The Warriors got the kind of scare no team wants in an open-practice scrimmage: Stephen Curry slipped, limped off the court, and suddenly a routine Sunday turned into a status watch.
The early read brought at least some relief. Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Curry was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain, and Steve Kerr said he expects Curry to be “fine.” A team source told ESPN’s Anthony Slater the injury was “not serious.”
Even so, that still leaves Wednesday’s opener unresolved. Golden State has not announced a recovery timetable or given a specific severity for the sprain, so Curry’s availability remains up in the air.
“Of course we were scared,” Gui Santos said. “We were definitely worried. … The way that I saw him walking off the court, I didn’t think it was something really bad.”
The timing makes the situation a little more delicate for the Warriors. They’re already set to start the season without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis, so any absence from Curry would pile even more pressure onto a roster trying to navigate the early part of the schedule without several major contributors.
There is at least one encouraging note: this injury is to his ankle, not the knee that bothered him last season. Still, Golden State will need to see how the ankle responds before making any call on his status.
Phoenix, meanwhile, made a clear bet on its frontcourt future, agreeing to a three-year, $29 million extension with Oso Ighodaro. Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports reported the deal is fully guaranteed. ESPN’s Shams Charania added that the Suns are exercising Ighodaro’s $2.5 million option for 2027-28, which pushes the extension to begin in 2028-29 and run through 2030-31.
Ighodaro, 24, gave Phoenix solid production last season, averaging 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 22 minutes while shooting 65.3 percent from the field. He also started all four of the Suns’ playoff games and put up 7.5 points, seven rebounds and four assists per contest.
His opportunity could expand this season. Mark Williams is expected to miss significant time after shoulder surgery, and that leaves Ighodaro and second-year center Khaman Maluach in the mix for the starting job. For Phoenix, the extension provides some needed stability at a spot where health has already forced the team to adjust.
The Mavericks are dealing with a different kind of uncertainty. Dusty May said he “doesn’t know yet” whether Santi Aldama will be available for Wednesday’s opener against the Rockets, according to Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News. Aldama still does not have a return timetable after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in March.
Dallas views him as a key reserve because of his shooting and his ability to create offense alongside the team’s other big men. But Aldama’s absence, along with Dereck Lively II’s, has limited the Mavericks’ chance to get a real look at their frontcourt combinations.
That also leaves the last roster spot hanging in the balance. Veteran Dwight Powell and young shot-blocker Moussa Cisse are still in the running, with Dallas weighing proven experience against developmental upside while already thin in the frontcourt.
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Rookie Rasheer Fleming is part of the same conversation, and that only sharpens the decision facing the Suns staff. Dunns case is built on versatility and the value of a player who can help without needing the ball, which is exactly the sort of profile coaches tend to trust when roster spots get tight. For a team trying to sort out its final pieces before the season begins, the choice is less about potential in the abstract and more about which wing can best fill a real role from day one. [Read more 🡒]
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The message also carried a pointed edge, with Brooks taking a jab at former Suns star Kevin Durant just as Ishbia and Durant have been trading public remarks about the franchises old roster construction and internal dynamics. For a Suns team trying to draw a cleaner line between what came before and what comes next, Brooks is already acting like someone eager to help define the new era, even if the lingering tension around the old one is still very much in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Face A Brutal Playoff Question Fans Can't Ignore
The playoff picture is starting to harden around the Suns, and so is the range of possible outcomes once the bracket gets real. Based on current roster form and the way the Western Conference matchups stack up, Phoenix looks like a team that can make life difficult for anybody on the right night, while also carrying enough matchup concerns to make every series feel like a referendum on its ceiling.
How the Suns fare against the Thunder, Spurs, Rockets and Nuggets may come down to availability as much as anything else, along with the specific style clash each opponent brings. There is a path where Phoenixs strengths travel well in a short series, but there is also a very real case that one difficult matchup could expose the same questions that have shadowed this roster all season. [Read more 🡒]