Category: NBA

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1: Four players (Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Amir Coffey, Isaiah Livers) who finished the 2025-26 season with the Suns will not be back in 2026-27. Which one do you think the Suns might most regret losing?

zenzino: As far as continuity goes, only losing 4 players is pretty good. I’m rarely brief, so I’ll go through them all in reverse order.

While Coffey had a couple of good games against the Suns, we only saw a few flashes of that here. He seems like a player who needs consistent minutes to be effective, and he wasn’t going to get that on this team.

I liked Livers. There were a number of times when he provided a much-needed spark off the bench. I hope he lands with another team and gets an opportunity to develop. That being said, I don’t think we’re going to look at this like a Toumani Camara, one that got away, situation.

I’m not sure regret is the right word, but we are definitely going to miss some of the things Royce brought to the Suns. He was a cultural and chemistry fit. Lots of people like to describe him as a ‘turnstile’ on defense. While he wasn’t the best on-ball defender, he was great at funneling his player to the help (which can look like a blow-by) and was a really good help defender, coming up with a significant number of timely steals. Royce’s average from three was 40%, and he was particularly good in the 4th quarter. He is also an underrated passer. That’s why he was the inbound passer in critical times. I think we’re going to miss having him to inbound the ball in clutch time.

GA edges out Royce with a caveat: health. If he can play 65-75 games this season, we are absolutely going to regret losing him. Let’s not forget that GA and Royce were the main reason the Suns got off to the shockingly good start last season. Almost a third of the way through the season, they were 1 and 2 in percentage and three-pointers made. Furthermore, for most of last season, GA was the only player not named Booker who could create shots for others. The Suns have more of that now, but you can never have too many playmakers setting up their teammates. And let’s not forget the game-winning hustle plays.

My wife is usually around when I’m watching games, occasionally watching, but mostly listening while building Lego or something. Last season she would note every time GA’s name was exclaimed during the game. She hates Duke and says white boys from Duke have a ‘type’ (she’s not wrong). I digress. The point being she would say, “OMG! Grayson Allen again?” And I’d say, “Yeah, they call out when he does something good.” She won’t have that to complain about anymore. And I’ll miss everything about that.

Ashton: This is easily answered as Grayson Allen. I would have listed the first round pick that the Suns gave up, but it was not an option.

As soon as GA was traded, the questions began as to where the Suns’ perimeter shooting would come from, and that is a legitimate question. Okay, Luke Kennard was brought in to fill that hole, but it is still to be determined. And yes, GA suffered injuries that may have been related to his bulking up routine and maybe sleepless nights with the new kid. But he liked it in Phoenix, and I think the Suns may have done him dirty.

OldAz: While I was an advocate for moving a Royce and Grayson, the obvious answer here is Grayson Allen.  They have added youth, length, and athleticism overall (albeit only small improvements with some of the moves), but unless Kennard completely replaces GA’s shooting or Green and Booker have better shooting years, that appears to be the one area of concern on the roster. While I like the roster better overall, I do think there will be a lot of times we miss GA.  I don’t foresee that at any point with the other three.

Rod: I have to say it would be Grayson Allen, as he actually did much more on the court than shoot threes. He always played hard, was a solid ball handler and passer, and actually wasn’t too bad at getting to the basket when he took a mind to.

Royce comes in a closer second than I think many might like to admit, though, and I believe he might get more credit if he hadn’t been pushed into playing the role of the Suns’ starting PF. I hope some of the younger guys learned some of his tricks to fake out defenders at the three-point line and get an almost uncontested shot off. He was also a pretty damn good inbounds passer that I hope the Suns don’t miss too much.

Q2: Of the four players added to the Suns’ roster, Miles Bridges is obviously expected to be the most impactful addition. Between the other three — Luke Kennard, Koa Peat and Pat Spencer — which will have the 2nd biggest impact on the court for the Suns in 2026-27?

zenzino: It damn-well better be Luke Kennard.

If Koa Peat makes a bigger impact, that would probably mean that Bridges and Sheer aren’t making as much of an impact as they should. The same goes for Pat Spencer regarding CG and Goodie. They’re both 3rd or lower on the depth chart, so that would probably mean someone in front of them took a step back.

As discussed in the first question, the Suns traded 2 of their 3 best three-point shooters by percentage and number of threes made. That second part is the most important. Yes, Kennard makes almost half of his three-point shots. Impressive. But he has only averaged 4 attempts per game in his career. That’s not going to cut it. Last season, he averaged only 3.2 despite J.J. Redick giving him the green light to shoot ‘whenever he wants’. Meanwhile, Grayson averaged 9.3, and Royce averaged 6.8.

That’s a big gap the Suns are trying to fill. Do we want our 33-35% three-point shooters (Book, Green, Brooks, Bridges) trying to fill that gap? I don’t.

While I don’t think he’s strictly a one-dimensional player, his 3-point shooting is the only reason the Suns signed him. Obviously, giving Kennard the ‘green light’ isn’t enough. He’s going to have to be pushed out of his comfort zone. That will most likely bring his average down from ‘the best ever’ to merely ‘superhuman,’ and he has to be okay with that.

If he can’t/won’t get his attempts up to around 6-8 per game, we are going to really, really miss GA and Royce.

Ashton: If this question had been phrased with “in the future”, my easy answer would be Koa Peat. But it is not, and we are looking at just next season.

Luke Kennard must be the most impactful shooting guard for next season. The Suns’ playoff hopes depend on it. Yes, there are Spencer advocates out there, but Kennard will make the biggest splash.

Also, some fun facts from Wiki: Kennard beat MSU in the ACC-Big 10 challenge in 2016 with a very strong stat line. I am not sure how that sneaked by the FO or if they still feel the sting of it. And as a good segue from Q1, Kennard was frequently matched up against GA at Duke. So, one former Dukie out and another former Dukie in.

