Golden State Warriors Rumors
So they maxed him out, with both sides aware that, should it not work, the Warriors can always ship him elsewhere for value and Russell will still get his money. Russell acknowledged this possibility last week. Myers, on Monday, tried to downplay it. “We didn’t sign him with the intention of just trading him,” Myers said. “We haven’t even seen him play in our uniform yet and a lot of people have us already trading him. That’s not how we’re viewing it. Let’s just see what we have, let’s see what he is, let’s see how he fits.”
Damion Lee, who hit 23 total 3s in 32 games for the Warriors on a two-way last season, has been extended a qualifying offer. Lee is still hoping for a full-time NBA roster spot somewhere. The Warriors still have hope he’ll return. “He’s a possibility,” Myers said.
The Warriors also re-signed Klay Thompson to a five-year, $190 million deal—the max for his eight years of service—even though he is expected to miss most of next season with a torn ACL. Several minority owners with the Warriors floated the idea of seeing if Thompson might give the team a hometown discount, a league source says, but abandoned it over fear he’d jump to the Clippers or Los Angeles Lakers.
The Hall of Famer was a guest on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday, and made some interesting comments: “One of the things I enjoy about being here — and obviously this is gonna be my final stop in my basketball life — is [Clippers owner] Steve Ballmer has really put together an unbelievably terrific organization. He has spared no expense. “It’s a really fun place to be. It’s not ego-driven at all. He’s got an awful lot of basketball people over there and I’m just happy to be such a small part of it. “He’s willing to spend on players, he’s willing to spend on personnel within the front office. I’ve never been around any organization that’s better than this one that’s for sure.”
Earlier this summer, Lillard joined LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Diana Taurasi and a host of other professional NBA and WNBA players, as well as the likes of Don Cheadle and Sonequa Martin-Green for the filming of Space Jam 2, the sequel/remake of the Michael Jordan vehicle, which was originally released in 1996.
The Warriors’ 14-man full-time roster is finalized. But Myers did say an official decision still must be made on the two two-way slots in the coming days. Damion Lee, who hit 23 total 3s in 32 games for the Warriors on a two-way last season, has been extended a qualifying offer. Lee is still hoping for a full-time NBA roster spot somewhere. The Warriors still have hope he’ll return. “He’s a possibility,” Myers said.
Speaking for the first time since acquiring Russell in a sign-and-trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets, Myers said the organization hasn’t decided whether Russell fits into the team’s long-term plans, despite speculation throughout the league that Russell could land somewhere else in the next year. “I know it’s been written and speculated. That’s fine,” Myers said Monday. “That’s what everybody’s job is to do. We didn’t sign him with the intention of just trading him. We haven’t even seen him play in our uniform yet, and a lot of people have us already trading him. That’s not how we’re viewing it. Let’s just see what we have. Let’s see what he is. Let’s see how he fits.
