Stephen Curry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Suns, Landry, Curry

December 31st, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns miscalculated during the 2013/14 season when the team dealt away Marcin Gortat in an effort to speed up the rebuilding process by bottoming out, but instead won 48 games, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. “We were never trying to lose games,” team owner Robert Sarver told Lowe. “We were trying to play young players who we thought could be part of the next great Phoenix team, and some of them just played a lot better than we thought they would.” It was the unexpected success of that campaign that led Phoenix to chase immediate wins at the expense of long-term team-building, Lowe adds, which is a major reason for the mess the franchise is currently in. The ESPN scribe also opines that coach Jeff Hornacek shouldn’t necessarily be held accountable for the team’s woeful record this season, and for the sake of continuity he should be allowed another opportunity in 2016/17.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Nik Stauskas and Carl Landry, both of whom were traded by Sacramento to the Sixers, say that they harbor no ill will toward the Kings organization for shipping them away, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “There’s no hard feelings,” Landry said. “The organization and the owner [Vivek Ranadive] and the vets, everybody in that organization gave me an opportunity. I am not going to go out there and try to score more points than needs to be scored. I’m just going to go out there and try to get a win. That’s it. Nothing personal.” Stauskas laid the blame for being dealt on himself, Pompey adds. “I didn’t play the way I wanted to my rookie year,” Stauskas said, “and obviously they felt like they wanted to go in a different direction. That’s the way the NBA works.“
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has taken some surprising criticism for the way he plays potentially “ruining” young players who attempt to emulate him. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle strongly disagrees, and compares the point guard to Apple visionary Steve Jobs, Michael Florek of The Dallas Morning News writes. “He’s changed the way we live,” Carlisle said of Jobs. “He and Bill Gates have done that. Steph Curry is changing the way the game is going to be played in the future. I’m sure of it. That’s a historic thing. The way AAU coaches and kids coming up are going to view the game, I’m confident it’s going to have a big influence. He’s an exciting guy to watch, and he’s a menacing guy to game plan for.”

Pacific Notes: Curry, Nance Jr., Kerr

December 23rd, 2015 at 7:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers rookie Larry Nance Jr. has impressed the team’s coaching staff with his work ethic and versatility, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “Well, the one thing that Larry does for us is gives us a guy who is going to play the right way every single time on the basketball court,” coach Byron Scott said. “He’s never trying to play outside the box. He’s going to give you everything he’s got. He’s got great athleticism. But he works his butt off, he plays extremely hard. Trying to get him to take open shots when he has them. He’s been reluctant at times to do that. But he’s been one of those guys that just does everything that you want him to do.“

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings coach George Karl has settled on the primary eight players in his rotation, but he would still like to find extra minutes for combo guard Seth Curry, who has been solid during his limited playing time this season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. When asked how he can get Curry on the court more consistently, Karl responded, “That’s a tough question. Every morning, [the coaches] talk about playing more players, but when you get into the nature of the game, it is my instincts. … None of my ones, twos or threes are playing poorly, so there’s no reason to take minutes from anybody. I hope Seth is patient, and I think sometimes experimenting at home is easier to do than on the road.”
Despite the excellent job done by interim coach Luke Walton, the Warriors need Steve Kerr to return if they hope to repeat as NBA champions, an assessment that star point guard Stephen Curry agrees with, Mark Purdy of The San Jose Mercury News writes. “He just has a way of refocusing guys,” Curry said of Kerr. “And that’s whether it’s in the middle of the game or day to day at practice. Even if we’re playing well or winning games or not, there’s always something we can work on. And he presents it in a way that kind of fuels us as opposed to, like, calling guys out. … There’s a subtle or joking way he gets his point across that we appreciate.“
The Lakers have recalled Ryan Kelly and Tarik Black from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the second stint with the D-Fenders on the season for both players.

Western Notes: Curry, Evans, Lakers

December 12th, 2015 at 3:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The four-year, $44MM contract extension that Stephen Curry signed with the Warriors back in 2012 is one of the most team-friendly deals in NBA history, something that Curry admits he had to make peace with, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports writes. “I had to make a conscious decision and remind myself over and over [to let it go],” Curry told Wojnarowski. “I could’ve had a different perspective and said, ‘I want to get everything that I could get, wait it out, test free agency that next year – and who knows what would’ve happened? But for me, a $44MM contract was plenty for me to be able to provide for my family. When I made a decision to sign an extension, I told myself that was the right decision for the moment. After three years, I’ve still got to remind myself every day. Number one, there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s no point to moaning and complaining and trying to change something that really can’t be changed.”