OldAz: Suns fans have a bad (but consistent) habit of expecting the players signed to fill out the roster to be the perfect fit and become the exact missing piece to elevate the team.  Remember Yuta Watanabe?  Or Nigel Hayes-Davis?  Too often these players come in and contribute almost nothing and simply take up a roster spot.  I expect Peat to get buried on the bench like last season’s rookies until he proves he can contribute more, but Kennard and Spencer both contributed last season on teams that were in the mix in the Western Conference.

On paper, they gave their teams about the same production that Jordan Goodwin gave the Suns. Each averaged a little over 20 minutes a game and contributed just under 10 ppg.  I love the scrappiness Spencer brings and think he will become a fan favorite, but I expect Kennard to have the greatest actual impact because he fills that need for shooting better than the others. As a result, I expect he will get more opportunities and playing time…unless he ends up shooting like those previous offseason acquisitions that fell off a proverbial cliff once they arrived in Phoenix.

Rod: As a two-way player, I have to count Spencer out as an impactful player. Kennard’s three-pt shooting makes him the most likely candidate, but at this point in time, I’m not at all certain whether he’ll play a lot of minutes on such a deep roster (see my answer to Q3 for an explanation of this). The same can be said for rookie Koa Peat. Injuries will likely be the deciding factor on which will get the most playing time and the best opportunity to make an impact. Plus, how well each does during training camp and the preseason games could change everything.

At the moment, I’m going with Kennard on this one, though I’m pretty certain that his three-point shooting will get him minutes at times when the Suns really need those points, even if he’s not in the main player rotation.

Q3: With Booker, Green, Brooks, Bridges, and Williams as the likely starters for the Suns this season, which players would you choose for the Suns’ second unit?

zenzino: This is easy. CG, Goodie, Kennard, Sheer, Peat, Oso, and Man Man.

Wait… this is not easy. ‘second unit’ seems a little bit of a misnomer because it’s not like the whole starting lineup sits and then the second unit comes in. I’m going to reject the premise of a second unit.

CG, Sheer, Oso, and probably Goodie are going to be the first off the bench and in regular rotation no matter the matchups and situation. They will have consistent minutes (yes, I put Rasheer Fleming on this list).

How quickly the others are put in the game and how many minutes they get will be based on situations.

Obviously, in games MW sits out, Man Man will be the primary backup to start and maybe take over the 2nd starting position at some point in the season. He’ll also be out there when matchups require his 7’2” length. If SL is any indication, he could earn more and more minutes as the season (and his playing) progresses.

Kennard should be in regular rotation, especially when they need to spread the floor and score some quick threes.

Everyone else is going to be fighting for scrap minutes. Don’t sleep on Highsmith, though. He is a consummate 3 and D guy, forged in Heat Culture, and he should be fully healthy when the season starts.

If I can’t reject the premise: CG, Goodie, Kennard, Sheer, and Oso. For games Oso starts, Man Man slots in his backup role.

Ashton: There are some comments that suggest Green would be better utilized as a sixth man in place of Collin Gillespie as the starter. Sorry, that is not going to happen, but it is an interesting thought. I agree that this will be the starting lineup, but the forward position is a mess for the second unit. The guards were easily the ones to call out. I vacillated between Dunn and Sheer, but thanks to an excellent article from Tom Mildenberger on Ryan Dunn, I decided on my second rotation. I also want to give a shout-out to the commentators with the posts that resonated with me. Why not play Dunn and Sheer both forward spots?

• CG (PG)
• Kennard (SG)
• Ryan Dunn (SF)
• Rasheer Fleming (PF)
• Oso Ighodaro (C)

We don’t know what type of offense or defense Coach Ott is going to roll out on a game-by-game basis, but my guess is that the center position soaks up the most minutes off the bench. For the sixth man or hustle award? I will take Collin Gillespie. I have no idea where to slot Goodie.

OldAz: It’s the offseason so let’s get crazy!

Since we have not seen any of these players together yet, I would love to see a lot of youth served in the second unit, with KM and Fleming in the frontcourt and Colin Gillespie running the show. The wings on this second unit are the most flexible, as Kennard and Goodwin could provide energy and offense, while Dunn and Oso would make for a really long defensive group.  Let’s settle on a bit of balance here by giving Kennard the first shot with this second unit and either of Dunn or Oso finishing up the frontcourt. I am intrigued by playing Oso with KM and Fleming since both can shoot, and Oso seems to connect all the parts well, especially with CG on the court.

I guess this leaves me with CG, Kennard, Oso, KM, and Fleming.  I love giving the young guys a chance here, but in reality this lineup might prove that I am the worst possible GM/Coach in the world.

Rod: This team is so deep now that I’d say that Gillespie is the only lock to be on the 2nd unit. I’d also say that Goodie is close to being a lock, but the addition of Kennard adds a little uncertainty to that…but I could also see them on the court together with Luke at the 2 and Goodie at the 3. Ott really likes Oso (I do too BTW), but I really want Khaman to be Williams’ backup this season because as the 1st and 2nd unit players get mixed on the court, Williams’ and Khaman’s games are more similar and would require less adjustment from the other players than it would with Oso being the first sub at center.

I think that Fleming will get a solid amount of rotation minutes this season and that they will be shared between the 3 and 4 positions. I’d love to see some minutes with him at the 3 with Khaman and Oso playing the 4 and 5 slots. Add Collin and Goodie to those three… must-see TV IMO. I don’t think Ott will play that lineup as his standard 2nd unit, though.

Until I see some preseason action from this team, I’m going with Gillespie, Goodwin, Highsmith, Fleming, and Maluach though. That’s a good mix of vets, youth, and talent.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

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Suns Trivia/History

On July 29, 2020, the Phoenix Suns officially announced the sale of their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, to the Detroit Pistons. The team was supposed to relocate from Prescott Valley to Phoenix to play one more season as the NAZ Suns, but the team withdrew entirely from the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the G League held an abbreviated season in a ‘bubble’ in Orlando, Florida.

