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5 questions Mets' David Stearns should answer at 2025 MLB GM Meetings

With the annual MLB GM Meetings taking place in Las Vegas this week, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns will be speaking to reporters for the first time since New York's end-of-season news conference.

Back then, Stearns was blunt about how the Mets handled their in-season pitching woes (he said they should've done more) and repeatedly stressed the need for the club to improve its run prevention.

Stearns obviously won't lay out an exact blueprint regarding what the team plans to do this offseason, but his availabilities are generally candid and forthcoming, which makes his upcoming comments at the GM Meetings something to keep an eye on.

Here are five questions Stearns should be asked as things start to percolate...

Has there been contact with Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz?

Alonso and Diaz opted out of their contracts last week. And with free agency now open, they can sign with any team. In the case of Diaz, the Mets extended a qualifying offer that he will almost certainly reject. 

The negotiation with Alonso last offseason was drawn out and didn't end until early February, when he agreed to a two-year deal worth $54 million that contained an opt-out after the first year of the deal.

It can be argued that Alonso is the best fit for New York's opening at first base and that the Mets are the best fit for Alonso. But with one report saying his early asking price could be seven years, it's fair to wonder how long the Mets might let this play out before going in a different direction.

First base options on the free agent market include Cody Bellinger, Josh Naylor, and Japanese stars Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. 

When it comes to Diaz, who opted out of the final two years and roughly $40 million on his deal, it's possible he can be brought back by in effect tacking two years onto that contract at a similar average annual value.

With the Mets not having an in-house closer option, bringing Diaz back makes all the sense in the world. 

Sep 19, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Brandon Sproat (40) follows through on a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citi Field.
Sep 19, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Brandon Sproat (40) follows through on a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Citi Field. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

What is the team's appetite for trading top prospects?

In Stearns' first year at the helm, which began during the 2023-24 offseason, he made it clear that the Mets trading any of their most prized prospects at that point was unlikely.

Last offseason, Stearns' public comments regarding his comfortability with dealing top prospects softened -- which made sense since the team was coming off a trip to the NLCS and had World Series expectations.

As this offseason unfolds, with New York possibly engaging teams on potential trades for a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, the question surrounding the future of top prospects such as Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, and Jonah Tong could grow louder.

In a scenario where the Tigers seriously explore dealing Tarik Skubal, the Mets would have to give up a package of prospects it hurts badly to part with. Are they prepared to do it?

Is the third base job open?

After struggling while getting sporadic playing time over his first two full seasons in the majors, Brett Baty got a long look at third base this past season. And he excelled.

In 432 plate appearances over 130 games, Baty slashed .254/.313/.435 with 18 home runs, 13 doubles, and two triples.

Meanwhile, his defense was smooth and above average, with him in the 69th percentile in OAA.

If Mark Vientos remains with the Mets for 2026, it's safe to believe he would be viewed as mainly a designated hitter option. That would seemingly leave Baty as the starter at the hot corner. But are the Mets prepared to hand him the job?

Stearns spoke a bit during his end-of-season news conference about the possibility that the offensive core could be shaken up. If Alonso leaves, perhaps that shakeup comes at first base. If Alonso stays, the easiest way to jolt the offensive core could be by making a big addition at either second base (Bo Bichette?) or third base.

When it comes to third, free agent Alex Bregman could be a nice fit, with him able to bring a plus bat, plus defense, and leadership.

Carson Benge and Jett Williams
Carson Benge and Jett Williams / Imagn Images/Envato Elements/SNY Treated Image

What's the plan in center field?

The Mets had serious issues in center last season.

Jose Siri suffered an early injury that kept him out for most of the year (and was DFA'd shortly after returning), Tyrone Taylor was strong defensively but had the worst offensive year of his career (70 OPS+), and trade deadline acquisition Cedric Mullins hit .182 with an OPS+ of 62.

Taylor is arbitration-eligible in 2026 and slated to make roughly $3.6 million, so it's safe to think he'll be back. But he's better suited as a backup.