“I have thought about it occasionally, and understand that, for me, talking to the people in my camp, everything does happen for a reason,” Curry continued. “I’ve tried to just be appreciative of what I have. Obviously a lot of other things have happened off the court that have helped the situation, Under Armour, other sponsors. On the back end, when this is all said and done, things will come around the right way. It’s nice to know that I got a championship out of it, an MVP season out of it, and hopefully setting up for something better down the line.”

Here’s more from the West:

Byron Scott says that the Lakers learned from their failed recruitment of LaMarcus Aldridge this past offseason, and will adjust the focus of their future free agent presentations, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. “I think we looked at it more as a business presentation. It wasn’t basketball, and that’s probably where we made our mistake,” Scott told Holmes regarding the team’s meeting with Aldridge. “Most of these guys want to know the basketball part of it,” Scott continued. “We’ll change that part as far as most of the meeting, 75 percent of it or more, will be about the basketball part and then the other part will be a little bit about the business part. I think we found from a great player that he was more interested in the basketball on-the-court stuff than anything else.“
The Mavericks recalled Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri from the Texas Legends today, the team announced via a press release. Both Anderson and Mejri were re-assigned to Dallas’ affiliate after practicing with the team, the Mavs relayed via a second release.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said that Evans requested to be assigned to the D-League to aid him in getting more comfortable playing on the perimeter, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (via Twitter). The Mavs needed the consent of Evans and the players union to send him to the D-League since he has more than two years of experience.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Curry, Teletovic, Huertas

September 10th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek expressed optimism about the potential for a resolution that would see Markieff Morris back off his trade demand, as Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com relays. Several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe that the Suns don’t seem especially motivated to make a move, despite the bluster from the power forward.

“I know Markieff,” Hornacek said. “I know that when he gets here and starts playing, he’s a competitor and he’s going to try to win. Hopefully, he can get whatever he has off his chest with us and get back to business and help this team win.”

Lowe speculates about potential trade scenarios involving several teams around the league, opining that the Knicks are among those who should look into trading for Morris and writing that while New York isn’t ready to talk about dealing away Carmelo Anthony, who has a no-trade clause, the team is getting closer to that point. While we wait to see what happens, there’s more on the Suns amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Seth Curry resisted overtures from overseas the past two years, but he and agent Alex Saratsis had planned for him to take one of those offers if he couldn’t find his footing in the NBA by this fall, writes Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. An impressive summer league in July drew NBA interest from the Pelicans, Hornets and Warriors, as well as the Kings, who made the best offer and signed him to a two-year guaranteed deal, as Jenkins details. Golden State would have given him the chance to play with his brother, MVP Stephen Curry, but Seth looked the other way. “I didn’t want to go to Golden State,” Seth said. “I didn’t want to go back in Steph’s shadow.”
Hornacek is high on the game of free agent signee Mirza Teletovic, who seems in line to start at power forward if Morris isn’t in Phoenix, but the Suns coach wants to see better conditioning out of the former Net, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic chronicles. “He can shoot the ball,” Hornacek said of Teletovic. “The big thing is he can also makes some plays and he’s got a good eye of the court and good court sense. He’ll drive in there a little bit on a roll and look one way and pass it another way. He understands how to set things up. He probably needs to get in better shape. I don’t think he was used to the running that we do here but he toughed it out and kept going. He just got off a plane the other day from Bosnia.”
The contract that Marcelo Huertas signed with the Lakers is for one year and non-guaranteed, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. It’s worth the minimum salary with limited injury protection, adds Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, so it appears that it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

Curry Wants Long-Term Future With Warriors

August 25th, 2015 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 4:04pm: Curry again stated his desire to stay with the Warriors in a video posted on his Facebook page (scroll ahead to the 2:33 mark). Asked if he ever thought he’d leave Golden State, Curry said, “Hopefully not. Hopefully everything works out and I can finish my career here. I’ve probably got like 10 good years left.”

MONDAY, 3:12pm: MVP Stephen Curry is tied to his bargain contract with the Warriors for two more seasons, but he has no intention of leaving when he’ll have the chance, as he told Jimmy Spencer of The Sporting News. The former Davidson star said last year that he’d always thought about playing for Charlotte, where he went to high school and where his father made his mark as a member of the Hornets. Still, it doesn’t look like a homecoming will happen anytime soon.

“As I am thinking right now, free agency isn’t really appealing to me because I love where I’m at, love the organization I’m playing for, and the Bay Area is home for me and my family,” Curry said to Spencer.

Curry will see nearly $11.371MM this coming season and $12.112MM in 2016/17 on the extension he signed at a discount in 2012, when a series of ankle injuries had clouded his future. Those ankle problems have since subsided and the deal has become one of the NBA’s most team-friendly. The 27-year-old becomes eligible for a veteran extension on October 31st this year, but it’s much more likely that he’ll let his contract run to term, since an extension would start at only 7.5% more than his 2016/17 salary. Signing a new contract as a free agent in 2017 would allow him to earn a starting salary of an estimated $30.517MM.

