Stephen Curry says he expects to be ready for the Warriors this season, but there is still at least some concern around his right knee.
The issue first flared up last season, when Curry missed significant time with patellofemoral pain syndrome, better known as runner’s knee. Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area said on the Dubs Talk podcast that the problem has not fully gone away.
“There’s at least some lingering concern about the knee,” Poole said, via Hoops Rumors. “From what I’ve been told, it can be managed, but it has to be managed and that’s a new thing for Steph.”
Poole also said Curry and his trainers have found ways to deal with it, and that Curry sounds confident he can get into more than 70 games.
That’s a positive sign, but the situation is still new territory for a 38-year-old who has spent most of his career defined by his conditioning and durability.
Curry is also eligible for another contract extension, though he said there’s no rush on that front and that he and the Warriors will “figure that out at the right time.”
Steve Kerr, meanwhile, is looking at the season through a broader lens rather than focusing on a specific target.
“If we can really lock in on a great process, which I’m very confident we will, we can get off to a good start and build some momentum,” Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area. “That’s my main goal.”
Elsewhere, the Bucks made a roster move by officially signing 7-foot center John Butler to a non-guaranteed training camp contract.
Butler played in 19 games for the Trail Blazers in 2022-23, then spent last season with Milwaukee’s G League affiliate in Wisconsin. In that stretch, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.
This is not Butler’s first time in the organization, either. He signed with Milwaukee last preseason before being waived and landing with the Herd, and a similar path could be coming again.
Milwaukee now has 20 players under contract.
In Charlotte, the Hornets kept their sign-and-waive routine going. The team signed 6-foot-6 swingman Kobe Stewart to an Exhibit 10 contract and waived Jarkel Joiner, which made it five straight days of the Hornets adding a player on an Exhibit 10 deal.
Stewart went undrafted out of Presbyterian in 2025 and spent last season in the G League, where he averaged 7.7 points in 46 appearances.
The expectation is that the move is designed to get Stewart to the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.
So the bottom of the Hornets’ offseason roster changed again. At this point, it may be worth checking back tomorrow.
In Other News...
Hornets Latest Signing Hints At A Bigger Greensboro Swarm Plan
The latest addition to Charlottes offseason roster fits a pattern the Hornets have leaned into as they build out the back end of camp. Guard-forward Kobe Stewart arrived on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, a type of contract that gives the organization flexibility while also keeping another young player in the pipeline. Stewart spent last season in the G League with multiple teams, so the move looks less like a headline-grabber and more like another step in stocking the system around the Greensboro Swarm.
What makes the signing notable is the direction it points for Charlottes developmental setup. The Hornets have used a string of similar contracts with an eye toward steering players to the Swarm, where they can stay close to the organization and compete for future opportunities. Stewart is expected to land there as well, although the final piece of the arrangement still depends on the right kind of roster shuffle behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Miller Just Took On The Pressure Of Charlottes New Era
Brandon Millers name is starting to sit closer to the center of the Hornets future, and the timing makes sense. With LaMelo Ball traded away, Charlotte is asking Miller to help carry a larger load as the franchise tries to push back toward the playoffs, and his inclusion on an NBA top-100 countdown list only adds to the sense that the next phase of the rebuild is arriving fast.
Miller sounded prepared for it, saying he is ready to lead and understands that the standard has to be steady effort and hard work every night. For a team trying to redefine itself, that matters as much as any preseason ranking, because the Hornets need their young forward to be more than a promising talent. They need him to help set the tone for whatever comes next, even if the full shape of that version of Charlotte is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Enter A True Reset With One Big Question Ahead
Grant Williams said the Hornets offseason has still had the feel of a real team, with more than 12 players getting together in the gym throughout the summer as Charlotte works through a major reset. After the franchise moved on from LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, the roster looks markedly different, and head coach Charles Lee is expected to begin laying down a new lineup with a group that has spent plenty of time together even as the pieces around them have changed.
Jeff Peterson has already signaled confidence in the young forward core, pointing to Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel as important parts of what comes next. For Charlotte, the trades were only the first step in a broader transition, and the bigger question now is how quickly that revamped group can turn offseason commitment into something that looks organized once the games start for real. [Read more 🡒]