If the Mets view Carson Benge or Williams -- who both ended the 2025 season with Triple-A Syracuse -- as the future in center, it's possible that future will arrive at some point during the first half of the 2026 season.

If the Mets decide to go the free agent route for a short-term answer, options they could explore include Harrison Bader.

Will the Mets consider free agents who have qualifying offers attached?

As a team that exceeded the luxury tax in 2025, the Mets' penalty for signing a player attached to the QO would be relatively severe, with them losing their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2026 MLB Draft as well as $1 million from their international bonus pool.

Bichette, Dylan Cease, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, and Ranger Suarez were all tagged with -- and will reject -- the QO.

Of those players, the ones who make the most sense for the Mets are arguably Cease, Bichette, and Schwarber.

And it's hard to make a case against the Mets chasing any of those players, even with the associated penalties.

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‘Focus on driving and talk less’: Ferrari president hits back at Lewis Hamilton

  • John Elkann has say after Hamilton’s ‘nightmare’ verdict

  • Lando Norris plays down title talk after victory in Brazil

Lewis Hamilton has been told to “focus on driving and talk less” in a rebuke from the Ferrari president, John Elkann, which was almost certainly a reaction to Hamilton’s outspoken description of his first season with the team as a “nightmare”.

Hamilton has endured a difficult debut year with Ferrari, with the team underperforming and the seven‑time champion having a trying time adapting to a new environment and practices.

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Full throttle: Walsh, Gonzalez carving out Celtics roles with shared hustle

Full throttle: Walsh, Gonzalez carving out Celtics roles with shared hustle originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The entire Boston Celtics’ roster spilled onto the court in celebration after Jordan Walsh sealed Sunday’s win in Orlando with a late-game, corner 3-pointer.

But it felt notable that the first person to reach him near half court was rookie Hugo Gonzalez.

Walsh and Gonzalez are two young players fighting for the same, sometimes-limited batch of wing minutes. And yet the two seemingly have bonded over their similar skillsets, and apparently have pledged to crank up the chaos factor whenever they touch the floor.

“The standard is to come in and play that hard, try to affect the game,” Walsh told reporters after Sunday’s win in Orlando.

Over the past three games, there’s been a noticeable shift in gears for the 21-year-old Walsh. He’s been relentless in attacking the glass for a Celtics team in desperate need of rebounding aid, and he’s been flying around on the defensive side, generating a whole bunch of deflections while playing steady defense.

The 19-year-old Gonzalez already has carved out his own defense-first role, and the Celtics continue to dispatch him against top-tier talent.

In a season where one of the top priorities should be developing young talent and identifying which of those players can fill rotational roles on Boston’s next title team, the early emergence of Walsh and Gonzalez feels as important as the Celtics being able to lean on the likes of Neemias Queta and Josh Minott in starting roles.

It’s clear how impactful Gonzalez eventually might be, even as coaches spend timeouts screaming at him about rookie mistakes. Walsh has had encouraging stretches during his first two seasons in green, but the last three games feel like the first time he’s really tapped into his full havoc potential.

Here are four ways the young wings are leaving their imprint:

Relentless on the glass

Over the last three games, Walsh is rebounding 20.6 percent of opponents’ missed shots. That’s the best defensive rebound rate on the team in that span, just slightly ahead of the 7-foot Queta (19.5 percent over last three games). Gonzalez isn’t far behind at 15.2 percent, the fourth-best on the team in that span. 

The Celtics’ rebounding woes to start the season are well-documented.

Boston has one of the best first-shot defenses in the NBA, allowing 92.4 points per 100 possessions in the half court. The Celtics are also dead last in points allowed per miss, giving up 28.9 points per 100 missed fields goals, which is 5.2 points per 100 possessions higher than the league average, per Cleaning the Glass data.

Walsh has grabbed at least six rebounds in each of his last three appearances. He has 23 rebounds in 68 minutes of floor time in those outings.

Taking on defensive challenges

Despite being tasked with some tough defensive assignments, Walsh and Gonzalez have held up well on that end over the last three games.

