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Pacific Notes: Durant, Hield, Morant, Curry, Kawhi

April 2nd, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link) about possible offseason trade destinations for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Shams Charania said there was mutual interest between the Suns‘ star and a handful of potential suitors ahead of February’s trade deadline. According to Charania, that list of teams included the Timberwolves, Knicks, Rockets, Spurs, and Heat.

“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then,” Charania said. “And I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason.”

Charania didn’t explicitly mention the Warriors, but that’s likely due to the fact that Durant was known to be resistant to a Golden State reunion in February. If his stance changes this summer, it’s possible the Warriors could once again emerge as a suitor.

One report this week suggested that Durant is open to the idea of returning to Phoenix next season, but a trade still appears to be the most likely outcome. Unlike in February when the Suns unilaterally gauged the market for the veteran forward without consulting him, the team and Durant’s camp would likely work together on any deal this offseason, Charania notes.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • The NBA is looking into an incident from Tuesday’s Warriors/Grizzlies game when Golden State sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Memphis guard Ja Morant aimed finger-gun gestures at one another, according to Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. A video of that brief interaction can be found here (via Twitter). The NBA has fined players for that gesture in the past and is likely especially sensitive to this case since Morant has been suspended twice in the past for waving around an actual gun in social media videos.
  • Stephen Curry racked up 52 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the Warriors‘ win over Memphis on Tuesday and told reporters after the game that he feels rejuvenated after taking a week off to recover from a pelvic injury in March, per ESPN. “I feel in a good rhythm,” Curry said. “The week off helped. The tank is pretty full.” Steve Kerr said a couple weeks ago that he wanted to get Curry some rest, but the Warriors coach no longer seems as concerned about his star guard’s condition. “I think (the week off) helped and I think two rounds of golf on this road trip helped,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
  • After missing the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from a knee procedure and then playing on a minutes limit for several more weeks after that, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has recaptured his All-NBA form, having averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game with a .521/.397/.825 shooting line in 13 March outings. Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at Leonard’s resurgence and the 33-year-old’s desire to enter the offseason healthy.
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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2025 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2024/25 finalists for a pair of awards on Wednesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

Holiday is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who has earned the honor in the past — he won it in 2021. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award last season.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2024/25. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, while Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has also won the award twice, including in 2024. However, neither of those veterans is a finalist this season.

The Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

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Award Candidates Who Still Need To Reach 65-Game Mark

April 2nd, 2025 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

There are just 12 days left in the 2024/25 regular season, which means time is running out for certain end-of-season award candidates to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

A player doesn’t need to reach that 65-game mark in order to be eligible for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or All-Rookie teams, but it’s a necessary requirement for most of the marquee awards: Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and Most Improved Player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the following players who could be in the mix for one or more of those awards haven’t yet met the 65-game criteria, but still have a chance to do so:

In some cases, a player’s actual games played total doesn’t match up with the figure noted above. That’s because in order for a game to count before the 65-game minimum, the player must be on the court for at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to count a maximum of two games between 15 and 20 minutes toward that minimum.

Let’s use Mobley as an example. The Cavaliers big man has technically appeared in 66 games this season, but he played just 12 minutes in one of those games, 18 minutes in two of them, and 19 minutes in one. That means he only has 64 games that actually count toward the minimum — all 62 games in which he played 20-plus minutes, along with two of those games between 15-20 minutes.

Mobley will have to play at least 20 minutes once more this season in order to be eligible for awards like Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and All-NBA. Given that he’s healthy and the Cavs still have seven games left on their schedule, Mobley should have no problem meeting that requirement. But it’ll be a taller order for some of the other players on this list.

Durant is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain and has been ruled out for at least two more games. He would have to play 20-plus minutes in three of the Suns‘ final four games to be award-eligible. Brunson, on the shelf due to his own ankle sprain, is in a similar boat, though the Knicks guard has a chance to return before Durant does.

