We don’t have much time left with Steph Curry on the basketball court
It feels bizarre to say, but Stephen Curry is playing in his 16th year in the NBA.
It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. His peak with the Warriors only just started about a decade ago and he spent most of his early years in the NBA battling ankle injuries.
So, while it may not feel like it, it’s been a while. And it looked like it a few nights ago when Curry only scored 2 points against the Grizzlies in a game the Warriors lost by over 50 points.
That said, questions about when he might call it a career are valid. He’s still one of the best players in the NBA, but we’re much closer to the end than the beginning.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews asked Curry about it and the quote was kind of hilariously morbid.
“It’s OK to accept and acknowledge that the end is near at whatever point, but only because it allows you to enjoy what’s happening right now,” Curry said. “But I think the more you talk about it, the more you acknowledge it, it levels up the sense of urgency right now.”
Well, yeah, that’s one way to put it! Sounds kind of sad, but he’s not wrong. Acknowledging that he probably won’t be around in the NBA for too much longer is the best way to go about it.
Not just for him, but for us, too. We don’t have many more moments with greats like Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant left. That’s why this summer’s Olympic Games were so special.
The Golden State Warriors are acquiring point guard Dennis Schroeder for De’Anthony Melton, according to Shams Charania. The Warriors are also receiving one second-round pick from Brooklyn in exchange for three second-round picks. Here’s how social …
The Golden State Warriors are acquiring point guard Dennis Schroeder for De’Anthony Melton, according to Shams Charania. The Warriors are also receiving one second-round pick from Brooklyn in exchange for three second-round picks.
We’ll probably never see LeBron James and Steph Curry team up in the NBA.
In most cases, I would say to take a report that an NBA superstar is mostly happy with their current struggling team with a grain of salt. As we know, in this league, the best players can say one thing and completely change their stance weeks later because they hold most of the power and leverage.
But when ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that LeBron James really wants to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers instead of getting traded to the Golden State Warriors, I think we should believe all parties involved.
This situation is a bit different from your bog-standard “star looking for greener pastures” story.
During Wednesday morning’s episode of Get Up, Windhorst maintained that while the Warriors are still interested in pairing James with Steph Curry, that interest is not mutual. In fact, as Windhorst suggested, everything about James’ actions — from rebuffing the Warriors’ initial trade exploration to signing a new three-year contract with a no-trade clause — makes it clear he wants to remain a Laker in the twilight of his legendary career.
The report and argument make total sense. Windhorst’s monologue about James potentially joining the Warriors starts at the :42 second mark below:
Jimmy Butler and LeBron James are two stars on the Warriors’ radar, per @windhorstespn 👀
All of this sentiment tracks with how you’d think someone like James would approach the likely end of their extended career. He’s gonna be 40 by the end of 2024. He’s got his MVPs. He’s got his championships. He’s got his records. He’s got the whole “I shared the court with my son” thing.
Anything else from a basketball standpoint is gravy now.
While it would be cool to form up a legendary duo with a similarly older Curry as they pursue another title together, James is at the point of his career where he’s living it up in sunny Los Angeles with his family. So, of course, he prefers to try to compete with the Lakers as a hopeful championship contender. It doesn’t uproot any aspect of his current life. He’s probably not nearly as motivated as he used to be to add more trophies to his collection. If the Lakers can’t help James win, well, he’s likely at peace with everything he’s accomplished. And rightfully so.
James is past the point of rocking the boat with personal trade or free agency drama. Sorry, folks. The best snippets you’ll ever get of James and Curry lighting up opposing teams together are probably from the 2024 Paris Olympics. Savor those highlights while you can.
These contenders could try to trade for Jimmy Butler.
The Miami Heat have an interesting decision to make about six-time NBA All-Star wing Jimmy Butler, who could generate some trade interest.
Butler, 35, could become a free agent this offseason if he opts out of his deal and it is unclear whether or not he projects as part of the future of the franchise for Miami.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Butler and Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram are two of the top names to watch before the NBA trade deadline.