Gonzalez had a part in four different Orlando turnovers during Boston’s second-quarter rally Sunday — all of them generated by simply fighting through screens and being in the right spots. He drew an offensive foul while running through a screen attempt, then harassed Desmond Bane into a traveling call by staying glued to his side throughout an entire possession. 

Walsh is holding his defensive assignments to 43.5 percent shooting — or 4.7 percent below expected output — while defending 7.7 shots per game in that span. Gonzalez held opponents to 1.9 percent below expected output on 2.7 shots in that three-game span, with opponents routinely willing to move the ball instead of trying to shoot against him.

Walsh spent most of his floor time defending Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner during Boston’s double dip in Orlando. The duo combined for 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting with 3 turnovers and a blocked shot. Neither Banchero nor Wagner attempted a shot in the 20 possessions that Gonzalez was deemed the primary defender against them. 

During Walsh’s postgame interview with NBC Sports Boston after Sunday’s win, Xavier Tillman popped over to give Walsh his defensive flowers.

“He’s the king of lockdown. He can guard anybody,” said Tillman. “The bigs, the littles, the wings. It doesn’t matter. Call Jordan, man, he’s your guy.”

Nothing but net (rating)

Walsh now leads the Celtics in net rating among regulars. In his seven appearances and 92 total minutes, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 22.3 points per 100 possessions.

Boston’s offense is 10.8 points per 100 better during Walsh’s floor time, and the defense is 12.2 points better with Boston’s defensive rating plummeting to 102.7 with Walsh on the court. 

Of the 267 players in the NBA who are averaging 13+ minutes per game with at least five appearances, Walsh now tops the league in net rating. He’s right in front of OKC’s Alex Caruso (+21.3) and Denver’s Nikola Jokic (+19.7).

It’s a very small sample and includes a fair amount of trash time. But the Celtics also have a +18 net rating in Walsh’s 68 minutes over the past three games.

The only regular with a better number in that span? Gonzalez at +22.3 in his 38 minutes. 

Double trouble

Given those individual numbers, it’s probably no surprise that, in the 44 minutes that Walsh and Gonzalez have shared the floor this season, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by a staggering 32.5 points per 100 possessions.

Those numbers were juiced Sunday in Orlando when Walsh and Gonzalez shared a lineup with Anfernee Simons during his first-half scoring outburst that saw the Celtics outscored the Magic by 12 points in a four-minute span. 

That has helped Boston produce a sizzling 139.8 offensive rating when Walsh and Gonzalez have shared the floor. Their willingness to rebound has helped Boston go small and maximize offensive skill on the court around them.

Undeniably, a larger sample size is needed to know if Walsh and Gonzalez can maintain this sort of impact. Walsh seemed to be ready to kick down the playing time door coming out of training camp last season, but never quite harnessed the full-throttle nature required to keep him on the court. Now we have three straight games where he has embraced the speed and intensity necessary to keep him on the court.

Both Walsh and Gonzalez have had rough patches, sometimes flying around so fast that they make mistakes. But that sort of intensity has more often produced some inspired play. 

Now both players simply have to stay in high gear.

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Guardians Pitchers Face Significant Prison Time for Pitch-Fixing Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sunday that Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering, for allegedly rigging bets through their pitching in MLB games.

According to prosecutors, the alleged victims of the fraud are sports betting platforms, the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball (MLB).

The charges follow similar ones recently brought against Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Hall of Fame player Chauncey Billups, and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones, who have all been accused of participating in fraud tied to sports betting or poker.

According to an indictment unsealed by U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr., for the Eastern District of New York, Clase began conspiring with an unnamed bettor in May 2023. Clase is accused of informing the bettor about the types of pitches he would throw in games—such as a slider on the first pitch or pitches slower than 95 miles per hour. The bettor allegedly relayed that information to others, enabling them to place bets and parlays based on Clase’s pitching. Clase then acted accordingly, including when the Guardians played the Minnesota Twins on June 3, 2023. In that game, Clase allegedly threw a slider into the dirt “well before home plate,” as described in the indictment, to ensure a bet was successful.