Lillard, who is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf, seems pretty unlikely to play in six of the Bucks‘ last seven games. Holiday is healthy but has no wiggle room to miss any of the Celtics‘ remaining seven games.

Many of this year’s other top award contenders have already met the 65-game criteria. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic did so in style on Tuesday night — his 65th game of the season was an incredible 61-point triple-double in a 140-139 double-overtime loss to Minnesota.

However, according to the latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Jokic is the clear runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who has played 72 games) in the MVP race. Of the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, 77 picked the Thunder guard as their Most Valuable Player, while just 23 chose Jokic. The three-time MVP may need a couple more performances like Tuesday’s in order to close that gap by the end of the season.

Besides Jokic, one other notable player who has narrowly eclipsed the 65-game minimum is Cade Cunningham. The Pistons guard has missed four games in a row with a left calf injury and is considered doubtful to return on Wednesday, but he played his 65th game on March 19, prior to his recent absence.

That’s especially important for Cunningham and the Pistons because, as Bontemps notes, the fourth-year guard is considered a virtual lock to earn a spot on one of this year’s All-NBA teams, which will ensure that his maximum-salary rookie scale extension begins at 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap instead of 25%. That would increase the overall projected value of Cunningham’s five-year deal from $224.2MM to $269.1MM.

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Western Notes: Curry, Kuminga, Collier, Fertitta

March 29th, 2025 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

Stephen Curry‘s pelvic contusion only forced him to miss two games, but the Warriors star said after making his return on Friday vs. New Orleans that he expects to “feel it for a while,” as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN notes. Still, Curry, who suffered a hairline fracture in his tailbone when he fell hard onto courtside stairs during the 2020/21 season, was relieved not to get a similar diagnosis this time around.

“I think that (this time it didn’t) break anything or have any bone damage, was mostly just a deep serious contusion that I’ll feel it for a while,” Curry said. “But I can play and I can’t make it worse as long as I don’t land on it again.”

Curry made just 7-of-21 shots across 34 minutes in Friday’s win over the Pelicans and spoke after the game about needing to work on his timing and endurance. But head coach Steve Kerr believes that getting a week off at this point of the season – even if he spent most of it recovering from an injury – will benefit Curry this spring.

“I thought he looked great,” Kerr said, per Youngmisuk. “He was moving really well. Took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game. He probably missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself. And I think the week off did him a lot of good.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • With Warriors guard Gary Payton II sidelined due to a thumb injury, Kerr believes there’s an opening for forward Jonathan Kuminga to step up and take on some of the defensive responsibilities that the team had given to Payton (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “It opens up an opportunity for JK to be that defensive stopper, the guy we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said. “JK’s the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full (court), harass people like Gary does. I’m going to ask JK to do that. It definitely opens up more minutes for him if he’s effective with that.” Kuminga, who have averaged just 23.4 minutes per game in eight contests since returning from an ankle sprain, didn’t have one specific defensive assignment on Friday against a New Orleans team missing most of its top scorers.
  • Speaking to NBA insider Chris Haynes on the first episode of the Haynes Briefs YouTube show, Jazz guard Isaiah Collier said that not being selected to participate in last month’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend motivated him and added “fuel to the fire” (Twitter video link). As Andy Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), the Jazz are making a strong promotional push to get Collier a spot on an All-Rookie team, dedicating a section of their website to making his case for consideration. It has been up-and-down season for the first-year guard, but since he entered Utah’s starting lineup on January 5, Collier has more assists than anyone in the NBA besides Trae Young, Nikola Jokic, and James Harden.
  • While Tilman Fertitta has indicated that he’ll resign as CEO of Landry’s Inc. if he’s confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino, the Rockets owner won’t be stepping away from his controlling interest in the NBA franchise, writes Erica Grieder of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I have been advised that during my service as Ambassador, the Embassy may address particular matters affecting the financial interests of the National Basketball Association, of which the Houston Rockets professional basketball team is a member,” Fertitta wrote in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. “The agency has determined that it is not necessary at this time for me to divest my interests in the Houston Rockets because my recusal from particular matters in which these interests may pose a conflict of interest will not substantially limit my ability to perform the essential duties of Ambassador.”
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Western Notes: Curry, K. Jones, Payton, Mitchell, Jazz