Charania reported that Miami is “open to listening to offers” for Butler and potentially “making a deal” for the right offer. He added that it has become clear that Butler has expressed interest in three specific teams.
As of right now, it seems Butler will opt out of his deal and become a free agent at the end of the season. But if he is traded, here are some teams that Butler reportedly wants to play for this season.
Houston Rockets
Butler, who is originally from nearby Houston, could make sense as a consolidation piece on the Rockets. Back in October, the Rockets were mentioned by Marc Stein as a potential destination for Butler as well. It is unclear how many players in Houston’s young core they would be willing to part with, if any, for such a trade.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks have reportedly held interest in Butler since before he was even traded to the Heat in 2019. Earlier this month, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto added that “within league circles, there’s been quiet discourse” about whether the Rockets or Mavericks could emerge as suitors for Butler. But there are financial hurdles that could complicate this fit.
Golden State Warriors
Earlier this season, per Scotto, the Warriors “were among the teams linked” to Butler in a potential trade. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater speculated that the Warriors would “enter the conversation” about Butler in May and Sam Amick reported interest in Butler by Golden State in September.
Draymond Green was waiting for this moment for his entire NBA career.
Draymond Green does not like Rudy Gobert. At all. In fact, Green probably hates Gobert (yes, hates) more than any other opposing player in the NBA. No one would reasonably dispute these statements. So, on Sunday night, Green enjoyed a glorious moment over the Minnesota Timberwolves reigning Defensive Player of the Year, for which he’s probably been waiting years.
As the Golden State Warriors tried to close Minnesota out, Green had the ball at the top of the key. Gobert guarded him one-on-one. Green blew by Gobert and took it to the rack for a vicious dunk that essentially locked up the Warriors’ win.
Green could’ve left it there and simply run back on defense. He, of course, did not do that. Not when he had a chance to poke and prod at Gobert. No sir.
Instead, Green emulated Steph Curry by doing a hilarious “night, night” taunt while following Gobert all the way down the floor.
Goodness, isn’t basketball better with real hate and pettiness like this?
What do you think the over and under is on the number of times Green thought about dunking on Gobert and taunting him before this happened? Could we even count it without a machine? Probably not. And how many times do you think Green has already watched this clip while cackling to himself? That’s also likely off the charts.
The Warriors and Timberwolves will meet up again in just about two weeks, but I really wish that matchup were tomorrow. I, for one, can’t wait to see what new antics Green has in store for Gobert.
As we prepare for the final day of group play in the NBA Cup, only three teams have punched a ticket to the next round and five spots remain.
We know the Hawks (shockingly!), Rockets, and Warriors will all advance to the knockout phase of the tournament. But three of the other groups yet to have a winner while both the West and East wild card spots are still open as well.
Each group winner moves on to the next round, and one wild card from each conference advances as well.
With some very important games left on the last day of group play in the second year of this experiment by the league, here is how it all looks to play out:
East: Group A
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Orlando Magic
3
0
60
Alive
New York Knicks
3
0
15
Alive
Philadelphia 76ers
1
2
-9
Out
Brooklyn Nets
1
3
-39
Out
Charlotte Hornets
0
3
-27
Out
Orlando and New York play each other at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The winner will advance out of Group A. Orlando would likely advance through the wild card with a loss, though New York would hav a much tougher chance due to their point differential.
IMPORTANT GAME: Magic @ Knicks (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT)
East: Group B
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Milwaukee Bucks
3
0
29
Alive
Detroit Pistons
3
0
28
Alive
Miami Heat
2
2
20
Out
Toronto Raptors
0
3
-28
Out
Indiana Pacers
0
3
-49
Out
Milwaukee and Detroit play each other on Tuesday night, and the winner will officially take Group B. Both are still alive as potential wild cards with a loss, too, but need a better overall point differential than the Celtics and the loser of New York and Orlando.
