Stephen Curry’s right knee is still something to watch as the Warriors head into a new season.
On the Dubs Talk podcast, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area said there is still “at least some lingering concern about the knee” after Curry missed extended time last season with patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as runner’s knee. Poole added that the issue “can be managed, but it has to be managed and that’s a new thing for Steph.” He also said Curry and his trainers have worked out ways to “work around that” and support the knee if it is not at the level Curry wants it to be.
Even with that backdrop, Poole said Curry sounds confident he can still play a heavy workload: “I guess we’ll find out, but from what I understand, he and his trainers have devised ways to kind of work around that and sort of support that whole possibility of the knee not being as great as he wants it to be. So, I’m curious to see how it turns out, but Steph seems pretty confident that he’ll be able to go out there and put out 70-plus games.”
Curry, 38, recently became extension-eligible, and while he has continued to reaffirm his commitment to the only NBA team he’s ever known, he made it clear a new deal may not happen right away. Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area, he said, “we’ll figure that out at the right time.”
Steve Kerr, meanwhile, is looking ahead rather than looking for a target number. On Thursday, the Warriors coach declined to say what would qualify as a “satisfactory” season, according to Poole, but he did sound upbeat about what’s next.
“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 said. “That’s my main goal.
To just kind of rebuild everything, get back to our roots and have a great camp, and see where it all takes us. But I’m very confident we can have a great year.”
Kerr also offered a glimpse at how the roster puzzle might come together. He told Poole the Warriors are high on No. 11 overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg and suggested the rookie forward could be in the mix for a starting job before training camp later this month.
“We’ve added some good players with Yaxel, Georges Niang, and believe Brandon Williams can help us,” Kerr said. “Our young guys obviously had a great summer, winning Summer League and really putting in a lot of work.
The biggest things are figuring out who’s going to start, and what’s the rotation going to look like? Can Yaxel play the 3 with Draymond (Green) at the 4, with Kristaps (Porzingis) or Al (Horford) at the 5?
What would that look like? We’ll have a lot of time to determine that.”
Green also made headlines for his reaction to recent comments from Jonathan Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, according to Nick Avila of NBC Sports Bay Area. Turner has spoken multiple times lately in defense of how he handled Kuminga’s free agency and the decision to turn down a three-year, $75MM offer from the Warriors last year that included a third-year team option, instead taking a two-year, $46.8MM deal with a second-year team option. Kuminga finalized a two-year, $12.4MM contract with Minnesota on Thursday.
On his podcast, Green pushed back hard.
“You trying to get the people off your back,” Green said. “You do that by going and get great deals.
Just go do that. Put the focus on that.
Go and get a great deal. Not fighting off because you’re fighting this off so that the next potential clients see it and you’re explaining it.
This ain’t really about JK. It’s about the next potential client.
That’s the problem in this is you ain’t explaining that for JK’s sake. … That ain’t cool at all.
That’s very self-serving. Let me look out for myself for my next client so he know what happened.
I’m speaking to them.”
In Other News...
Warriors May Soon Learn If They Let Quinten Post Slip Away
Quinten Post is on the move after Memphis signed him to a three-year, $30 million offer sheet and Golden State chose not to match. For the Warriors, it leaves one more small but potentially revealing roster decision hanging in the background, especially with a young big now heading to a team that will be sorting through frontcourt minutes as training camp opens.
Post now heads into a crowded rotation battle behind Zach Edey and Isaiah Stewart, and the pressure is immediate because his new deal gives Memphis flexibility if he does not make a strong early impression. His role is still unsettled, and the first year will go a long way toward showing whether the Warriors were wise to pass or whether they may look back on this one as a player they let get away. [Read more 🡒]
Brandin Podziemski Just Lost Leverage In Warriors Extension Talks
Amen Thompsons new deal in Houston is already being felt beyond the Rockets, because it gives the Warriors another point of reference as they sort through Brandin Podziemskis rookie-extension situation. Golden State has reason to be deliberate here. The front office is balancing its payroll picture against the value Podziemski has shown, and that makes this one of those talks where timing can matter as much as talent.
Podziemski still has the kind of case that can push a young player toward a meaningful payday, but the Warriors may not be eager to meet that number now if they believe patience could help later. A team-friendly agreement would give both sides some security and keep him out of restricted free agency, yet no extension has been signed, and this has the feel of a negotiation where leverage can shift quickly depending on what the market says next. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Fans Know What Kevon Looney Still Wont Change
Kevon Looneys next chapter takes him to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are expected to use him in a familiar role as a backup center behind Walker Kessler. For Golden State fans, that part of the story should sound recognizable. Looney built his reputation on the same kinds of details that have always made him useful: screen-setting, passing, defensive versatility and rebounding, the steady work that wins possessions without ever needing a spotlight.
The part that has changed is the setting, not necessarily the profile. Looney has spent the offseason working to improve his three-point shooting, but he has never been known as a floor-spacer, and the Lakers are likely to lean on the traits he already brings instead of asking him to become something else. Warriors supporters have heard versions of this before, and they know the real question is not whether he has added another wrinkle, but whether it shows up when the games start mattering. [Read more 🡒]