The summer of 2017 shapes up as a potential turning point for Golden State. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are the only Warriors with guaranteed salary on the books beyond the expiration of Curry’s deal. Much can change between now and then, but Curry’s apparent plan to re-sign keeps pressure off the organization and allows the Warriors to sell free agent targets on the idea of playing with the supremely talented point guard for years to come.

If there were no salary cap and Curry were a free agent today, how much do you think he’d get? Leave a comment to tell us.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Curry, Knight

May 24th, 2015 at 10:26am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Warriors beat the Rockets on Saturday night by a score of 115-80 and Stephen Curry passed Reggie Miller for the most three-pointers made in a single postseason. Curry has made 63 shots from behind the arc during just 13 playoff games and has made a staggering 91% of his left corner three attempts. Curry, who signed a four-year, $44MM contract extension in 2012, may have most team friendly deal in the league.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Brandon Knight will be a restricted free agent this summer and he hasn’t yet made his decision on where he is going to sign, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes. “For myself, just doing what I’m comfortable with and what’s best for myself and for my family,” Knight said. “I can’t speak on that until I know what’s going on and that won’t be until July.”
Knight, who before coming to Phoenix played a majority of his minutes as a point guard, enjoys sharing the responsibilities with Eric Bledsoe, Coro writes in the same piece. “As far as playing with Eric goes, I think it’s a great thing because you have two players who can attack at any time. Instead of having one team focus on just one of us, being able to have two guys who can really break down a defense at any time, I think will not only make it easy for myself but also make it easier for him as well,” Knight said. “If Eric was a selfish guy, then I think it wouldn’t work but both of us being pretty unselfish guys and really just wanting to win and also being familiar with each other, I think that helps the situation.”
Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic believes that Curry could change the NBA, just like Steve Nash did nearly a decade ago. Nash’s impact changed how the league played, cleansing the game of shoot-first point guards in favor of players who empowered their teammates to play a more efficient version of the sport. Bickley wonders if Curry’s success will inspire more prospects to prioritize shooting from long-range.

James, Curry, Harden Lead All-NBA Teams

May 21st, 2015 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James and Stephen Curry finished atop the voting for the All-NBA Teams, with James Harden, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol joining them on the first team, the league announced via press release. Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Paul, Pau Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins comprise the second team. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Tim Duncan, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving make up the third team.

Curry, the league’s MVP, and James each received 645 points through a system in which five points are awarded a first team vote, three points go for a second team vote and one point is given for a third team vote. The duo garnered 129 first team votes each, making them unanimous first team selections. They were followed closely by Harden, with 125 first team votes and 637 points, and Davis, who had 119 first team votes and 625 points. Marc Gasol, who’s heading into free agency, wasn’t as widely seen as a first-teamer by the media members who cast their ballots, rounding out the squad with 65 first-team votes and 453.

Every member of the second team received at least one first team vote, and Thompson and Irving were the only members of the third team not to get a first team vote. Al Horford also received a first team vote even though he didn’t make any of the teams. The NBA will soon display the votes of each media member on its website, but the league has already distributed the information via press release, so click here to check it out in PDF form.

Western Notes: Jokic, Afflalo, Aminu

May 7th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs forward Al-Farouq Aminu has indicated that he’ll turn down his minimum-salary player option with the team for next season, but both sides have indicated a willingness to rekindle their relationship next season. When discussing his feelings regarding returning to Dallas in a radio interview with KRLD-FM 105.3 (hat tip to the Dallas Morning News), Aminu said, “People are still playing now, so it’s hard to tell, but I really want to. … Nobody likes moving and different things like that. I’ve been in L.A. then I went to New Orleans and now here. It’s always better to stay where you’re at but things happen. But it would be nice.”

Here’s more from the NBA’s Western Conference:

When asked what positives he would pitch about playing in Dallas to prospective free agent targets, Aminu said, “I guess it’s what I went through last year when I was coming to play here. It’s a great city. It doesn’t get that cold, which is nice. Also, the practice facility is in the arena is close, as well as the airport, so it’s not a lot of long hours you have to drive back and forth to places. It does become a drag. You’re going to play with great players. Obviously you’re probably going to win and then you’re going to have a chance at a championship.”
Nuggets 2014 second-round pick Nikola Jokic is seeking a long-term deal from Denver or else he’ll remain overseas, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter). There are reports that the Nuggets intend to ink the big man prior to the NBA summer league commencing.
Blazers guard Arron Afflalo has to make a decision this offseason regarding his player option worth $7,750,000, and Sean Meagher of The Oregonian examines the pros and cons of the 29-year-old returning to Rip City in 2015/16.
Sam Amick of USA Today looks at the path Warriors star Stephen Curry has taken from being the No. 7 overall selection in the 2009 NBA draft to winning the league’s MVP award this season.