IMPORTANT GAME: Bucks @ Pistons (7:00 p.m. ET)
East: Group C
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Atlanta Hawks
3
1
15
Clinched Group
Boston Celtics
3
1
23
Alive
Chicago Bulls
2
2
6
Out
Cleveland Cavaliers
1
2
-1
Out
Washington Wizards
0
3
-43
Out
Atlanta has already won this group and with the exception of the Celtics, every other team is eliminated. Boston could come out in the wild card spot, but it will depend on point differential.
IMPORTANT GAME: N/A
East: Wild Card
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Orlando Magic
3
0
60
Alive
Milwaukee Bucks
3
0
29
Alive
Detroit Pistons
3
0
28
Alive
New York Knicks
3
0
15
Alive
Boston Celtics
3
1
23
Alive
Orlando or New York will advance out of group play, and so will either Detroit and Milwaukee. Between the losers of those games, and the Celtics, the team with the best point differential of that bunch will earn the wild card.
IMPORTANT GAME(S): Bucks @ Pistons (7:00 p.m. ET), Magic @ Knicks (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT)
West: Group A
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Houston Rockets
3
0
49
Clinched Group
Portland Trail Blazers
2
1
-5
Alive
Minnesota Timberwolves
2
2
-13
Out
L.A. Clippers
1
2
-6
Alive
Sacramento Kings
0
3
-25
Out
Houston has already won this group, but Portland and L.A. are both potentially able to advance via the wild card based on how their game goes at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday.
IMPORTANT GAME: Trail Blazers @ Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET)
West: Group B
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
San Antonio Spurs
2
1
14
Alive
Oklahoma City Thunder
2
1
18
Alive
Phoenix Suns
2
1
19
Alive
Los Angeles Lakers
2
2
-24
Out
Utah Jazz
0
3
-27
Out
This is arguably the most fun group left because three teams all have a chance to win the group and the two that do not can still advance via wild card seeding.
IMPORTANT GAME(S): Jazz @ Thunder (8:00 p.m. ET), Spurs @ Suns (9:00 p.m. ET)
West: Group C
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Golden State Warriors
3
0
12
Clinched Group
Dallas Mavericks
2
1
41
Alive
Denver Nuggets
1
2
2
Alive
Memphis Grizzlies
1
2
-6
Alive
New Orleans Pelicans
1
3
-49
Out
Golden State has already won this group, but three other teams still have a real chance to advance based on the remaining games. The other games give the remaining teams a chance in the wild card, though.
IMPORTANT GAME(S): Grizzlies @ Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET), Warriors @ Nuggets (10:00 p.m. ET on TNT)
West: Wild Card
TEAM
WINS
LOSSES
DIFFERENTIAL
IN/OUT
Dallas Mavericks
2
1
41
Alive
Phoenix Suns
2
1
19
Alive
Oklahoma City Thunder
2
1
18
Alive
San Antonio Spurs
2
1
14
Alive
Portland Trail Blazers
2
1
-5
Alive
Denver Nuggets
1
2
2
Alive
Memphis Grizzlies
1
2
-6
Alive
L.A. Clippers
1
2
-6
Alive
One of the teams from Group B (San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix) will not need a wild card berth but instead advance from winning their group. Otherwise, while Dallas has the best chance of any team to win the wild card, there are plenty of other teams statistically still able to clinch a spot into the knockout rounds.
IMPORTANT GAME(S): Jazz @ Thunder (8:00 p.m. ET), Grizzlies @ Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET), Spurs @ Suns (9:00 p.m. ET), Warriors @ Nuggets (10:00 p.m. ET on TNT), Trail Blazers @ Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET)
Very underwhelming week for Notre Dame’s NBA reps.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] played in two of the San Antonio Spurs’ three games over the past week. His first game, played Nov. 21 against the Utah Jazz, consisted of one made free throw and two rebounds while missing all three field-goal attempts. He found greater success Nov. 23 against the Golden State Warriors, scoring seven points, grabbing two rebounds, accumulating one assist and getting one steal. That gave him a scoring average of 4.0 for the week.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] apparently has fallen out of Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers’ rotation because he didn’t play at all over the past week. ClutchPoints senior NBA reporter Brett Siegel is reporting that the Bucks might be dangling Connaughton’s name in trade talks. He has one year left on his contract, and the Bucks want depth and length on the wing as part of an effort to recover from a sluggish start to the season.