On July 31, 2020, the Suns won the first of eight games in the Orlando Bubble, 125-122, against the Washington Wizards, after the 2019-20 regular season had been suspended for 4.5 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With only a 26-39 record before the season resumed (in what were called the “seeding” games) in the bubble, the Suns had an extreme uphill battle to get to the playoffs but won all 8 of their bubble games and missed out on the new Play-In game due only to a tiebreaker between them and Memphis. Despite this, they had the best record of all 22 of the teams that qualified for the bubble; Monty Williams was named Coach of the Seeding Games and Devin Booker was named to the All-Seeding Games First Team.

On August 1, 1994. the Suns traded center Mark West to the Detroit Pistons for a 1996 second-round draft pick and a 1999 2nd round draft pick. West was acquired from Cleveland in 1988 as part of the same trade in which the Suns acquired Kevin Johnson and Tyrone Corbin for Larry Nance and Mike Sanders. He played 8 seasons for the Suns, starting in 349 games, with career averages of 6.9 pts, 6.0 rebs, and 1.7 blocks per game. He is 2nd on the Suns’ All-Time Blocks Leaders list with 897.

On August 1, 1999, the Suns signed Oliver Miller, who was formerly their first-round draft pick (22nd) in 1992, as a free agent to a 1-year deal. Miller, who was notorious for his weight problems, left the Suns after signing a 4-year, 10 million offer sheet from Detroit in 1994. By the time he returned to Phoenix, Miller’s weight was rumored to be near 400 pounds.

On August 1, 2000, the Suns signed Tony Delk as a free agent. Although drafted in the first round with the 16th pick in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets, Delk would spend his 10-year NBA career as a journeyman, never spending more than a season and a half with a single NBA team. For one night though, he was virtually unstoppable as he scored 53 points (at the time the 3rd best scoring performance by a Suns player in team history) in a losing effort against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 2, 2001.

Today his 53-point night still ranks as the 7th best in team history.

On August 3, 2005, following the Quentin Richardson trade to the NYK and while in the extended process of shipping Joe Johnson to Atlanta, the Phoenix Suns signed shooting guard Raja Bell to a five-year, $23.75 million contract. A hard-nosed defender, one of Bell’s most memorable moments as a Sun was during Game 5 of the Suns’ 2006 first-round series vs the Lakers.

The Suns were down 3-1 going into that game but wound up winning the remaining 3 games to take the series and progress to the 2nd round. After defeating the LA Clippers 4-3 in the 2nd round, they went on to the Western Conference Finals where they lost out to the Dallas Mavericks 4-2.

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Important Future Dates

Late September (dates TBD) – NBA Training Camps open
Oct. 5 – Suns @ Pistons (preseason) 4:00 PM
Oct. 7 – Suns @ Bulls (preseason) 5:00 PM
Oct. 10 – Suns vs. Spurs (preseason) 7:00 PM
Oct. 14 – Suns @ Spurs (preseason) 5:00 PM
Oct. 16 – Suns vs. Jazz (preseason) 7:00 PM
Dec. 15 – Most players signed to new contracts can be traded
Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed
Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
Jan. 15 – All players signed to new contracts can be traded
Feb. 19-21 – NBA All-Star 2027

With the fire sale trade of Ja Morant to Portland, Memphis is fully committed to rebuilding around Cameron Boozer. They got a pretty good idea of his talents in Las Vegas during Summer League play, but like all players outside of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, Boozer has limitations.

Memphis is building intelligently, though, and has addressed one of his weaknesses: rim protection.

The Grizzlies already had massive Zach Edey, and they picked up Isaiah Stewart, who will also be helpful around the rim. Former BC big man Quinten Post may also be a factor.

The thing about rim protection is that you can guard the rim on the floor too, as Maliq Brown demonstrated over the last two years for Duke.

Boozer may not have massive hops, but he plays good positional defense, and maybe he picked up a thing or two from Brown, who stopped quite a few shots before the shooter left the ground.

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The Houston Rockets are expected to sport a starting lineup featuring Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun for the upcoming season.

Inserting VanVleet as the starting point guard could elevate Houston’s first five and make it one of the best in the league. Bleacher Report contributor Greg Swartz ranked all 30 starting lineups and placed the Rockets at No. 9.

“The Houston Rockets’ starting five should be far more balanced in 2026-27 if VanVleet can play like his pre-ACL tear self,” Swartz wrote.

“Houston tried to go ultra-big at times with no true point guard, leading to a bogged-down offense that needed more playmaking and outside shooting. VanVleet, 32, will need to prove he’s healthy and beat out Marcus Smart for the position. Houston will also be a team to monitor in the trade market if a star point guard becomes available.”

The only teams that ranked higher on Swartz’s list include the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers, who just signed LeBron James to a two-year, $8 million deal.

Van Vliet will have to adjust and shake his rust off after spending over a year on the sidelines, but the Rockets will be a better team with him on the floor. The Rockets will have a floor general that makes the players around him better, setting themselves up for more high-percentage looks. That could make a massive difference in the Rockets’ offense next season.

TDS Community, how do you feel about the team’s starting five going into the season? Let us know in the comments section below.

Here in San Antonio, summer is in full effect. But don’t let the weather fool you, the first day of school is just around the corner. Teachers in my district return Monday with student first day the following Wednesday. If you are local and have school age children, the Spurs are hosting their fifth annual back to school event with supplies and services on August 8th.

Per a Spurs press release:

“Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) is hosting its fifth annual Back to School Bash at Frost Bank Center on Saturday, Aug. 8 from 12-3 p.m. Parents, students and teachers in grades K-12 are invited to attend this event for free school supplies and resources while supplies last. Registration is now open and required for attendance.“

Services include:

• School supplies for K-12 grade levels
• Dental screenings
• Heart screenings
• Glucose screenings
• Haircuts
• Information booths for school enrollment, extracurricular activities, mental health support and family support services.

Patricia Mejia, Chief Impact & Inclusion Officer at SS&E stated,

“Every student deserves to begin the school year with the tools and confidence they need to succeed. Back to School Bash is about removing barriers for families while bringing our community together to support students and educators. We’re grateful to our partners who make this event possible and help set thousands of young people up for a strong start to the school year.”