Clase, 27, is also accused of receiving kickbacks from the conspirators and violating MLB rules by using his cell phone during games to coordinate with bettors. The indictment details alleged texts sent by Clase and his co-conspirator during games, including messages where Clase asked if the bettor was “ready” before intentionally throwing a pitch into the dirt.

The indictment also refers to Clase electronically transferring money to a bettor. In addition, he was allegedly caught on camera by bank security withdrawing approximately $50,000 in cash from a bank on June 27, 2025.

Ortiz, who allegedly joined the criminal scheme in June 2025, faces similar allegations. Like Clase, the 26-year-old pitcher is accused of agreeing to throw certain pitches in exchange for payment. Ortiz also allegedly sent incriminating text messages and participated in electronic transfers of funds. 

Further, Ortiz and Clase are depicted as coordinating the conspiracy. For example, on June 19, 2025, Clase allegedly sent Ortiz a photograph of a receipt for a wire transfer of approximately 90,000 pesos (roughly $4,900 under current exchange rates), along with an audio message instructing Ortiz to get his associates in the Dominican Republic to lie about the purpose of the funds.

Ortiz was allegedly directed to say, “this payment is for a horse. Payment for a horse. You got that?” to which he reportedly replied, “Okay, perfect.”

Clase and Ortiz are described as receiving $5,000 payments for throwing rigged pitches or arranging for them to be thrown—a modest sum compared to their salaries. In 2022, the Guardians signed Clase to a five-year deal worth $20 million. Ortiz earned $782,600  in 2025, per Spotrac.

Participating in bets is strictly prohibited by MLB, specifically under Rule 21, which calls for a lifetime ban of any player, manager, or coach who bets on their own team. Last year, MLB imposed such a ban on San Diego Padres third baseman Tucupita Marcano, whom MLB found had placed nearly 400 bets on baseball from 2022 to 2023. Clase and Ortiz had already come under MLB scrutiny for their suspicious pitches, with both being placed on non-disciplinary paid leave in July as the league investigated.

However, Clase and Ortiz are not in trouble with the Justice Department for betting or merely attempting to fix the outcome by throwing errant pitches. Their alleged crime focuses on fraud and advancing a fraudulent conspiracy through electronic transactions and communications, with betting platforms, the Guardians and MLB among the victims.

They allegedly engaged in wire fraud conspiracy by scheming to defraud betting platforms and obtaining money from those platforms through “materially false and fraudulent pretenses [and] representations.” Clase and Ortiz also allegedly used interstate and foreign wire communications to advance their scheme.

They’re further accused of honest services wire fraud, a noteworthy charge that has played an instrumental role in the sports world of late. The DOJ used this against parents in the Operation Varsity Blues case. There, colleges were deprived of their employees’ honest services because admissions staff and coaches accepted parents’ bribes. Analogously, Clase and Ortiz are depicted as defrauding the Guardians and MLB by denying them their honest services through bribery and kickbacks.

Clase and Ortiz are facing serious legal trouble. While every criminal defendant is innocent until proven guilty, data indicates a harsher reality. According to Pew Research, only 290 of 71,954 federal defendants (0.4%) in 2022 went to trial and were acquitted, while 89.5% pleaded guilty. The odds of acquittal in a federal criminal case are typically bleak.

If convicted, sentenced to the maximum for each offense, and if their sentences were to run consecutively instead of concurrently, Clase and Ortiz could theoretically face 65 years in prison each. In reality, they’re unlikely to receive sentences nearing that length, but they could face significant prison time. The risk of imprisonment could eventually lead them to try to negotiate plea deals.

In statements released to the media, the Guardians said they will “continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue.” MLB stated it “contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process,” and added that its investigation is “ongoing.”