Needless to say, former Notre Dame players in the NBA have had better weeks. Hopefully, this upcoming week will be one of them.
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Good morning, Winners. Thanks so much for reading the Morning Win today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.
You ever had a homie take over your birthday party? It’s not fun.
I remember when I was a kid at one of the last birthday parties I can remember. I got Pokémon Gold version —yes, this was a really long time ago, folks.
Everything around me stopped. I just had to play this game. Immediately. So I take it out of the box and throw it into my Gameboy Color — again, this was a very long time ago.
I’m playing it. The homies at the birthday party are watching. But then I come to a standstill. For some reason, I can’t win a certain battle. It’s embarrassing. So, one of the homies offers to give it a shot. And, whaddaya know, he wins! Nice. We can finally move on to the next town.
Except it’s not me who is moving to the next town. It’s the homie.
He just … didn’t give the game back. He kept playing until it was time for him to go. And I’m just watching. Watching someone else play my game and steal my thunder in front of the whole party, which was probably like three other kids at that point. The party was no longer mine — it was the other kid’s.
That was kind of how Klay Thompson’s return to the Chase Center on Tuesday went.
He may not play for the Warriors anymore, but those are still his fans, too. They showed him that much. He got the welcome home he always deserved. And, for a while there, it seemed like it would be his night. He hit six threes! He even did the Steph Curry shimmy after one of them.
But that’s not the most interesting story here. Rather, it’s the position Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes (17) find themselves in.
A year ago, Sanders’ team completely floundered down the stretch after a 4-1 start. This season, after a return to the Big 12, Colorado controls its own destiny moving forward. They could win the conference!
“A week after the committee seemingly told the Big 12 it was only getting one team in the playoff, here comes the Buffaloes to challenge the narrative. Up three spots to No. 17 in this week’s rankings, Colorado controls its own destiny with remaining games against Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. None of those are cakewalks, but the Buffs will be favored in each matchup.
If both Colorado and BYU are undefeated heading into the Big 12 championship game, would the committee favor a one-loss conference runner-up over a two-loss SEC or Big Ten team?
Let’s hope we find get to out.”
It’s not completely surprising that the Buffs are here. This team is much better than last season and the schedule is a bit more favorable.
Potentially having this team in the playoff would be a huge win for college football. It can legitimately happen! Let’s see if the Buffs can hold up.
Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry played against his former teammate Klay Thompson for the first time on Tuesday night, which is still such a strange thing to type.
The revered “Splash Brothers” won four NBA titles together in Golden State and will go down in history as one of the great duos on the basketball court.
However, Tuesday night’s NBA Cup game found Curry and the Warriors playing against Thompson and his new team, the Dallas Mavericks.
Very early in the contest, Curry actually hit a nice 3-point shot right over Thompson, which you really must see to believe given how weird it is.
This is going to take some getting used to; that’s for sure.
Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Klay Thompson returned to Golden State for the first time since leaving the Warriors this offseason on Tuesday night.
Of course, he was given a hero’s welcome by the Golden State fans in attendance after he joined the team in 2021 and helped bring four NBA titles to the franchise as one of the “Splash Brothers” opposite Steph Curry.
Warriors fans all wore captain’s hats to honor his “Captain Klay” nickname and gave him a wonderful standing ovation before the game.
You could tell just how much the moment meant to Thompson, who will most likely have his jersey retired one day as one of the franchise’s all-time great players.
While he was to play against Golden State after the celebration, this was such a cool moment for Thompson and his former team.