Western Notes: Pelicans, Curry, Batum

May 5th, 2015 at 10:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans would prefer to re-sign all of their free agents this offseason which would allow them to stay over the cap and use the full mid-level exception to sign another veteran player, Zach Lowe of Grantland.com writes. New Orleans currently has $40,582,846 in guaranteed salary and another $16,699,815 in non-guaranteed funds committed for the 2015/16 campaign. Pelicans players who will become unrestricted free agents this summer include Omer Asik, Luke Babbitt, Jimmer Fredette, and Dante Cunningham.

Here’s more out of the NBA’s Western Conference:

2014/15 NBA most valuable player Stephen Curry didn’t initially want the Warriors to draft him, and instead was hoping to go to the Knicks who were selecting one pick later than Golden State, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes. “The Knicks had [pick] eight and we thought in New York he’d be a great fit. We really wanted him to drop to eight,” Curry’s agent Jeff Austin said. “Once we got to seventh, we were like, ‘C’mon man, don’t pick him with [Golden State].’ At the time, the Warriors were not in our mind as a preferred destination.“
The Blazers could look to deal Nicolas Batum and his expiring contract worth $12,235,750 this offseason, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com writes. When asked about the possibility of being traded, Batum said, “If that happens, it happens. That’s the business, I understand that. I mean, I can’t control that. All I can control is what I put on the court. I know what I am going to do this summer is try to get better.” If Portland is able to unload Batum the team could target Mavs forward Al-Farouq Aminu, Young speculates. Aminu has a player option worth $1,110,602 that he intends to opt out of this summer.
Dwight Howard is happy being a member of the Rockets, but he admitted that the venom fans spewed at him as a result of his free agent decisions still weigh on him, Kristie Reiken of The Associated Press relays. “Sometimes it hurts,” Howard said. “It used to hurt a lot more as I went from this guy that everybody likes to everybody hated me because I wanted to play basketball on another team. And I’m like: ‘Hey listen it’s really not that serious. If I stopped playing today, your life is going to be the same, my life is going to be the same, it’s just I’m not going to be playing basketball. So why should it matter what I decide?’“

Stephen Curry Wins MVP

May 4th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 10:03am: Curry has indeed won the MVP, the league announced via press release. He garnered 100 out of 130 first-place votes. Harden, the second-place finisher, received 25, while the other five went to LeBron James, who came in third. Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Chris Paul followed in the voting among media members. To see each voter’s ballot, click here.

SUNDAY, 6:33pm: Stephen Curry will be named the league’s Most Valuable Player, reports CSNBayArea.com’s Monte Poole, who cites multiple league sources. The official announcement, Poole writes, is expected to be made between Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference semifinals series between the Warriors and the Grizzlies.

Curry, 27, would become the first Warrior in the franchise’s 53-year California history to win the award, Poole notes. Curry, who led the Warriors to an NBA-best 67-15 regular season record, was the top vote-getter in this year’s All-Star Game, which he started in for the second straight season. Curry will be only the second Warriors player to win the NBA MVP award, tweets Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, who noted that the other was Wilt Chamberlain of 1959/60 Philadelphia Warriors.

After the Warriors’ Game 1 win, Curry was asked if he expected to win the MVP. Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group transcribed the post-game interview.

“I honestly have no idea,” Curry said. “It’s obviously just — in the middle of a playoff series, it’s hard to kind of separate yourself with other things that may or may not happen. Obviously I know what the situation is, and just trying to focus on the game, and if I get a call tomorrow, I’ll definitely be happy, and there will be a lot of people that can be proud of that moment, as well, and we’ll enjoy it. But right now I’m happy we won Game 1. I’ll wake up tomorrow a fresh new day, and we’ll see what happens.”

The slick-shooting sixth-year point guard averaged 23.8 points per game, which was good for sixth in the league. He also averaged 7.7 assists (sixth in the league) and 2.04 steals (fourth in the league). He shot 44.3% from 3-point range (fourth). His 91.4% on free throws was tops in the league. The runner-up in the voting, reports Poole, citing sources, was Rockets star James Harden.

The award is further confirmation of Curry’s status as one of the game’s best values. The Warriors signed him to a four-year, $44MM extension in the fall of 2012 amid concerns over his ability to avoid then-persistent ankle injuries. He’s missed only 10 games in the three years since and is making just a little more than $10.629MM on the backloaded deal.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.