Parents and/or guardians are required to be present with their children. Participating educators must have their teacher ID upon entering the event. Items and services will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and only while supplies last.

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Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

“Bucketheads” is LGHL’s men’s basketball podcast, hosted by Connor Lemons and Justin Golba. In every episode, they give you the latest scoop on the Ohio State Buckeyes and everything else happening in college hoops.

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On episode 211 of the Bucketheads Podcast, Justin and Connor are joined by Will Guillory of The Athletic. Guillory covers the Houston Rockets, which is now the home of two former Buckeyes, Bruce Thornton and Jae’Sean Tate.

Guillory was on site in Las Vegas for all the Summer League action, so we discussed Thornton and his performance. Where does Thornton fall in the rotation? Can he expect minutes early? Was Guillory surprised by the decision to draft Thornton? And what does Guillory like about Thornton’s game?

We also talked about Jae’Sean Tate and his role with the Rockets, Kevin Durant and working with the players, and some of the stories he has written in his career.

Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, leave a comment, and review! We have episodes every Thursday morning.

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Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @BucketheadsLGPN

Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor

Connect with Justin:
Twitter: @justin_golba

Connect with Will:
Twitter: @WillGuillory

If you’ve been side-eyeing the Boston Celtics for the past few weeks, you haven’t been wrong to.

If you’ve been on the fence ever since last offseason, you weren’t wrong then, either. You were just early.

Ever since Bill Chisholm curated an ownership group backed by deep-pocketed investors, including private equity firm Sixth Street, there hasn’t been much for fans to rally around. The franchise spent the better part of the past year shedding payroll to avoid the league’s luxury tax penalties, and last season they hit the jackpot — before blowing it all off in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers in the organization’s most catastrophic postseason exit.

Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon, which jeopardized his entire 2025-26 season, became a convenient cover for Boston’s new ownership after the team’s second-round exit against the New York Knicks. Championship expectations were immediately removed, hence allowing for the dismissals of Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Luke Kornet in a justified manner that didn’t pressurize Stevens or Chisholm’s high rollers above.

Just when fans thought the pre-15-game-win-streak Boston Red Sox were the biggest concern in town, Chisholm emerged as the suspicious selling point representing the incoming ownership group. His Massachusetts upbringing helped ease the fear that the Grousbeck family would hand the team over to an emotionless corporate shark looking to turn the Celtics into their next ATM. Why? Because it’s easy to assume that Chisholm’s New England roots signal an inherent emotional attachment to the team and its success to that of the thousands who enter TD Garden each night throughout the season.

That assumption wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After all, the Grousbecks ultimately turned down longtime business partner Stephen Pagliuca’s offer, which reportedly did not include private equity backing. Pagliuca stood by Wyc Grousbeck in 2002 when they purchased the Celtics for $360 million and began restoring a storied franchise that had fallen off a bit. Over the next 22 years, Pagliuca and Grousbeck guided Boston to four NBA Finals appearances and two championships.

Every step of the way, through the team’s highs and lows, Grousbeck and Pagliuca made their intentions clear. The Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade with the Brooklyn Nets, the Isaiah Thomas-for-Kyrie Irving flip — those were all moves made with the next banner in mind. As difficult as those decisions might’ve been, along with plenty of others, there was always a clear, rational explanation behind pulling the trigger to support the trust Grousbeck and Pagliuca built with the city.

Chisholm and his associates haven’t earned that. Yet.

So far, they’ve mastered shedding payroll while still working on selling the idea that every decision is made in pursuit of a championship.

“This was all about basically trying to win,” Chisholm told reporters after the Brown trade on July 6, per NBC Sports Boston, “and I think really trusting in our process. We have the best front office in the NBA. They put in their work, and they came to the conclusion this was the best way for us to win. That’s the mandate, is to win. I just have to keep saying that. We’ll spend whatever it takes to do that. The mandate is to win. Brad and his team came with his recommendation that this is the way we’re going to win. And I looked at it and had the same reaction. I was like, ‘Wow.’ This is the fan in me. It was really tough.”

Trading Brown, in his prime, for George, who will turn 37 next May, was a decision made to win? To win now? To maximize Tatum’s prime at this moment?

Stevens’ mismanagement of Brown’s departure, for a return most Celtics loyalists would’ve considered laughable if proposed by any basketball blogger beforehand, warrants scrutiny. Is the CBA a factor? No doubt. Did the Celtics long know that before this offseason? No doubt. So perhaps it would’ve been in their best interests to go full throttle for Giannis Antetokounmpo and leave no regrets at the negotiating table with the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I think that we did the deal because Paul George is a good player and we got draft assets,” Stevens told reporters.

The transparency that once existed under Grousbeck and Pagliuca is seemingly fading under Chisholm. The Celtics had their chance to use Antetokounmpo as a legitimate basketball-first pursuit, and they fumbled at the goal line. Instead, they pivoted and traded for an injury-prone, aging George while doubling down that trading Brown was a basketball decision the front office came up with?

That doesn’t add up. How does removing Brown, after carrying a depleted Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, suddenly solve any basketball-related issue?

That’s where the disconnect begins.

Brown spent most of the offseason scrutinized by the national media, and the Celtics had a hand in it. The same JB who shrugged off trade rumors linking him to swaps for Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant, then showed up to work with no issue. The same JB who went the extra mile as a deeply invested leader of the Boston community — more accessible than any other star currently sporting the uniform.

He didn’t lean on hashtags or choreographed pictures for social media. Brown consistently carried himself with sincerity, even when the Celtics weren’t willing to.

Granted, philanthropy means absolutely nothing to ownership. It never has and it never will. But there’s a certain weight that Brown carried. His value to the Boston community wasn’t just sentimental; it represented years of showing up, investing in the city and embracing it to the point where fans weren’t only attached to Brown the player, but even more so Brown the person.

