SportSpyder - The Latest Golden State Warriors News

19 April 2024

• [Fadeaway World] - The Warriors' Master Plan To Create A Superteam And New Dynasty With Giannis Antetokounmpo
  The Warriors are looking to keep their dynasty alive by targeting Giannis Antetokounmpo who could force a trade this summer.
• [NBC Sports Bay Area] - Kerr believes Klay's bench role must be future option for Warriors
  SAN FRANCISCO – If and when the Warriors and Klay Thompson sit down to begin talks about a , money definitely will be a major topic of discussion, but it won’t be the most pivotal part of the negotiations. What almost certainly will be the determining factor is the role that both sides view Thompson . A five-time All-Star and key anchor piece on four NBA world championship teams, Thompson has spent the majority of his illustrious career as a valued starter while carving out a unique place in league history as one of the game’s best distance shooters. But three years after overcoming a pair of major knee and foot surgeries that cost him two seasons, Thompson got off to a sluggish start to the 2023-24 campaign, was eventually demoted to being a reserve and spent most of the second half of the season coming off the bench. Thompson didn’t initially go into the situation willingly but grew to embrace it over time. Once he got comfortable in the role, the 34-year-old future Hall of Famer settled in nicely and began playing the way fans had grown accustomed to. Thompson believes he still can perform at a relatively high level. He played in 77 games during the 2023-24 season, his most since before the major knee surgery that sidelined him for all of 2019-20. But Thompson’s 17.9 points scoring average was his lowest in 12 seasons while his average playing time dipped under 30 minutes for the second time in the last three years. While Thompson would prefer to start wherever he lands, the Warriors’ brass and coaching staff might see things differently and want to keep their options open. Golden State coach Steve Kerr, for one, thinks that the idea of continuing to have Thompson coming off the bench has to be taken into full consideration. “I thought Klay really showed that he was agreeable to the sixth man role the second half of the year, even though eventually we put him back in the starting lineup,” Kerr said. “I think that’s got to be an option going forward.” That’s where the money issue pops up. Thompson’s expiring contract was worth nearly $190 million over five years which paid him more than $43 million for the 2023-24 season. If the Warriors plan to re-sign him as a starter, will they want to keep paying him at that same level or close to it? From Thompson’s view, if they aren’t willing to do that, might there be another team or two out there that would? From players like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green to Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy, there is plenty of support to bring Thompson back for another run. But if the Dubs see him as a backup, they almost certainly won’t pay him starter-type money. Even that creates somewhat of a dilemma for the team brass. Golden State paid Chris Paul upwards of $30 million to come off the bench this season and have a team option that will pay CP3 another $30 mil for the 2024-25 season. Thompson almost certainly will want to command at least that much to accept a bench role if that’s what it comes down to. And if that happens, it could mean the end of Paul’s brief tenure with the team. As free-spending as Lacob has been, it would be ludicrous to have $60 million or more of your total team payroll going to just two bench players. For his part, Thompson isn’t ready to look that far down the road. When he spoke to reporters at Chase Center on Wednesday, Thompson preferred to keep the conversations focused on the Warriors’ recently concluded season. “I really haven’t thought about that deep into the future because I still need to process the year we had,” Thompson said. “It was one filled with ups and downs, but ultimately, we – I personally and our team – did everything we could to try and win as many games as we possibly could.” This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. to open the story in your web browser.
• [Fansided: Blue Man Hoop] - Ranking the 3 biggest positives from the Golden State Warriors' season
  A tenth-placed finish in the Western Conference was ultimately a poor result for the Golden State Warriors this season, but it wasn't all bad for the franchise
• [NBA Analysis Network] - Golden State Warriors Linked As Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Suitor
  The 2024 NBA Playoffs weren’t to be for the Golden State Warriors this season. They lost in the NBA Play-In Tournament as the No. 10 seed to the Sacramento Kings, getting blown out 118-96. It felt like the end of an era when the game finished, as everyone on the Warriors seemed to know what […] The post appeared first on .
• [The Score] - NBA play-in picks: How will injuries impact who earns 8-seed?
  Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.Two teams from each conference will battle for the final playoff spot Friday.Injuries will play a major factor in both games, taking some of the star power out of the play-in tournament's final day. Pelicans star Zion Williamson is out against the Kings, and the Heat's Jimmy Butler is out against the Bulls.Let's get to our best bet from each game.Kings @ Pelicans (+1.5, O/U 210)With Williamson out, many presume this will be an easy win for the Kings. However, oddsmakers don't see it that way.Sacramento's inconsistent performances led it to the 9-seed. Although it showed promise against the Warriors, that doesn't mean it'll replicate it against the Pelicans' elite defense.Williamson is a huge loss, but Brandon Ingram's health is a lingering question too. He's played the last two games but is seemingly on a minutes restriction. The Pelicans' offense will be fine if he can play a normal minutes load. New Orleans' offensive rating is the same whether Williamson is on the court or off, an encouraging stat in a win-or-go-home game against Sacramento's poor defense.The Kings are dealing with injuries to two of their top six scorers - Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter. Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis stepped up against the Warriors, but the Pelicans' defense is a different beast.Sacramento is the rightful favorite, but the Pelicans could surprise people and sneak into the postseason. Instead of playing a side, let's target New Orleans' deflated team total. The Pelicans have reached at least 106 points in their last nine games and 14 of their last 15.Best bet: Pelicans team total: Over 105.5 points (-110)Bulls @ Heat (-1.5, O/U 205.5)Butler's MCL injury is concerning for the Heat. Miami's offense had to run through Tyler Herro, whose inefficiency and turnovers killed its chances against the Sixers.The Heat defend tenaciously and will game plan to shut down the Bulls' stars, including Coby White, who went off for 42 points against the Hawks' embarrassing defense in the first play-in game.The Bulls are an elite clutch team that knows how to win close games, but I'm not taking a side. There's a Miami player to target who'll benefit from Butler's absence: second-year player Nikola Jovic.The Heat are high on Jovic's potential. He averaged 7.7 points in under 20 minutes per game. His minutes and offensive role will inevitably increase without Butler. Jovic averaged 8.4 points in 13 contests without Butler.Jovic has scored at least eight points in nine of the last 12 games in which he's played at least 20 minutes. Without Butler, he averaged 22.7 minutes per game.Best bet: Nikola Jovic over 7.5 points (-112)Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.