Expect the Clase and Ortiz charges to ignite further debate about the availability of prop bets and similar forms of gambling, which can be difficult to monitor for integrity. Whether it’s a pitcher throwing a slow pitch in the sixth inning, a basketball player ensuring he doesn’t register more than three rebounds in the second quarter, or a tennis player making sure she deliberately hits the ball out when the score is 30-30 in the second set, all are vulnerable to athlete manipulation.

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‘L’ultima bandiera’: Domenico Berardi raises final flag for loyalty in football | Nicky Bandini

Sassuolo forward is rarest of beasts – a one-club man – and virtuoso display against Atalanta reinforced his hero status

The man with the moustache held his teammate in a headlock and stared down the TV camera lens. “Berardi!” he yelled, jabbing a finger at the back of his colleague’s bonce. “BE-RAR-DI!”

It felt like that moment in a kids’ movie when the big brother drags his meek sibling back into frame after beating up the school bully. Mess with him again and see what happens. Only, Tarik Muharemovic is nine years younger than Domenico Berardi. And it was the older player, again, who had spent this afternoon tormenting his peers.

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Jeff Blashill Has Been Just What Artyom Levshunov Needed

On Sunday, the Chicago Blackhawks ended their six-game road trip with a 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. With a 3-2-1 trip, the Blackhawks are now 8-5-3 for 19 standings points. This latest victory put them in a top-three spot of the Central Division. 

There have been many key contributors to this success, and one of them is Artyom Levshunov. The 2024 second overall pick has been great lately, as he is starting to show why he was such a highly touted prospect. 

Levshunov's two assists against the Red Wings give him six on the six-game road trip. He is now up to nine in 15 games on the season. Levshunov is still awaiting his first career NHL goal, but that will come soon enough. The chances are there for both him and his teammates.

With the way his development has come along since the beginning of training camp, it is clear that Jeff Blashill has been great for him. 

For one, Blashill moved Levshunov to the first power play unit when they were struggling. He replaced Sam Rinzel on the top unit, and they've taken off since. Levshunov finds lanes to make great passes to the forwards in areas where they can then make creative plays towards the net. 

Since that move, the power play has taken off, including a 3/3 performance against the Red Wings on Sunday. Levshunov assisted on two of those three goals. 

"He's definitely continuing to get better," Blashill said of Levshunov on Sunday after their win over the Wings. "Probably at the end of the game tonight, he got a little bit loose. We had a conversation earlier in the year about attacking the game and being assertive. He's a guy who plays on his instincts, and his instincts are good."

The head coach has trust in the player, which is paramount to his development if he is going to continue playing in the NHL over the AHL. Blashill runs the 11/7 strategy in most games, which is meant to help the young defensemen stay fresh. Levshunov has been the one to benefit most from this. 

When the Blackhawks selected Levshunov second overall in the 2024 draft, they envisioned him being a guy who can play on a top pair for an elite team. Well, with Sam Rinzel and Alex Vlasic also there with him, there is no pressure. They can just roll out really good defensemen regularly. 

Blashill won't go with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen forever, but it's helping Levshunov (and other young guys) grow into their NHL bodies. The impact being made on Levshunov is clear every game.

His compete, love for his teammates, and desire to be the best are all things he does on his own. Creating good habits to impact his game for the better is where Blashill comes in handy. 

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Panthers wrap up road trip in Las Vegas with matchup against formidable Knights squad

The Florida Panthers will wrap up their four-game western swing on Monday night when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights.

Florida has won just one of three so far on the trip, though it can be argued that they've deserved a better result. 

After kicking off the roadie with an embarrassing 7-3 loss in Anaheim, Florida put together one of their strongest outings of the season two nights later in Los Angeles, defeating the Kings 5-2.

Unfortunately for the Cats, they weren’t able to build any momentum on the victory, at least in the standings, due to them getting goalied by Yaroslav Askarov on Saturday night in San Jose.

Florida dominated the final 40 minutes of that game but couldn’t get the puck past San Jose’s spectacular young goaltender and ultimately had to accept the undeserved defeat.

Now, if the Panthers can wrap up the road trip with a strong, resounding win in a very tough building to play at, it would go a long way toward treating this adversity-filled expedition as a positive experience.