March 27th, 2025 at 7:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is optimistic that Stephen Curry will return from his pelvic contusion on Friday in New Orleans, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Slater, Curry took part in a six-minute scrimmage followed by an individual workout on Thursday. The two-time MVP, who has missed the past two games, will be listed as questionable for Friday’s contest. Curry sustained the injury on March 20 after a hard fall against Toronto.

Here are a few more notes from the Western Conference:

  • Mavericks center Kai Jones had an impressive block on Franz Wagner in the first quarter of Thursday’s game in Orlando and immediately followed it up with an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Naji Marshall (Twitter video link via Christian Clark of The Athletic). Unfortunately, Jones was unable to brace himself after the dunk and had a scary-looking fall, with all of his weight landing on his left hip. The Mavericks later ruled him out for the remainder of the contest with a left hip contusion (Twitter link). Jones, who is on a two-way deal with Dallas, has started each of his past four games and played well over that span. He recently missed seven games with a left quad strain.
  • Veteran guard Elfrid Payton, who is on a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, shined in Monday’s victory over Philadelphia, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. The Louisiana native finished with six points, six rebounds, 14 assists and was plus-14 in 25 minutes off the bench. “It felt good,” Payton said. “Felt like I was at home again. I love being here. This is the best thing ever.”
  • Star guard Donovan Mitchell recently returned to Utah to face the Jazz for just the second time since he was traded to Cleveland in the 2022 offseason. While in town, he reflected on his Jazz tenure, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber link). “I think we had our opportunity. We had a lot of windows. I think we had our opportunity, we just missed it,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s just one of those things, we had plenty of opportunities to get things done. We had injuries that one year. The last year we were together, you know, we just didn’t capitalize. Sometimes you just miss your window. I talk about it with my friends a lot, we’re comparing this team we have now versus the first place team we had here (in Utah). I’ve gotten to a point that is like, ‘It’s okay,‘ We did a lot of positive things.”
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Warriors Notes: Butler, Green, Curry, Wiggins

March 25th, 2025 at 5:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler initially wanted to go to Phoenix when he requested a trade from the Heat. Butler said he had nothing against the Warriors organization but was more familiar with the Suns’ core players — Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Tyus Jones, his former teammate.

Butler wasn’t worried about getting an extension — he knew he’d get that once the blockbuster deal was finalized. Butler received a two-year, $111MM extension.

“I wasn’t skeptical of coming here,” Butler told Anthony Slater of The Athletic in a wide-ranging interview. “I just didn’t talk to anybody. … I knew I was going to get this contract no matter what. The people keep talking about it being about the money. How can it be about the money when any team that traded for me, what were they going to do? I just want to win. Where can I go to win?”

Butler has been impressed by the Warriors’ player-friendly approach.

“It’s all about whatever you need,” Butler said. “You would think that every organization is like that: Whatever you need to make you happy, to make you healthy and to make you go out there and compete at an extremely high level. You need your days off. You need the chef. You need the driver. You need to work out. You need the rest. You need your family to travel. How can we keep you happy? How can we get you everything you possibly need to be successful and help us get a banner and a trophy?”