• [NBC Sports Bay Area] - Why young core gives Warriors hope for post-Big Three future
  SAN FRANCISCO – There is a lot of hand-wringing sweeping across Dub Nation as fans wait to see if the Big Three of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will remain intact or whether the Warriors will decide to break up the trio of future Hall of Famers. Whether it happens this offseason, next year, or five years from now, the time is coming when that will happen for certain. The widespread belief always has been when that day does come, the dynasty that produced four NBA championships and in many ways changed the way the game is played will be over forever. Yet the fall from grace doesn’t look like it will be as dramatic and harsh as it once seemed. One of the primary sub-plots to the 2023-24 NBA season was the rapid development of rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis which aligned perfectly with the growth of former first-round picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. While none of the four is even close to being on the same level as the championship troika of Curry, Thompson and Green, the four gave every indication that the very near future of the team has a chance to be a lot brighter than many maybe expected. “I think it’s a great core that, if we stick together, we can do big things,” Kuminga told reporters earlier this week. “I’m really excited to see how it all comes out, because I’m very excited to just keep growing with those guys around me. “Hopefully we can make it happen like Steph and Dray and Klay. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to that.” A legitimate argument could be made that the young guys on the roster figured in prominently to the Warriors turning their season around following a ragged start. Podziemski, the 19th overall pick in the 2023 draft, was a season-long burst of energy every time he hit the court. He showed absolutely no fear defending veteran point guards who have been in the league for years or using his 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame inside to go up against some of the NBA’s elite big men for rebounds. As he sat at his locker in the aftermath of , Podziemski looked around and spoke in a firm but quiet tone, talking about his desire to be the NBA’s most improved player next season. It won’t be easy because Podziemski tallied a respectable season stat line of 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The 21-year-old do-it-all rookie also led the entire league in charges drawn while serving most of his time as an understudy to the world’s greatest 3-point shooter and two-time NBA MVP. Podz expects more from himself and Golden State’s other young players, which in turn should lighten the load on guys like Curry and Thompson, if he and the Warriors are . “I think our young guys will get way better,” Podziemski said. “So when teams scout for us they’re not just trying to take away Steph and Klay, they have to worry about me, Jonathan, Moses, Trayce. I’m super excited. Us four young guys are kind of the future, however, way you want to look at that.” Jackson-Davis, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft, was easily the Warriors’ most pleasant surprise of the season. After being used sparingly off the bench for the first two months of his NBA career, Jackson-Davis worked and became a regular member of the starting rotation and evolved into the Warriors’ best rim defender by season’s end. TJD’s emergence down the stretch freed up Green to play more at his natural position at the 4 after manning the center slot for much of the year. “I think he can be a really, really good player,” fellow Warriors center Kevon Looney said. “His feel for the game, his athleticism, his touch around the rim (are) all things that you can’t just teach. I think he finished like 80 percent around the rim. That’s elite as a rookie. He’s only going to get better, he’s only going to get smarter, he’s only going to get stronger. “I think he has a chance to be a really, really good player, have a long career. I see his potential and what he can do and I was just glad to see him out there doing it at a high level.” Kuminga also was somewhat of a surprise after sputtering through his first two NBA seasons. The No. 7 overall pick in 2021 broke out for career highs in scoring (16.1 points), rebounds (4.8), field goal percentage (42.9), minutes played (26.3) and games started (46), all while flashing a ferocious explosiveness whenever he decided to attack the rim. Kuminga was the Warriors’ most consistent scorer during one stretch of the season. He strung together eight consecutive games with 20 or more points, put up 18 points or more in 31 total games and collected five double-doubles. “I’m confident in the work that I’m going to put in this summer to come back and be that guy that they’re going to rely on sometimes,” Kuminga said. “I feel like I’m going to be ready for anything, any moment or anything that’s going to be there for me.” Moody, another first-rounder who was selected seven picks after Kuminga, also took a significant step forward in his progression. One of the Warriors’ top...
• [Fansided: Sir Charles In Charge] - NBA Trade Rumors: Trading Andrew Wiggins to be No. 1 priority for Warriors?
  NBA Trade Rumors: Heading into the offseason, it seems as if the Golden State Warriors will explore trading Andrew Wiggins.
• [heavy.] - Warriors Trade Proposal Adds $68 Million All-Star for Young Assets
  Warriors trade plans remain the subject of speculation, but one target that could be an ideal fit is Utah's Lauri Markkanen. The post appeared first on .
• [Fadeaway World] - NBA Analyst Reveals Tensions Between Jonathan Kuminga And Andrew Wiggins Could Cause Summer Changes
  Jonathan Kuminga's development being stifled by Andrew Wiggins is causing the Warriors' front office to make some tough decisions.
• [The Cold Wire] - Draymond Green Reveals His Pick For 76ers, Knicks Series
  The 2023-2024 NBA season is officially over for the Golden State Warriors. They had an opportunity to make it into the playoffs with wins in the play-in games, but they fell short of their goals. Many are suggesting this to be the end of the Warriors’ dynasty, as their star players are getting older […] The post appeared first on .