Golden State Warriors

The 2022-23 NBA season will reportedly kick off with a showdown between two title contenders in the Eastern Conference.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Jayson Tatum's Boston Celtics and Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers will be part of an opening night doubleheader on TNT on Oct. 18.

The second game will be a previously reported clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

This is another piece of the puzzle as the 2022-23 schedule begins to come into view.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported the full schedule will be released Wednesday, and Charaniaoe previously provided a look at an intriguing slate of games that will take center stage on Christmas Day:

That the Celtics and 76ers will be nationally featured on opening night and Christmas Day was no surprise.

Boston was in the NBA Finals last season and features one of the best one-two punches in the league in Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Philadelphia hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs since the 2000-01 campaign, but it has its own talented pair in Embiid and James Harden who could change that this season.

Throw in the rivalry between these Atlantic Division teams that always serves as the backdrop when they square off, and there is plenty to look forward to with the reported first clash.

Boston and Philadelphia fittingly split their four matchups last season, and whichever team comes out on top in the 2022-23 campaign could have the inside track for a higher seed and home-court advantage in what figures to be a tightly contested Eastern Conference race.

Fans won't have to wait long for the next chapter of the rivalry.

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green and actress Hazel Renee were married over the weekend.

As one would expect, it was a star-studded affair.

The couple may have had to tone down their original plans. Renee joked on the red carpet at the ESPY awards in July that the NBA fines Green had recently had to pay depleted their wedding funds.

"There's the wedding budget right there," she said, per People's Nicholas Rice and Natasha Dye. "If anyone wants to know where's the wedding budget, it's right there in text."

Renee told Victoria Uwumarogie of Essence she and Green first met while attending Michigan State but didn't have their first date until years later after they had both left the school.

"We went to a rooftop pool and hung out at the cabana all day, which is still one of our favorite things to do together," she said. "We hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, so we hung out all day, talked and caught up. It was really casual but also reflective of our relationship. We really are best friends."

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant learned of one of his Christmas presents months ahead of time.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported the Golden State Warriors are expected to host Morant and the Grizzlies on Christmas Day. The star guard was thrilled to learn of the news and is relishing another meeting with Warriors star Draymond Green.

Grizzlies vs. Warriors has quickly become a heated rivalry as Memphis has ascended as a viable threat in the Western Conference again. The teams faced off in the conference semifinals, with Golden State winning in six games.

Green expressed his newfound respect for the Grizzlies following the series, but that hasn't stopped him and Morant from exchanging the occasional volley on social media.

The outcome of one regular-season game won't shift the balance of power in the NBA, but Morant and the Grizzlies can send a strong message to the rest of the league if they walk into Chase Center on Christmas and leave with a decisive victory.

The Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies are headed for a Christmas Day rematch following their contentious Western Conference Semifinal series, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Stein reported Saturday the teams are tentatively slotted into one of the biggest days during the NBA's regular season.

The Warriors knocked the Grizzlies out in the semifinals en route to the first title of their dynastic run in 2014-15. The style clash between the two franchises lent a different feel to their head-to-head meetings.

But it wasn't until the 2022 postseason that Golden State and Memphis could be plausibly deemed rivals.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr asserted Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks "broke the code" on a hard foul that resulted in a fractured elbow for Gary Payton II.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins then questioned Jordan Poole's culpability when Ja Morant suffered a bone bruise in his knee that knocked him out for the series.

The Grizzlies only lost Game 4 by three points without Morant and won Game 5 by 39 points. With Morant healthy, maybe they wind up knocking out the eventual NBA champions.

Warriors star Draymond Green reflected after the series that Memphis' roster "can be really special," per The Athletic's Sam Amick:

The only thing I can do is give my respect to that team; they earned that. You know, there was a lot of talk in this series of fouls and this and that, and this should be reviewed and that should be reviewed. I think it really started to take away from what was a really great, great, series with two amazing teams.

A war of words continued well after the conference semifinals.

Basking in the Warriors' NBA Finals win, Klay Thompson called Jaren Jackson Jr. a "bum" and a clown" after Jackson mocked the team's "Strength in Numbers" rallying cry earlier in the year.

That prompted a response from Morant, which drew a reply from Green.

The Grizzlies' swagger was their signature characteristic as they posted the NBA's second-best record (56-26) in 2021-22. That makes them a great foil for a team as accomplished as the Warriors are.

