Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry dazzled en route to a game-high 33 points as the Golden State Warriors opened their latest title defense with a 123-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night at the Chase Center.

Curry also recorded seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and a block on the night when the Dubs received their fourth championship ring since 2015. He knocked down 10 of his 22 shots from the field, including four made three-pointers, in 33 minutes.

Andrew Wiggins (20 points), Klay Thompson (18) and Jordan Poole (12) also reached double figures in scoring for Golden State. Fellow cornerstone Draymond Green tallied four points, five rebounds and five assists as Golden State held off a fourth-quarter surge from L.A.

"After tonight, the journey really begins in terms of everybody's best shot," Curry said. "You got some really talented teams that are going to be gunning for you. You have to be ready for it all. It's going to be a really long journey, but this is why we play. We're competitive. This is why we work as hard as we do. We can't just sit there and look at that ring."

Here's a look at some more Twitter reaction to the eight-time All-Star's latest standout performance:

LeBron James paced the Lakers with 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists as he showed no signs of slowing down as he opened his 20th NBA season. Anthony Davis (27 points) and Russell Westbrook (19 points and 11 boards) also played well in the loss.

"Whether you make a shot or you miss a shot, you turn the ball over, whatever, you've got to have a short memory and get on to the next play immediately," L.A. head coach Darvin Ham told reporters. "That has to be something that's in our fabric, not just against Golden State but against the entire league."

The teams don't meet again until Feb. 11, when they'll start a stretch of three head-to-head matchups in a span of 20 days.

Curry and the Warriors are back in action Friday night when they welcome two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets to the Chase Center.

The Lakers will attempt to pick up their first win of the campaign Thursday night when they face the rival Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.

Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers praised ownership for its willingness to spend big on its players.

"I just know this: There's a huge commitment to winning," Myers told reporters Monday. "There always has been, and I believe there always will be. I am lucky to be in an [ownership] group that believes that. Their actions prove it."

The Warriors signed both Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins to four-year extensions Saturday, creating a massive payroll for next season that already includes over $90 million owed to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, the team already has $215 million in payroll, which will create a $268 million luxury tax to equal $483 million in 2023-24.

This is still with only 12 players on the roster, meaning the total will get even higher once the squad is filled.

Golden State has consistently shown willingness to spend big, leading the NBA with $170 million in luxury tax last year, per Spotrac. The team is slated to spend the most on luxury tax again in 2022-23.

The Warriors aren't breaking any league salary-cap rules—Bird rights allow them to re-sign their own players—but few teams are willing to see the payroll expand to this level. Only seven teams in the NBA paid any luxury tax in 2021-22.

The extra spending has helped the Warriors keep their core together, leading to four titles in eight years.

Jordan Poole plans on having a "professional" relationship with Draymond Green after the latter apologized to the Golden State Warriors guard for punching him during a practice altercation.

Poole told reporters Green apologized and said he went about it in a very "professional" way.

"We plan on handling ourselves that way," he said. "... That's all I have to say regarding the matter. We're here to win a championship and keep hanging banners."

Green also publicly apologized, telling reporters: "I was wrong for my actions that took place on Wednesday, and for that, I have apologized to my team. I have apologized to Jordan."

He was fined for his actions but ultimately avoided a suspension. He also took the court for Friday's preseason game against the Denver Nuggets and finished with six points, four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes.

Poole played 23 minutes off the bench.

Green is also expected to play in Tuesday's season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers and take part in the championship ceremony honoring last season's team. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported "the Warriors put a significant amount of weight on the fact that opening night was ring night" in deciding not to suspend the Michigan State product.

Since the altercation, Poole and the Warriors agreed to a four-year, $140 million contract extension. The team also agreed to a four-year, $109 million contract extension with Andrew Wiggins.

"There's another level you can take it, knowing that your family is taken care of, friends taken care of, anything that you needed to do is essentially done other than play basketball," Poole told reporters of the extension.

Those deals are notable for more than their roles in keeping the reigning champions together for the foreseeable future.

After all, Green has a player option for the 2023-24 campaign and could become a free agent after this season. Whether the Poole and Wiggins contracts will have any bearing on a potential deal with the four-time All-Star remains to be seen, but the practice incident and entire situation hovers as something of a backdrop.

It sounds as if Poole and Green are going to do what they can to make sure it doesn't linger into the season, which is surely welcome news for the rest of the Warriors.

After playing a key role in the Golden State Warriors' championship run in 2021-22, Andrew Wiggins has been rewarded with a new contract.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Wiggins' agents said he agreed to a four-year, $109 million contract extension to stay with the reigning NBA champs on Saturday.

Wiggins' extension came on the same day that Golden State agreed to a four-year, $140 million extension with guard Jordan Poole as well.