This game will also be the second and final meeting between Florida and the Golden Knights this season.

They previously locked horns just over two weeks ago, a game the Panthers were quite pleased with.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who is expected to start on Monday, turned aside 26 shots while helping the Cats to a 3-0 win over Vegas.

We’ll see if they find a way to pull off a repeat performance in a building that, for many of these players, comes with some pretty harsh memories.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Monday’s matchup in Vegas:

Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand

Jesper Boqvist – Sam Bennett – Mackie Samoskevich

A.J. Greer – Cole Schwindt – Noah Gregor

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Dominic Sebrango – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Nov 6, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defends the goal against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)

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Warriors have plenty to prove during upcoming daunting six-game road trip

Warriors have plenty to prove during upcoming daunting six-game road trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The first two-plus weeks of the 2025-26 NBA regular season has been an obstacle course of a schedule for the Warriors to navigate, trying their damnedest to make it through rough waters to not swim upstream months from now. What they’re about to face next is getting off a plane to a path of fiery coals, only to see a brick wall at the end. 

In less than three weeks, the Warriors already have played 11 games, including three back-to-backs. They’ve boarded a flight for the second night of a back-to-back, hopped on a bus for one and been able to sleep in their own beds only once for a home back-to-back. Their toughest test yet comes Tuesday night against the defending champions before another flight to play the gargantuan future of basketball the next night. 

The Warriors have played six road games thus far, with two being one-offs and the other four coming from two separate two-game road trips, going 1-5. This six-game road trip that features a back-to-back at the front and the end has stops in Oklahoma City, San Antonio (for two games), New Orleans, Orlando and Miami over 10 days for their longest span away from home.

These are trips no team looks forward to. These also are the kind of challenges championship contenders can learn plenty from this early into a season.

Jimmy Butler’s one-word description of the trip is “exciting.” 

“We play some really good teams on the road. But you gotta win some of these to show that you can compete with the best of them,” Butler said. “Obviously if we got 30 (Stephen Curry) our chances of winning goes up drastically. But even if he isn’t ready to go we still got to go out there and we got to compete because it’s very possible that we can win.”

Curry on Sunday night missed his third straight game because of an illness. The Warriors went 1-2 in those games with two consecutive road losses against the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets prior to beating the Indiana Pacers 114-83 back at Chase Center. The 31-point win was the Warriors’ largest margin of victory without Curry since he came into the league.

But it also was against a Pacers team down 10 players, and the game looked like it could be the worst loss of the Warriors’ season until they took the lead late in the third quarter and never looked back. 

The good news for them is coach Steve Kerr after the win said he expects Curry to play Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. Curry went through an intense workout Sunday night on the Warriors’ practice court, and another Monday morning. He was on the bench in street clothes Sunday cheering his teammates on after not traveling to Sacramento or Denver. 

“Yeah, I hope so,” Al Horford said regarding Curry’s impending return. “It changes completely. It changes completely. It’s a privilege, a luxury – whatever you want to call it – but it’s that big of a difference when he’s not in. I know that it’s the NBA and we have to find ways, but we can’t wait for him to get back out there, and hopefully it’s Tuesday.” 

Horford is coming off his best game with the Warriors. He credited Butler for feeding him open passes and pushing him to shoot past any previous struggles, scoring 12 points on four 3-pointers, while also having four rebounds and three blocked shots. The 19-year veteran in his first season as a Warrior understands the gauntlet in front of them, and what it would mean to come out the other side proving themselves as a true threat. 

“I mean, I think it’s significant,” Horford said. “I know it’s still November, but it’s a big challenge for our group and the way to address it, and I know that we will. We’ll take it a game at a time, and we can’t overlook anyone. You know, all I’m thinking about is OKC. They’re playing at home, they play really well, defending champs. 

“So we can’t even think about the rest of it, just have to focus on that first one. That’s going to be great to see kind of where we’re at as a group.”

