Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Friday, July 5th.
The Golden State Warriors are quietly putting together a solid offseason. They began free agency with the signings of De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson earlier this week, and followed it up on Thursday by officially completing the sign-and-trade for shooting guard Buddy Hield.
While these additions certainly help the Warriors improve the middle of their rotation, the team is still hunting for that game-changing move to elevate them to true title contention. Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen is believed to be that missing piece for the organization, however, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reports that the likelihood of Utah actually trading him at this point is slim at only “10 percent”. He also notes that the Jazz must wait until August 6th to officially offer a contract extension, so the team is in no rush to accept any trade offers for now.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Friday, July 5th:
.@YourManDevine and @JakeLFischer detail how likely a Lauri Markkanen trade is pic.twitter.com/fDluNXzlIG
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) July 3, 2024
Hield is currently in Valencia, Spain, starring for the Bahamian national team, which is two wins away from a shocking Olympics bid and is coached by Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco, a helpful ally in the recruitment of Hield. It had been trending this direction for a couple days, but Hield didn’t make a final decision until after a late Wednesday night call with Steve Kerr and then a night to sleep on it.
Hield chose the Warriors because of the opportunity to win, per league sources. His suitors included the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
The choice to leave the Warriors is among the most Klay things he’s ever done. The captain of his own boat. The commander of his own bike. The engineer and pilot of his own paper planes. If Klay wants to leave, Klay will leave. And he left.
But there is another part to this famous adage. The first part — if you love something, let it go — is followed by a hopeful conclusion: if it comes back, it will be yours. Forever, in some versions.
Klay will be back, presuming time will heal any wounds. Not as an opponent but as family. Not as a Maverick, but as a Warrior. Not as the one who left, but as the legend you love.
When he returns, he will be your Klay. Forever.
Well, not great. Thompson’s rating was plus-0.2, labeling him as essentially a league-average player in 2023-24. Though his plus-1.4 offensive RAPTOR trailed only Steph Curry on the Warriors, Thompson scored a dismal minus-1.2 on the defensive end to mostly cancel it out.
For some context, Thompson’s highest RAPTOR rating of his career came back in 2014-15, when he was a plus-4.7 during the Warriors’ NBA title run that season. But since his consecutive injuries in 2019 and 2021, the now-34-year-old guard has seen his value deteriorate in the eyes of the model.
SlowMo storying a throwback of himself in retro Dubs gear!
— WarriorsMuse (@WarriorsMuse) July 4, 2024
“it was written ”
(via @chanodesigns) pic.twitter.com/elM16U8I79
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Knicks will sign-and-trade Shake Milton out on a three-year, $9 million deal. The Athletic’s Fred Katz adds that the Knicks will also include Mamadi Diakite, who will see $1.23 million of his non-guaranteed deal become guaranteed, in the deal. Combined, they get the Knicks up to the required amount of salary needed to hit that second apron hard cap. The Knicks will also take back Keita Bates-Diop in the trade, but as a minimum salary, he doesn’t count as matching salary from New York’s perspective.
Last week, Wembanyama was asked about the prospect of another France-U.S. final, against the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
“I can’t wait to face them. It will be a very interesting matchup,” Wembanyama said in Paris. “As a basketball player, it’s also a dream to play against Team USA and even against all those players, all those legends.”
Brandon Ingram's name has been heating up in trade talks recently, and it looks like his days in New Orleans are coming to an end, per @TheSteinLine
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 4, 2024
“Attempts in New Orleans to trade Brandon Ingram have intensified in recent days, league sources say. Sources tell The Stein Line… pic.twitter.com/GKVkgI2qzb
The Dubs will be sending the Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick to the Sixers in the deal, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Hield agreed to a deal that could be worth up to $36 million over four years, but only guarantees him $21 million, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Hield is guaranteed $18 million over the first two years of his contract and has a $3 million partial guarantee in the third year. The fourth year of the deal is fully non-guaranteed, but does have a player option.
All great things must come to an end ✊ @Money23Green pic.twitter.com/iD3u6dGbMB
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) July 3, 2024
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