For nearly a decade, the Celtics had been shopping Brown on the trade market. To then reach the point of desperation where the front office forced itself to accept George, two first-round picks, and two second-rounders as the return is like buying skincare at a mall kiosk.

Boston owes George over $54 million this upcoming season, then another $56.5 million with his 2027-28 player option. That’s over $110 million committed to an ex-star whose availability over the past two seasons didn’t even add up to one full season (78 games).

That’s a tough, tough sell for a basketball decision made “all about basically trying to win.”

It becomes an even tougher sell for the fanbase when, after handing Brown to the rival Sixers on a silver platter, LeBron James, too, joins Philadelphia  — forming a superteam with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey by signing a team-friendly two-year, $8 million deal with the Sixers.

That doesn’t help Boston’s optics. It certainly doesn’t help their chances in the East either.

Ultimately, Chisholm and company have time to build some trust within the city. It’s really optimistic to believe that will come to fruition anytime soon, but it is possible.

It’s also possible that Tatum’s prime 2026-27 season goes to waste while the Celtics watch Brown, James, and Embiid turn the East into their own personal playground next postseason.

By then, it’ll be up to Chisholm to either sing the same tune or recalibrate. Either way, it won’t be easy — and it’s hard to imagine he and the Celtics don’t know that now.

Summer so hot and slow I swear it feels like days are going backwards and we’re getting closer to last June than we’re to flipping the calendar page to August. Here’s your dose of links and notes.

• Patrick Ewing thanked the Knicks and their fans after returning to the organization and right before joining the Wizards’ coaching staff. Full letter in the link.
• Josh Hart fired back at Draymond Green after the geezer said Brunson’s hometown discount didn’t make sense. Green argued that Brunson, as the Knicks’ top player, should have demanded his full value while role players are the ones to make the financial sacrifices.

We got to normalize grown men not counting other peoples pockets https://t.co/o5pr8MWiz6

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) July 29, 2026

• Hours after saying that, 36-year-old Green signed a $27.7 million deal with Golden State. I’m no nerd, but Green ranked 155th in PER, 253rd in WS, 130th in BPM and 227th in VORP. Isn’t that the production of a bad-to-mediocre role player? Not sure, but Green will get paid the 66th-highest salary in the NBA next season.
• Josh Hart is also keeping alive one of Mitchell Robinson’s best traditions. “It’s only right.”
• If you were fed up with the NBA and the Knicks playing in a thousand different channels and platforms, you can now add another one. All Knicks non-national broadcasts will air on DAZN for the 2026-27 season.
• Back to the usual offseason business, SI’s Isaiah De Los Santos believes the Knicks should keep an eye on the Clippers after they kept crowding their center rotation following the Johni Broome trade. Anything can happen there, with LA boasting a crew comprised of Brook Lopez, Isaiah Jackson, Baba Miller, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, and now Broome too.
• Staying Clippers, they were so desperate for attention — the good type, I mean — that they put more than $20 million on LeBron’s table. Sheesh…
• New Wolves toy LaMelo Ball has been sued over allegations that he owes a North Carolina landlord more than $100,000 in unpaid rent.
• People’s GOAT, Allen Iverson, considers Michael Jordan the greatest player ever, but he has the perfect take for saying so. Apply AI’s mindset, and you’ll be happy!

“The way I look at it, is Michael is always going to be the GOAT to me, you know what I mean? And LeBron to me, I feel like if you go in the dictionary and you look up basketball player, you’ll see LeBron James, you know what I mean? And you know the whole GOAT thing to me I think a lot of times it gets out of hand because I think a lot of times people will take away from one player what they did you know what I mean? To boost up the other player. You know what I mean? That’s not what you do. I feel like a lot of times you know people get caught up in the whole GOAT thing but your GOAT is your GOAT. You have your opinion to name anyone your GOAT if you want to. You know what I mean? You’re not wrong by saying anyone’s your GOAT. I had my fans say I’m the GOAT all the time. I don’t agree with them because I think it’s Mike.”

• Shaquille O’Neal predicted Joel Embiid will enjoy a true comeback and remain healthy all season long, topping whatever Nikola Jokić does and reclaiming the Best Big Man label. The odds!
• Golden State passed on trading for Jaylen Brown before last season’s deadline because the organization could not agree that Brown was the right player to lead the franchise after Stephen Curry. Meanwhile, LeBron chose the Sixers because they traded for Brown.

pic.twitter.com/niURWbOQLl

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYorkCity) September 4, 2025

NBA pundit wants Mike Dunleavy ‘on the clock' for Warriors' lackluster offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Barring unexpected moves, the Warriors will run it back with a mostly similar roster to last season’s 37-45 10th-seed team.

And that development isn’t sitting well with Dub Nation and members of the national media.

Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins is the latest to criticize Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy for not improving the roster around two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry.

“At some point, we can’t just keep talking about them trying to go fishing and they throwing the bait out in the water,” Perkins said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday. “We’re talking about Steph Curry here. Like, you got to get it done. You just traded away Jonathan Kuminga last season, a guy that you drafted in the lottery that they gave up on, and now all of a sudden you’re sitting here while the West is getting better, while the San Antonio Spurs, who just went to the NBA Finals, added Tobias Harris to their roster without giving up anything. Oklahoma City Thunder is gonna be there. LaMelo Ball just went to Minnesota. Everyone is making powerful moves while Mike Dunleavy is just sitting there on his hands. And at some point, he has to be on the clock. The pressure is on him to do right by Steph.

“[Brian Windhorst], you just highlighted that Steph Curry is gonna be 39 years old next year. Or this season? Like, like Steph is not just sitting around saying I wanna play for fun. This man played at an All-NBA level last season and somehow with Draymond [Green] opting out, with all these things happening, you couldn’t win the battle of LeBron James and land him to Golden State and you get beat, you let Bob Myers beat you out again, like winning again in Philadelphia. It’s not a good look.

“And right now when you look at this Warriors team … they’re a play-in team that’s going to make it to the postseason. So when I look at the Golden State Warriors, Mike Dunleavy gotta do something. Joe Lacob has to put him on the clock and apply pressure on him to upgrade this roster.”

