The Golden State Warriors got the kind of injury news that keeps a season from tilting the wrong way.
Brandon Williams avoided the scary outcome after an MRI showed a minor left hamstring injury. The team said he’ll be re-evaluated in a week, which is a much better result than the kind of hamstring issue that could have sidelined him for several weeks.
Will Richard’s situation also came back on the favorable side of the line. He’s listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game because of a left thumb UCL tear, a sign he may try to play through it. At first, it wasn’t clear whether that would even be possible, but the update suggests the injury is not as severe as it could have been.
That matters because Gary Payton II has already been ruled out for Wednesday’s Rockets game. If Richard is able to suit up, he’d likely be in line for a meaningful role.
The Warriors had been staring at a different kind of problem before these updates came in. With Williams and Richard both potentially compromised, there was at least a case for moving faster on a Kristaps Porzingis trade just to stabilize the roster with more healthy bodies. Now, with both players landing closer to the best-case scenario, there’s less pressure to force anything.
Williams will miss a few games, but Golden State can lean on LJ Cryer at backup point guard in the meantime. Cryer may have a rough go in upcoming matchups against the Rockets and Spurs, but that alone doesn’t seem like enough to push the Warriors into accepting a worse return for Porzingis.
The expectation around the league is that Golden State wants to move Porzingis by December 16, which would make any player they get back eligible to be traded again before the Feb. 11 deadline.
The most likely target profile is still a center who brings some mix of size, rim protection, shooting and rebounding. But Charles Bassey’s emergence gives the Warriors a little more flexibility, enough to at least think about a wing or guard who can defend on the ball.
In the short term, the minutes picture is pretty clear. Cryer could handle most, if not all, of the non-Curry backup point guard minutes. Brandin Podziemski and De’Anthony Melton are also set to soak up at least 48 minutes combined, mostly at shooting guard.
Podziemski sometimes becomes the biggest guard in three-guard lineups, which effectively turns him into a small forward. If Richard is available, the Warriors can use him at the 2 with Podziemski at the 3. If Richard can’t go, Podziemski will likely spend more time at the 2, and that would push Gui Santos into a bigger role at the 3.
In Other News...
Warriors Face A Draymond Green Question They Never Expected
Draymond Greens name surfacing in trade chatter is the kind of development the Warriors never really expected to be managing this time of year. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Sacramento Kings have interest in Green ahead of the February mid-season deadline, which immediately turns a familiar Golden State cornerstone into an unexpected talking point as the market starts to take shape.
A deal between the Warriors and Kings would come with plenty of hurdles, from fit to contract considerations, and the idea still feels more like a difficult possibility than a clear path forward. Still, the fact that Green is being discussed at all says plenty about how quickly the deadline can force even the most established teams into uncomfortable territory, and there has been no official trade confirmed. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Injury Situation Just Made This Rockets Test Feel Different
The Warriors are heading into the first stop of a five-game road trip in Houston with plenty of momentum, but also a little more uncertainty than usual. Both Golden State and the Rockets are 8-3, and the matchup already had the feel of an early measuring-stick game before the injury report started to pile up for both sides. The Warriors have won eight straight, while Houston is coming off a win over the Denver Nuggets, so this one arrives with real weight even before the ball goes up.
Will Richard is among the names to watch after being listed as questionable with a left thumb UCL tear, and he is part of a broader list of players on both teams dealing with availability concerns. For Golden State, that adds another layer to a road test that was already going to say plenty about where this group stands early in the season. A strong start has given the Warriors some breathing room, but the kind of game they get in Houston could hinge as much on who is available as on who is playing best. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Backcourt Plans Could Suddenly Revive A Familiar Reunion Talk
The Warriors eight-game surge has only sharpened the sense that this group is back in the kind of position where bigger roster ideas start to surface. After the win over New Orleans, Golden State is once again being mentioned in the same breath as high-end names such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which tells you how quickly the conversation can shift when a team starts stacking victories and looking ahead to the next offseason.
Jordan Poole has also re-entered the picture in a way that would have sounded unlikely not long ago, with the former Warrior saying he would be open to a return as a free agent. If Golden State does end up with more salary cap flexibility next offseason, the front office may have more room to explore familiar paths as well as splashier ones, and that is the kind of backdrop that keeps reunion talk alive even when the roster is already rolling. [Read more 🡒]