Facing off on Christmas Day is a sign of how important Golden State vs. Memphis has become in a short amount of time.

Coming off a breakout season in 2021-22, Jordan Poole's stock has skyrocketed and complicated his long-term future with the Golden State Warriors.

Per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com, one Eastern Conference team could emerge as a favorite to sign Poole next summer if he becomes a restricted free agent.

"I'd watch out for the Magic to be ready to make an offer if he's restricted, knowing there's a good chance Golden State is not going to match," one Eastern Conference executive told Deveney.

Poole is eligible to sign an extension with the Warriors this summer, but there's no indication at this point that the two sides are talking.

Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle reported June 20 that Golden State's offer to Poole would likely need to start in the range of $100 million over four years.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers told Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill on June 2 that the team has been able to pay all of its key players during this run of success, "so I don't see that changing."

Much has been made about Golden State's willingness and ability to pay the luxury tax to keep its championship core together. The team currently has a luxury-tax bill of $158.7 million, on top of a $187.7 million payroll.

The team did cut its tax bill by nearly $53 million earlier this offseason by not bringing back Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II.

In addition to Poole's looming restricted free agency, the Warriors also have to keep an eye on Andrew Wiggins' status. The 27-year-old is entering the final season of his current deal and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Poole does have the benefit of being four years younger than Wiggins, so there could be more upside in his game as he enters his prime.

The Magic would certainly make sense as a potential landing spot for Poole. They are building around a young core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Mo Bamba and Jalen Suggs.

Adding Poole's scoring ability to that group could give Orlando one of the best collections of young talent in the NBA. The Michigan alum averaged 18.5 points per game and connected on 36.4 percent of his three-point attempts in 76 games last season.

Orlando has only had one winning season since 2012-13 (42-40 in 2018-19) and has just two playoff appearances during that span. The team hasn't won a postseason series since losing in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals.

The Golden State Warriors will host the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night of the 2022-23 NBA season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

The Warriors will also receive their championship rings to celebrate their 2022 NBA Finals victory.

The game will obviously feature plenty of star power with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins for the Warriors and LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook for the Lakers.

This, however, probably won't be a preview of the Western Conference Finals.

Golden State returns the bulk of its roster, and continued development by young stars can help offset the few departures. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody should be better in their second years, while James Wiseman is healthy again after missing the 2021-22 campaign with a knee injury.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, made incremental improvements. Lonnie Walker IV, Thomas Bryant and former Warrior Juan Toscano-Anderson will help provide depth.

But so much of the Lakers' season will hinge on the health of James and Davis and Westbrook's reversing a prolonged downward trend in performance. The team's 33-49 record demonstrated how James is no longer capable of carrying his squad to a deep postseason run.

With the biggest dominoes off the board in free agency, Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes listed Golden State at No. 1 in his power rankings. Los Angeles was all the way down at No. 21.

The opinions of oddsmakers differ slightly. The Warriors are the third favorites (+650) to win the championship at FanDuel, with the Lakers (+1800) ninth. In the case of L.A., though, it's probably about reputation over reality.

Golden State went 3-1 against Los Angeles last year, and a similarly one-sided dynamic could emerge in the season ahead.

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Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant is one of the brightest young stars in the NBA, and he recently received substantial praise from one of his rivals.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was asked which young player reminds him most of himself, and he singled out Morant. The 23-year-old floor general expressed his gratitude for Green's compliments on Twitter:

While Green and Morant have much different styles of play, the veteran forward told the Volume it's more Morant's attitude and demeanor that are reminiscent of himself (h/t AFD's Jonathan Sherman):

"I ain’t bowing down to none of y’all. I don’t care what you’ve accomplished before I got here. That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I believe in myself and my abilities. I’m going to show you that. I’m going to lead. I’m going to talk to you and let you know about it while I’m doing it. I’m gonna carry others with me, and most importantly, I’m gone do it my way. And all of those things that I just named, I see Ja Morant do."

Despite the recent cordial back-and-forth, Green and Morant have traded barbs on social media a couple times this offseason, culminating in a challenge for a Christmas Day game.

It's clear that Warriors-Grizzlies games next season will be some intense, entertaining showdowns.

The idea of Draymond Green playing for a team other than the Golden State Warriors may not be that outlandish.

