Having signed stars Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole to contract extensions, the Golden State Warriors are ready to mount a NBA title defense Tuesday with few distractions to overcome.
The 23-year-old Poole finalized a $140 million, four-year extension with the defending NBA champions on Sunday, giving the guard something to celebrate and a bit of relief with a ring ceremony right around the corner.
The NBA's 77th season starts Tuesday night, the opening doubleheader — Philadelphia at Eastern Conference champion Boston, then the Los Angeles Lakers at the Warriors — wasting no time in putting title contenders on display. Commissioner Adam Silver will be in San Francisco for Golden State's ring night as the Warriors begin their quest for what would be a fifth championship in nine seasons. "We're back in it," Kerr said."But there's a lot of teams that are right in it, and the league is super competitive. I think the West has gotten even stronger. There's a lot of competition out there. And so, we're one of the teams that is in the mix and that's exciting. But we have to start over. It doesn't just automatically happen from one year to the next, so we've got a lot of work." There is no shortage of contenders for the Warriors to fend off and no shortage of teams that made big moves with hopes of being the last team standing this season. and Cleveland traded with Utah for Donovan Mitchell; the Timberwolves and Cavaliers are trying to reach the league's upper echelon, and the Jazz are starting on a new path after a few years of being good but nowhere near good enough. "There's a very high level of competition this year," Gobert said."I think a lot of teams got better." Some teams might have gotten better by not doing something. Kevin Durant asked for a trade out of Brooklyn; cooler heads prevailed, and Durant remained with the Nets, who also should have Kyrie Irving — whose decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 means he'll be tested often but won't keep him off the floor — for many more games this season than the 29 he was limited to last season. And Ben Simmons, who didn't play at all last season, will be out there with Durant and Irving as well. Durant's reason for asking for a trade was simple:"I was more so worried about how we're approaching every day as a basketball team," he said. Those concerns were addressed, and in Brooklyn he stayed, with the Nets expected to joust with Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Miami and probably others in a very deep Eastern Conference. "A lot of teams have a legitimate shot," said Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, now a television analyst for the Warriors."I think that's really good for the league. A lot of teams have two and three stars, and if they get their chemistry right, they stay healthy, they figure out the right kind of basketball to complement their talent, then there are a lot of teams with legitimate aspirations."
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Warriors F Andrew Wiggins agrees to 4-year, $109 million extension, per reportJordan Poole isn't the only Golden State Warriors star getting paid.
Read more »
Andrew Wiggins agrees to contract extension with WarriorsAndrew Wiggins agreed to a four-year extension with the Warriors on Saturday.
Read more »
Andrew Wiggins, Warriors Finalizing Four-Year, $109M Extension, Per AgentsAndrew Wiggins and the Warriors agreed to a four-year, $109 million contract extension on Saturday.
Read more »
Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins Agrees to Contract Extension, per ReportAndrew Wiggins has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $109 million contract extension with the Warriors
Read more »
Why Andrew Wiggins took a pay cut to stay with Golden State“You never know what the future holds,” Andrew Wiggins said.
Read more »