“We’re talking about Steph Curry here, like you gotta get it done.“@KendrickPerkins comments on Golden State needing to step up after not signing LeBron James 👀 pic.twitter.com/jO6nDpTRUp

— First Take (@FirstTake) July 29, 2026

The Warriors pursued 22-time NBA All-Star LeBron James, but missed out on him when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Golden State reportedly was interested in acquiring All-Star forward Jaylen Brown but balked at the Boston Celtics’ asking price.

And as the Warriors tried to convince James to join Curry, there were reports that acquiring center Anthony Davis from the Washington Wizards would help sway LeBron.

But as ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported Thursday, the Warriors “never seriously engaged” the Wizards for Davis due to their reluctance to part with Jimmy Butler and numerous first-round draft picks.

Instead, the Warriors stood pat, bringing back Green, guard De’Anthony Melton and centers Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Charles Bassey.

The only additions to the roster are No. 11 overall draft pick Yaxel Lendeborg and second-round pick Lajae Jones.

As much as the Warriors like Lendeborg, who won NBA Summer League MVP while helping the team win the Vegas championship, it’s unlikely that he will be enough to push Golden State from a play-in team to a Western Conference contender.

So, the Warriors, with a few depth roster moves left to make, will head into the 2026-27 NBA season hoping for a healthy Curry and waiting for Butler and Moses Moody to return from respective knee injuries.

That game plan isn’t inspiring confidence from Perkins and members of Dub Nation.

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Would LeBron James have joined the Golden State Warriors if they’d traded for Anthony Davis? We’ll never know, but a portion of the team’s front office wanted to try.

According to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, “a small contingent of Golden State’s front office” wanted to trade Jimmy Butler and presumably some number of draft picks for the Washington Wizards’ center, but ultimately decided not to for two reasons:

1. Anthony Davis and his agent, Rich Paul, have made it clear he wants an extension.
2. He’s injured a lot, playing just 29 games since the Dallas Mavericks inexplicably traded Luka Doncic to get from the Lakers in early 2025.

Look, if you’re too injury-prone for the Warriors, that’s really saying something. Kristaps Porzingis missed 90 games the last two seasons and the Warriors gave him $40M. Of course, they could have simply traded for Davis and hoped he would play for the $121M still left on his existing contract, but perhaps they just didn’t want Paul to call them over and over asking about it.

And who knows if James would have come anyway? It’s not like Paul hasn’t used one of his clients to get another one of his clients paid before. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who just got a buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies to join James on the Philadelphia 76ers, signed a $17.75M deal with the Lakers in 2017. He got that deal in part so Paul had an excuse to talk to the front office without tampering, a year ahead of James’ free agency.

Two years later, when the Lakers traded for Davis, Rob Pelinka made the trade official before the NBA draft, which cost him a chance to offer Kawhi Leonard a full max contract. Paul agreed to have Davis waive his $4M trade kicker, but only if the Lakers agreed to re-sign KCP if The Claw went elsewhere. Leonard went to the Clippers, since the Lakers didn’t offer him a no-show endorsement deal with a shady tree-planting company, and Caldwell-Pope got a two-year deal.

We’d say that Davis was likely to play more games than Butler next season, but Danny Emmerman claimed Butler was trying to come back to the Warriors “as early as Christmas.” That seems unlikely, but so does the idea of Anthony Davis going a whole season without pulling his hamstring, or spraining his ankle, or crashing a scooter while recovering from plantar fasciitis.

The real question is, How big was this small contingent of front office people and were any of them named Lacob? If the answer is, zero Lacobs, it makes sense why the deal never got done.

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to pursue Jonathan Kuminga, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The Lakers would seemingly have to engage in a sign-and-trade to acquire the forward, who would compete for an immediate starting role. The Cleveland Cavaliers are also interested in Kuminga.

He started the first five seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in February. Kuminga has the athleticism to be a solid transition scorer and an aggressive rim attacker.

"There's optimism within the Kuminga camp, even after last summer's seemingly interminable wait for a new deal with Golden State in restricted free agency, that there could be more movement and more earning potential as the offseason unfolds," Jake Fischer wrote on The Stein Line.

The Lakers could consider moving players like forwards Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and Jake LaRavia as part of a sign-and-trade deal. Guard Jaden Hardy could also be made available.

The Lakers would need to acquire Kuminga through a sign-and-trade because of the organization's lack of salary cap space to sign him outright. The team would need to salary match contracts, which is where a player like Vanderbilt could come into play.

Kuminga is looking for a contract and asking for over $20 million a year, according to reports. A free agent acquired as part of a sign-and-trade deal must be given a contract that runs at least three years, according to NBA rules.

Cleveland could potentially offer Max Strus or Dennis Schröder as part of a deal for Kuminga with the intention of adding him to a lineup that features Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers continue to have interest in Jonathan Kuminga, per reports

It’s been an active offseason for the Utah Jazz, and a really successful one. But more for the move they didn’t do than the ones they did.

Recently, the Utah Jazz made what might have been the best move of the offseason that didn’t get celebrated as much as the splashiest moves. Utah deciding to take every asset the Lakers had for Walker Kessler, instead of re-signing him to a bad contract, was a sign of an elite front office. Not only did Utah get two swaps and two fully unprotected 1sts, but they also didn’t take on bad money to do it. It shows a front office that understands the value of each position and the cap space each position should and shouldn’t use.

As the season progressed last year and then the offseason commenced, we were told that Utah would eventually give Walker Kessler the contract he was asking for. The most important element of that negotiation was that Utah was not willing to overpay a player who was very unlikely to become an All-Star, at a position that shouldn’t be receiving a major part of a team’s cap space unless a team has one of the top players in the league at that position. That patience and willingness to stick to their guns earned them an incredible haul from a desperate franchise, the Lakers, and Utah now has a chance to use those assets they received to make whatever move they want. Also, it can’t be emphasized enough that the Jazz did this to the Lakers. For all the fans who talk about the Jazz always giving away their players, they sure took advantage of the league’s “premier” franchise. Who, by the way, was desperate for a rim-protecting center because they were scared of losing their star player. The Lakers. And not just that, the Lakers had to overpay Austin Reaves because they might have lost him also. So in the future, just remember, even the Lakers have players not want to stay on their team.