Heavy.com's Sean Deveney reported Wednesday that Green has "always wanted to play" for the Detroit Pistons.

"Draymond has always wanted to go there, he has always wanted to play for the Pistons," an executive said to Deveney. "And they’ll have the cap space. It’s hard to see Draymond playing anywhere else outside Golden State but if it going to happen anywhere, Detroit would be a good bet."

Green is a native of Saginaw, Michigan, and spent four years at Michigan State.

This isn't the first time the four-time All-Star has been linked with a move back to his home state. Adrian Wojnarowski reported for Yahoo Sports in February 2015 that Green, who was due to be a restricted free agent, "has a significant interest with pursuing an offer sheet with his hometown Detroit Pistons."

A lot has changed since then to make the partnership more plausible this time around.

Green is now a four-time champion with the Warriors, and their most recent title is the kind of legacy-defining achievement that could leave him wanting a new challenge. Helping the Pistons return to relevancy would be just that.

The 32-year-old can be a free agent in 2023 as well—he has a $27.6 million player option for 2023-24—and he may not have the appetite to take a pay cut in order to facilitate a return to Golden State.

The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II reported on July 27 the team has "no plans to offer Green a maximum extension," which would total $164.2 million over five years. Slater and Thompson added the 6'8" forward "is said to be willing to explore his outside options to get the kind of contract he wants."

The Pistons have a bright future with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Saddiq Bey. Green would not only add a wealth of experience to a young roster, but he might help generate excitement among the fanbase.

Detroit ranked 20th in average attendance (16,184) but had the second-lowest home attendance percentage (79.6) in the NBA in 2021-22, per ESPN.com.

If the Pistons were to aggressively pursue Green in free agency, parallels to the Blake Griffin trade in January 2018 will be inevitable.

The franchise wanted to make a big splash to get the fans interested with Little Caesars Arena having recently opened. The positivity was fleeting as Detroit made the playoffs in 2019 but quickly returned to mediocrity. The Pistons eventually bought Griffin out of his contract in March 2021.

The Warriors' stance on a contract for Green seems to point to the general concerns about how his game will evolve as he ages.

The long-term risk could far outweigh the short-term benefits, especially if he lands on a team like Detroit that isn't typically a destination for marquee free agents. The Pistons can't afford to swing and miss on a max deal.

But as much as Green might be intrigued by the idea of heading to the Motor City, there's still a lot of time between now and when he can hit the open market.

Draymond Green won two championships with Kevin Durant and a gold medal with Carmelo Anthony, so few people in history are better suited than him to decide which one is the better scorer between the pair of future Hall of Famers.

While he admitted it was a "pick 'em" and you couldn't go wrong with either choice, he gave the nod to Anthony after some deliberation on his podcast.

"And the reason I'm going to go with Melo is I grew up watching Melo score the basketball," Green said. "... I grew up watching Melo get a bucket however he wanted. You wanted mid-post work? First step is crazy. You wanted straight block work? Fadeaway is tough, and Melo will bully the hell out of somebody. You want the trey ball? We all know he can do that."

He also pointed to an anecdote from a time he went up against Anthony at Madison Square Garden as further support for his choice.

Anthony apparently went straight through Green's chest on a play during the latter's first or second season in the league but did not get a foul call. However, he yelled at the official and pulled off the exact same move on the next trip down the floor and got to the free-throw line the second time.

Green pointed out the ability to get to the charity stripe is the best way to avoid slumps or snap out of them as a scorer.

From a total body of work standpoint, Durant's résumé is better than Anthony. KD has two championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, a league MVP, four scoring titles, 10 All-NBA selections and 12 All-Star nods.

By comparison, Anthony has one scoring title, six All-NBA selections and 10 All-Star nods.

Durant has also averaged 27.2 points per game in his career to Anthony's 22.5. What's more, the former has the advantage in free throw attempts per game at 7.6 to 6.2, which Green highlighted as a key for any go-to scorer.

It should be noted that the Michigan State product would seemingly be fine with either pick given how close he said it was between the pair. The seven-time All-Defensive selection is also one of the best defenders of his generation, so he is familiar with how difficult it is to stop elite scorers.

Perhaps there was some nostalgia at play in his selection considering he said he watched Anthony play growing up, and he gave the nod to the Syracuse product over his former Golden State Warriors teammate.