We have more on the Warriors:

  • Butler and Draymond Green have quickly forged a bond, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN reports. While they’re two of the more volatile players in the league, Butler says there’s no concerns about them pulling the team apart. “Two winners that would do anything to win,” Butler said. “He could care less about personal success. He’s just trying to win a championship. I just want to win. I don’t give a (bleep) about nothing else. We ain’t going to never butt no (bleeping) heads. … That’s what people keep overlooking. They think like we going to get in fist fights. No we not. Because all we want to do is win.”
  • Stephen Curry won’t play tonight in Miami, Slater tweets. Curry worked out on Monday and didn’t quite feel ready to return from his pelvic injury. He suffered a contusion while taking a hard fall against Toronto on Thursday. The Warriors will have two days off prior to Friday’s game in New Orleans.
  • While Butler going to back to Miami is the big storyline tonight, Andrew Wiggins will also be facing his former teammates after winning a title with Golden State. His former coach is eager to see him. “We’re all thrilled to see Wiggs,” Steve Kerr said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “Wiggs is one of my favorite guys. I wish we still had [to play] Miami in the Bay. So that will have to wait until next year. But Wiggs will get an enormous standing ovation when he returns to the Bay in front of our fans, both for his contributions and just for his humanity, who he is, what kind of person he is. He’s beloved in our locker room and throughout the Bay.”
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Warriors Notes: Curry, Hinson, Post, Green

March 23rd, 2025 at 7:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday that he’s hopeful Stephen Curry will rejoin the team at some point during their lengthy road trip, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.

Curry suffered a pelvic contusion while taking a hard fall on Thursday against Toronto. He missed Saturday’s 124-115 loss in Atlanta and will be reevaluated on Monday.

The Warriors’ road trip will continue with games in Miami on Tuesday, New Orleans on Friday and San Antonio next Sunday. They’ll wrap up the road swing with games in Memphis and Los Angeles against the Lakers.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), the expectation is that Curry will join the Warriors in Miami, though his status for Tuesday’s game will depend on how he responds to treatment.

We have more on the Warriors:

  • Blake Hinson has thrived with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA G League, according to Spencer Davies of RG.org. Hinson went undrafted last year and had a two-way contract with the Lakers before being waived in September. The 25-year-old wing then joined the Warriors in training camp on an Exhibit 10 deal and was waived again before joining Santa Cruz in October. Hinson, who is averaging 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, praises the Warriors’ development program. “They’ll sacrifice a little bit of winning to get your player development correct — but they’re not gonna do it for long. I appreciate this program for being lenient with me early, and I’m reaping the benefits of it now,” he said.
  • Quinten Post has become an integral part of the rotation and has become a candidate for All-Rookie consideration. Post anticipated he’d spend most of his rookie year in the G League after getting drafted late in the second round last year, he told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “I was focused on winning the G League at that point,” he said. “I was even thinking I hope I stay in the league. I hope the Warriors want to have me stick around. Playing wasn’t even something I was thinking about because I was focused on the G League. That’s crazy how fast it went after that.” He’s averaging 8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per night.
  • Even without Curry, the Warriors were mad at themselves for losing to the Hawks on Saturday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. “Bad loss. It’s a terrible loss. Eleven games left with everything to play for, you shouldn’t have a loss like this,” Draymond Green said.
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Stephen Curry Out Saturday With Pelvic Contusion

March 21st, 2025 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Warriors received some promising news on Friday, as Stephen Curry‘s MRI confirmed a pelvic contusion but revealed no structural damage, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Curry, who sustained the injury after a hard fall in the third quarter of Thursday’s game vs. Toronto, won’t travel to Atlanta and will miss Saturday’s game against the Hawks. He will be reevaluated on Monday, per the Warriors.

Shams Charania of ESPN first reported (via Twitter) the update on Curry, which was later confirmed by Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Saturday’s matchup in Atlanta is the start of the six-game road trip for the Warriors. As Slater notes, the second game of the trip will be on Tuesday in Miami — it’s the first matchup between the Warriors and Heat after last month’s blockbuster trade of Jimmy Butler.

Butler struggled with his shot (4-of-15 from the field) on Thursday, but he still recorded a triple-double (16 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) and had a clutch block late in the fourth quarter. After the game, he said the Warriors will need to play “perfect basketball” without Curry, according to Slater (Twitter video link).

“We can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t afford to foul. Because we don’t have the one individual who can automatically get us back into the game,” Butler said.