In fact, as far as bogus narratives go, now is another time to give a shoutout to all the Jazz fans that constantly said the Jazz would never win the lottery. Sure, they didn’t win the #1 pick, but it’s sure nice to have the dumb narratives be proven wrong time and time again.

Anyways, back to the Kessler deal. Utah has shown that not only do they understand the importance of discipline with contracts and positional value, they also have a healthy understanding of how good this team is.

The Jazz will be competitive next season. I actually think they’ll be much more competitive than people think. Utah’s team last year was better than people realize. With Keyonte George taking an incredible leap, adding Jaren Jackson Jr., and now adding a potential superstar in Darryn Peterson, Utah is absolutely going to be one of the “surprise” teams next year. But they aren’t likely going to win the championship.

And even at center, that position is likely not going to have the dropoff that some might think. Here are their comparisons from dunksandthrees.com.

There are two different styles here from the two graphics, but their overall EPM (Dunksandthrees.com’s advanced stat of “Estimated Plus Minus”) has Walker Kessler as an only slightly more effective player than Jusuf Nurkic. That means that Utah is getting comparable production for a contract that will be much less and at a more manageable length.

As I said, Utah likely understands that they won’t win the championship next season. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t on the right track to getting to that level. If they were on the verge of having the roster to do it, and they felt like Kessler was the key to that happening, then there’s no doubt they probably match the offer that was done with the sign-and-trade. Instead, Utah can now get similar production and watch how their team plays this season. If they’re much better than we think and a combination of best-case scenarios plays out, Utah has the assets to make a move to fill the gaps in their roster.

Because of the discipline they’re showing, they also are making sure to extend their window of contention. The CBA is extremely strict with teams over the different salary aprons. Once you’ve used your cap, it’s hard to maneuver back to optionality. Contention windows close quickly with albatross contracts. Now, Utah holds that optionality of contracts with the picks to make the right moves when they become available. They can allow Darryn Peterson to develop while they also contend.

It’s a great place to be in for an organization, and Jazz fans can now enjoy the season and know that this window is looking like it’s going to open wider and wider each year. And at some point, the Jazz might actually have the chance to do something they’ve never done: win a championship.

Got a question for ya gang. Who exactly turns down the chance to play with a guy who has a living, breathing wing in the Hall of Fame while he’s still active in the league? Steph Curry already has a permanent wing in the Hall of Fame before his career is even over. And LeBron James reportedly looked at the chance to play beside that guy and still said, essentially, “Not like this.”

According to Anthony Slater’s reporting, a source close to the situation says LeBron would’ve genuinely loved to play with Steph. Just not here. Not in blue and gold, not under this logo, not as a Warrior. Somewhere else, with Steph as the visiting attraction instead of the household he’d be moving into.

Once I looked at it that way, the reporting started saying something different. People have been talking about this as though LeBron rejected Steph. My armchair psychology tells me he was rejecting the decade of history that would follow him into every locker room.

LeBron James reportedly would’ve loved to play with Steph Curry anywhere other than Golden State 😅, per @anthonyVslater

"I had source tell me they think LeBron would have been more interested in playing with Steph Curry elsewhere away from the Warriors than actually going to… pic.twitter.com/df3UEq9tQp

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 28, 2026

Draymond reacts to LeBron's decision to sign with the 76ers instead of Warriors

"I ultimately don't think Bron was ever able to get over the history and I understand it, I get it… he's gonna get crushed if he comes to the Warriors, 'ahhhh man you went to team up with Steph'… pic.twitter.com/K5PdHwUIUC

— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) July 28, 2026

I want to sit in that for a second because it’s a wilder detail than it got credit for. This wasn’t a hypothetical some blogger cooked up. LeBron seriously floated the Warriors as a landing spot, according to Dan Devine’s reporting for Yahoo, but the appeal reportedly hinged on Golden State also bringing in a proven co-star, someone in the Anthony Davis mold, a running mate from a title he’d already won. So we’re talking not just Steph, more like Steph plus another proven championship star. If LeBron was going to cross one of the biggest psychological lines in NBA history, he apparently wanted more waiting on the other side.

There’s a version of LeBron joining the Warriors that ends with him getting cooked by his own legacy every single day. I’m imagining Every road arena chanting it back at him. Every TV graphic pulling up 2016 before tipoff. Every First Take segment turning it into a referendum instead of a highlight. Every GOAT debate suddenly turning into an argument about that decision. Jordan fans would run with it with a bloody vengeance. Warriors fans would barely be able to contain their smirks. Cavs fans, the ones who watched him deliver the thing he’s proudest of in his whole career, might run with it hardest of all. He’d never escape it, not for one single game of however many seasons he had left.

"I'm sorry for your loss man…"

Cash to Draymond after LeBron signed with Philly 😅 pic.twitter.com/cdjDnrhxH6

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 29, 2026

But strip the jokes away and there’s something real underneath it. This is still the rivalry that shaped both of their careers, and neither man has ever fully let it go. LeBron beat this era’s Warriors once, in 2016, and it’s one of the signature achievements of his entire career. He’s spent a decade watching Golden State build a competing claim to the defining dynasty of that era. You don’t walk into that house and put on that jersey unless you’re ready to spend the rest of your career explaining the choice.

And this is where it gets complicated, because we already witnessed a similar experiment. The legendary Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, won two rings, won two Finals MVPs, and people still bring up an asterisk every time his name comes up next to the greats. To me as a GSW scribe? I don’t care. But for how KD feels about himself? Maybe it’s too much noise to be around, IDK he’s a grown man minding his business. I would have guessed that two championships (shoulda been three) should have silenced everybody. But I guess instead it opened up a permanent debate about whether he needed Steph more than Steph needed him. LeBron had a front row seat for what happened to Durant’s reputation. He didn’t have to imagine the discourse; he got to watch it happen in real time.

