate on the Warriors’ roster to sign an extension this offseason, but the club would want any deal to start well below Wiggins’ maximum, per Slater and Thompson. The duo believes Golden State would be interested in a contract starting in the $27MM range. Wiggins will earn $33.6MM in 2022/23 and is coming off his best season as a pro, so he’ll likely be seeking more than that.
New deals for Anfernee Simons (four years, $100MM) and Jalen Brunson (four years, $104MM) figure to be reference points for Jordan Poole and the Warriors as they explore an extension, Slater and Thompson observe.
Klay Thompson still has two guaranteed years left on his contract, so he’s probably the least likely of these four Warriors to sign an extension this year, according to Slater and Thompson, who say there’s no sense that Thompson is “clamoring” for a new deal.

Warriors Notes: Green, Roster Openings, Wiggins, Poole, Durant, Lacob

July 23rd, 2022 at 10:35am CST by Dana Gauruder

JaMychal Green officially became a free agent on Friday when he cleared waivers. That opens up a path for Green to sign with the Warriors. He’ll provide necessary depth at forward, since Golden State lost Otto Porter Jr. to Toronto and Nemanja Bjelica decided to play in Europe. Green is a proven 3-point threat and can guard multiple positions, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes.

We have more on the Warriors:

In the same story, Slater indicates Golden State will likely guarantee only 14 roster spots heading into training camp. Green would fill the 12th spot and rookie Ryan Rollins is expected to sign a multi-year contract. Andre Iguodala could fill the 14th spot if he doesn’t retire.
The Nets are not “super high” on Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole as centerpieces of a deal for Kevin Durant, Zach Lowe of ESPN said on his podcast (hat tip to Ali Thanawalla of Yahoo Sports). That’s one reason why a deal with Golden State didn’t gain traction, even though it had some picks to dangle. “I don’t know if there ever really was a deal there that the Nets would have done. Obviously, you have to explore it if you’re the Warriors,” Lowe said. It’s also worth noting that Brooklyn wouldn’t be able to acquire Wiggins this season as long as Ben Simmons is still on the team.
Owner Joe Lacob made his case with fellow team owners at the recent Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas that tax penalties should be reduced when teams re-sign players they drafted, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article. Three of Golden State’s four highest-paid players — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — were draft picks that have only played for one team.

Pacific Notes: Wall, DiVincenzo, Lakers, Saric

July 10th, 2022 at 8:56pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first public comments since joining the Clippers as a free agent, John Wall said he’s looking forward to playing on such a talented roster, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays.

“I don’t have to do it every night, I don’t have to be Batman every night for us to win,” Wall said on Saturday at the Las Vegas Summer League. “That’s the ultimate goal for me is [at] this part of my career, I don’t want to have to be the Batman every night to try to win. On our team that we have, I think anyone can be Batman.”

Wall also said he never seriously considered joining another team besides the Clippers, according to Youngmisuk.

“I really didn’t care about all the other teams,” Wall said of his other potential suitors. “The other teams are great, and I’m glad teams wanted to come after me, but I kind of looked at the picture of like, where can I go [where] I don’t have to be the John Wall from 2016 and have to carry the load and do all those [things] and have the pressure on me. I think [LA] was missing a piece of having a point guard, and it’s a great situation for me to be there.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Recruitment calls from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green helped Donte DiVincenzo land on the Warriors as his free agent destination, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Once I had the conversation with Steph and Draymond, everything kind of slowed down for me a little bit because I got away from the numbers, the dollar signs and everything,” DiVincenzo said. “I was more so focused on what is best for Donte and what is best for me going forward. With that culture and environment, it’s something that I want to be a part of and it’s something of who I am. I don’t have to change who I am. I can just totally fit in and become a Warrior.” DiVincenzo signed a two-year deal with Golden State with a player option in the second season. He reportedly had offers for more money, but the ability to join a contender and possibly build up his value next season appealed to the 25-year-old.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham recently expressed confidence in his coaching staff’s ability to get the most out of the team’s newly-signed free agents, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. “There’s various circumstances as to why people have a dip in shooting,” Ham said. “Sometimes it’s injury-related, sometimes it’s minutes, who you’re out on the floor with, how many touches. So only thing we’re worried about is what we’re doing going forward, and we feel we’ve got a good group – a good young group of free agents that’s gonna come in and make an impact.” The Lakers have added Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant thus far in free agency, prioritizing youth and athleticism over older veterans.
Suns big man Dario Saric, who missed the entire 2021/22 season after suffering a torn right ACL in the 2021 Finals and underwent arthroscopic surgery in May to repair a torn meniscus in the same knee, recently gave a positive update on his status, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Saric just started doing contact work with coaches and hopes to play a couple of games with the Croatian national team prior to training camp. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling really good,” said Saric. “I’m moving better, moving faster. I was one year out of basketball. I’ve had time to settle my mind to really dive into this extra positive. Working to be as best as I can.”