Though Horford says he doesn’t know which night of the back-to-back in Oklahoma City and San Antonio he’ll play, facing the 10-1 Thunder as close to full strength as possible would be beneficial to everybody. The Warriors felt like they had a real shot against the Thunder last season in the playoffs if they were to make it to the Western Conference Finals and went 2-1 against them in the regular season. 

None of those games were after the Warriors acquired Butler, and Horford, of course, still was on the Boston Celtics. 

There also is a guarantee Horford will miss at least two of the Warriors’ six games on the road since they have two back-to-backs. Curry, Butler and Draymond Green missing at least one game also is a strong possibility. Younger players like Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga will have to be to hold the line and push the Warriors forward. 

The 6-5 Warriors enter Monday 19th in offensive rating (114.0) and seventh in defensive rating (111.4), making them 11th in net rating (2.6). Statement wins have been celebrated, and letdown losses have been scrutinized for a team that will have played five back-to-backs in 17 games at the end of the upcoming road trip when no other team will have played more than three by then. 

“Overall, we haven’t played real well. But I’m very confident in this team,” Kerr said. “It’s going to be a tough trip, two back-to-backs. We kind of felt like getting through this early part of the schedule, in one piece, and if we’re healthy and win our share of games, it sets up the rest of the season well for us. Obviously, we gave a couple of games away, but all in all, we’re pretty healthy, we’re going to get there. 

“I can picture the team, I can see what kind of team we’re going to be, but we don’t really have our identity yet.”

What will amount to a successful road trip? 5-1? 4-2? Splitting the six games? 

The level of focus, fire and purpose as a product the Warriors bring to five different arenas in building the identity they want to become will prove as much to themselves and the outside than the record they come home with.

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‘Hella smart' Will Richard earns praise from Warriors after impressive game

‘Hella smart' Will Richard earns praise from Warriors after impressive game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Will Richard didn’t need long to make an impact.

In the Warriors’ 114–83 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night at Chase Center, the rookie guard impressed once again, finishing with 15 points in 19 minutes, while adding one assist and one steal. He also knocked down 7 of his 8 free-throw attempts, helping Golden State improve to 6–5 on the season while Indiana dropped to 1–9.

Teammates and coaches continue to praise how quickly Richard has carved out a role.

“It’s amazing because he’ll go from not playing or not having any stretch. And then when he comes in, he’s ready,” Al Horford said postgame. “He’s cutting, he’s hitting threes, he’s getting on the break, he’s defending; he does a little bit of everything. I’ve been very impressed with his maturity and how he’s been able to handle all the tasks that we throw at him because it’s very unpredictable.”

Richard has echoed a simple approach: Do whatever is needed.

“Just making an impact, whether that’s on the offensive or defensive end,” Richard explained. “Spreading the floor and doing stuff like that. I grew up watching the Warriors, so for me, Steph [Curry] and [Draymond Green] and all of them, they made my childhood. So I feel like every time I’m on the court, I need to pay that back by going out there and playing as hard as I can.”

The 22-year-old guard began his college career at Belmont before transferring to Florida. He was selected 56th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Golden State later acquired his draft rights in a multi-asset trade, and Richard signed with the Warriors on Sept. 29, 2025. He made his first career start just weeks later on Nov. 5, scoring a career-high 30 points.

Coach Steve Kerr said that polish was evident from the beginning of training camp.

“Early on in camp, you could see he really knew how to play,” Kerr noted. “He’s constantly making the right cut, the right pass, he’s solid. His fundamentals are fantastic; you can see all the experience he’s had in big games. Will, he’s a ball player, and we’re excited to have him. He’s going to contribute quite a bit for us this year.”

Teammate Jimmy Butler offered his own endorsement, focusing on Richard’s approach.

“He’s hella smart,” Butler said. “But the thing I love most about Will is his ability to listen. You tell him what to do to the best of his ability, he’s going to do it. Whether it’s on offense or it’s on defense. It’s really hard to try to please everybody … but he’s going to do it. And he just looks incredible.”

For a rookie still finding his place, Richard’s impact already is clear — and the Warriors are taking notice.

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