The Warriors have surged up the standings since they acquired Butler, currently holding a 41-29 record, good for the No. 6 seed in the West. However, they’re only 1.5 games ahead of the Clippers and Timberwolves in the race to secure an automatic playoff berth, so each of their 12 remaining games will be critical if they want to avoid the play-in tournament this spring.

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Stephen Curry Exits Thursday Game Due To Pelvic Contusion

March 21st, 2025 at 12:15am CST by Tristan Tucker

March 21: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Curry underwent an MRI after the game, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter video link).

“He thought he might be able to come back (into the game),” Kerr said. “We just decided not to risk anything. So hopefully it’s not bad.”

March 20: Warriors superstar Stephen Curry suffered a hard fall on his back following a drive on Thursday vs. Toronto, grabbing his tailbone and staying down on the ground in pain, The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II relays (Twitter link).

Curry headed to the locker room, with general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. later following him. He was then quickly ruled out for the rest of the game due to a pelvic contusion, according to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears (Twitter link).

It’s an obviously unfortunate turn of events for the streaking Warriors, who have won 15 of their last 18 games. During that stretch, Curry is averaging 28.1 point and 6.1 assists per game while making 40.5% of his 12.5 three-point attempts.

The Warriors have increasingly looked like formidable Western Conference contenders since acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. Entering Thursday night’s game, they were 2.5 games behind the fifth-seeded Grizzlies.

It’s not clear how many games, if any, the injury will force Curry to miss beyond Thursday. Any missed time would be a blow to Golden State. The Warriors held on to defeat the Raptors on Thursday for their 41st win of the season.

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Warriors’ Kerr On Curry: ‘Got To Get Him Some Rest’

March 18th, 2025 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

3:37 pm: Curry will sit out Tuesday’s game against the Bucks, Anthony Slater of The Athletic confirms (Twitter link).

10:42 am: After Stephen Curry made just 6-of-21 shots from the floor and turned the ball over a season-high seven times in Monday’s loss to Denver, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, that the star guard is “tired.”

“Steph’s been carrying us for a month,” Kerr said. “He’s been amazing. He’s tired, so we got to get him some rest. Just, you can see it. He doesn’t have his energy right now.”

Curry played some of his best basketball of the season coming out of the All-Star break last month, averaging 30.1 points per game on .521/.437/.963 shooting during a stretch of eight wins in nine games. However, his output lately has been less consistent — in Golden State’s past four games, he has put up 20.8 PPG with a .375/.341/.952 shooting line.

“He’s exhausted right now,” Kerr said. “So we’ve got to absolutely consider giving him a night and getting him rejuvenated for the sake of him and the remainder of our games. But we’ll see. I think he’s been tired the last few games, and so we’ve got to find a way to get him his juice back.”

Kerr said the team would consider “potentially” resting Curry on Tuesday vs. Milwaukee in the second game of a back-to-back set. The Warriors were holding Curry out of one game when they played on consecutive days earlier in the season, but he has appeared in both ends of each of the team’s three most recent back-to-backs.

For his part, the two-time MVP said he feels “fine,” though he admitted that his back has been bothering him since last Thursday. He was listed as questionable before Monday’s game due to a right lower back strain.

“Obviously I didn’t play great at all (vs. Denver), so everybody including Coach is going to try to figure out why,” Curry said. “Mostly the turnovers, dumb plays all night, but I had a really good run. You expect to have a level of consistency and whatnot, so when it doesn’t happen it becomes a question. I feel like (it’s) more so my back I was dealing with the last couple of days, see how that responds tomorrow, but otherwise feel pretty solid.”

Star forward Jimmy Butler, who has been playing a complementary role since arriving in Golden State at the trade deadline, suggested he and the team will make an effort to reduce take some of the pressure off Curry.

“It’s OK to be tired, and that’s on myself and on us as a unit to pick up the slack for him,” Butler said. “Everybody wants to think that he is superhuman. He is not. He is our leader, and we must protect him at all times.”

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