Roster fit, cap sheets, and Jimmy Butler’s knee mattered. But I think the bigger obstacle was legacy. I think LeBron looked at the Durant blueprint and decided he’d rather build his own final chapter from scratch in Philadelphia than risk spending the rest of his career explaining championships instead of celebrating them.

Maybe that’s the strangest part of this whole saga. Steph Curry reached the point where the Hall of Fame started telling his story before the story was even over, and even that wasn’t enough to convince LeBron James to step into somebody else’s story. I’m betting that LeBron decided he’d rather write one more chapter of his own than spend the rest of his career talking about why he walked into Steph Curry’s.

LeBron James continues to break records in professional sports.

According to Fanatics, James’ Philadelphia 76ers jersey has surpassed Shohei Ohtani’s for the most jerseys sold by any player switching teams within the first 48 hours after the move was announced.

Ohtani’s previous record was set in 2023 when he revealed that he would be leaving the Angels and would be joining the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While the total sales numbers remain unknown, the data shared by Fanatics showed that more James’ 76ers merchandise was sold within the first 24 hours than it had when he announced he would be joining the Lakers in 2018.

The record-breaking sales by the legendary basketball figure continued as, 72 hours after his jersey was released to the public to order, Fanatics saw six different colorways with his No. 23 listed as out of stock on their website.

LeBron James Sixers jerseys sold out quickly & remain sold out right now

The demand is so high pic.twitter.com/ayRiiBVQY6

— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) July 27, 2026

On Tuesday, Fanatics added more James jerseys to their inventory and currently has them listed for preorder.

When LeBron announced that he would be joining the 76ers on Friday, it sent the city of Philadelphia into a frenzy. He surprisingly chose them over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat.

Philadelphia native and comedian Kevin Hart, who is also a friend of James, was sent into hysteria when James announced that he would be joining Hart’s beloved 76ers.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark was in the middle of a press conference during the WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Chicago when she found out that James would be coming to the City of Brotherly Love. Like most basketball fans, she was caught by surprise.

With James finally putting an end to his ‘final decision,’ he will now be tasked with helping Philadelphia win its first NBA title since 1983, when they ironically swept the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA’s investigation into the Clippers-Kawhi Leonard deal could drag into 2027.

The league is looking into weather the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by compensating Leonard through a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration — which had a 23-year, $300 million deal with the franchise before it went bankrupt.

According to ESPN sources, the probe may continue into the new year if the two parties can’t agree on the findings or a settlement that involves punishing the team.

During the NBA Summer League NBPA executive director David Kelly said he didn’t think there was a “there, there” on if the Clippers, who remain adament they are innocent of circumvention, actually paid Leonard through an edorsement deal.

Kelly added that he hadn’t seen anything the New York law firm leading the NBA’s investigation, Wachtell Lipton, had uncovered that was worth a punishment.

Another source told ESPN to take claims from Kelly or any outsider knowledge of Wachtell Liptons findings with skepticism, adding that it’s unlikely the length of the investigation is an indicator of the outcome.

ESPN sources close to the NBPA said the union wouldn’t wait to bring the matter to arbitration if the NBA seeks penalties without proper evidence.

The two parties can avoid the arbitration process, however, if the NBA finds sufficient evidence in the investigation that the Clippers circumvented the cap with Leonard and all parties agree on both the findings and the provided discipline.

Potential punishments could include team fines up to $7.5 million, direct forfeiture of draft picks, the voiding of player contracts and a suspension of up to a year for any team personnel found to have engaged in such a violation, according to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

Regardless of the outcome, Silver clearly wants this mess over with, telling reporters on July 14 that the investigation “needs to be wrapped up before the beginning of next season” and that it has taken “longer than I would have hoped.”

The Raptors likely agree, as their trade returning Leonard to Toronto has been placed on hold after they were informed by the league office that they could risk taking on any punishments handed to Leonard.

The deal would send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks to the Clippers.

Frustration is brewing between Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors and a recent report has added more to the mix.

According to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, the Warriors had an opportunity to trade for Jaylen Brown before the NBA Trade Deadline this past February, but didn’t want to pull the trigger.

Murdock reported that the Warriors “Couldn’t build an organizational consensus that Brown would be the right player to carry the Warriors beyond the Curry era.”

Last season, Brown was tasked with being the main guy for the Boston Celtics as he was left without his former partner in crime, Jayson Tatum, who missed most of last season due to a torn Achilles injury he suffered in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

As the lead man, Brown had a season he’d never forget. He finished in the top five of the NBA, averaging 28.7 points per game and was a driving force behind the the Celtics to finish in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record.

Despite having a great year, Brown’s name was shopped across the NBA this summer as he headlined the trading block.

Eventually, Brown was traded by the Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers continued to load up their team by making another blockbuster move last Friday when they signed LeBron James to a two-year deal.

Since the offseason began, the Warriors have been interested in bringing in another star to play alongside Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler.

Yet, they’ve missed out on James, Anthony Davis, who was viewed as a potential trade candidate in order to land LeBron, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

On Sunday, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic shared his belief that Curry is “probably a little tired of star chasing,” which has started to cause a rift in the relationship between Curry and the Warriors.

Curry has yet to publicly request a trade out of Golden State, but Thompson said that he believes the repeated cycle of anticipation and disappointment could be taking a toll on Curry, who is now 38 years old and only has so much time left in his championship window.

Curry will now have to be the leader of an aging Warriors team that has been riddled by injuries. Butler will be coming back from a torn ACL injury, and Kristaps Porzingis appeared in only 32 games last season, as he was dealing with an illness.

Curry is also dealing with a knee injury himself that forced him to miss 39 games last year.

Despite any potential uncertainty between Curry and the Warriors, Murdock reported that the greatest player in franchise history has remained adamant about retiring as a member of the Warriors.