Wiggins had one year and $33.6 million remaining on the deal he originally signed in 2017. He entered contract talks with a lot of leverage based on his performance in 2021-22. He was voted to his first All-Star team as a starter.

The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 17.2 points per game and shot a career-high 39.3 percent from three-point range in 73 starts during the regular season.

It was also the best defensive season of Wiggins' career. He was tied with Stephen Curry for most defensive win shares on the Warriors (3.4), per Basketball Reference.

Wiggins had several key moments for the Warriors in the playoffs. He had six double-doubles in 22 games, including two straight in Games 4 and 5 of the NBA Finals. The 27-year-old had two of his three offensive rebounds in the final six minutes of Game 5 to help the team close the game on a 19-6 run en route to a 107-97 win.

In the series, Wiggins was the primary defender on Jayson Tatum more than any other Warriors player. He held the Celtics All-Star to 37.5 percent shooting and 53 points on 56 field-goal attempts over six games.

Wiggins' significant role in Golden State's postseason capped off a remarkable career turnaround. He was originally acquired by the Warriors in February 2020 in a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for D'Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman.

Despite having three seasons averaging at least 20 points in a five-season span from 2015-20, Wiggins was viewed as an empty stats player who didn't impact winning. He was given the dubious distinction of being named the Least Defensive Player by FiveThirtyEight's Kyle Wagner for the 2016-17 season.

"Possession by possession, there are a few defenders who are as bad as Wiggins," wrote Wright. "When Wiggins contests a shot, opponents have a 56.1 effective field goal percentage; when they are unguarded, they have a 56.4 eFG percentage. Fundamentally, getting a shot up against Andrew Wiggins is the same as getting an open shot."

Coming into the offseason, Curry was the only Warriors player signed past the 2023-24 season.

Wiggins has secured his future and will continue to be a high-level role player in Golden State. The level of skill on both ends of the court that he has displayed over the past two seasons suggests there could be even more potential for him to tap into.

If Wiggins can hit another level, with the bulk of the Warriors' nucleus returning in 2022-23, they should be among the top teams vying for a championship yet again.

After a breakout 2021-22 season, Jordan Poole is cashing in.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Poole's agents confirmed on Saturday that he is finalizing a four-year, $140 million extension with the Golden State Warriors ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Poole was heading into the final year of his rookie deal and was eligible for an extension for the first time this offseason.

The former Michigan standout became the focus of some controversy during the preseason after a practice altercation with Draymond Green, who stepped away from the team indefinitely before returning Thursday.

Poole remained a key part of the organization while impressing head coach Steve Kerr.

"There's a reason he’s in this position, about to sign a big extension, hopefully," Kerr told reporters. "He's just tough. He's mentally tough and physically tough and ultra confident in his game."

Golden State now keeps the 23-year-old under contract as he tries to build off his breakout 2021-22 campaign.

After averaging 10.3 points per game mostly off the bench during his first two years with Golden State—even spending some time in the G League—Poole took on a bigger role last season. He made it count with averages of 18.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.

He was one of the most improved players in the NBA with a scoring jump of 6.5 points per game, and he led the entire league with a 92.5 percent conversion rate from the free-throw line.

With Stephen Curry missing significant time with a foot injury and Klay Thompson working his way back to full strength after missing the previous two years, Poole became the Warriors' go-to option down the stretch of the year and into the postseason.

"You're talking a guy who was on the third team All-G League last year, has been our No. 1 option in this playoffs," Green said during the first round. "The way he's playing, he's gained the trust of everyone on the team, he's gained the trust of coach Kerr, and he's gained fear from everybody else."

Poole stepped up in the playoffs and came through with some of the biggest highlights of the NBA Finals:

He averaged 17 points per game in the playoffs while helping the Warriors take home the NBA title.

With Curry, Thompson and Andrew Wiggins all under team control, the Warriors have a dangerous collection of perimeter players and should be a threat to win another title.

As Draymond Green prepares to potentially become a free agent after this season, there have been rumblings he could pursue a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.com, there's a belief around the NBA that Green is using the Lakers for leverage to try to get more money from Golden State.

There have been a lot of questions about Green's future with the Warriors in the wake of his altercation with Jordan Poole during a practice last week that resulted in the four-time All-Star punching his teammate.

After stepping away from the team for a few days, Green returned Thursday and addressed the situation with Poole during a press conference.

"Jordan's a professional and I'm a professional," Green said. "We have a job to do...We're gonna do what it takes to win, and I think that's the most important thing."

Head coach Steve Kerr announced the Warriors fined Green, but he was not going to be suspended and he's expected to play in the preseason finale Friday against the Denver Nuggets.

In the aftermath of the Poole punch, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said on First Take this week that Green wants to play for the Lakers if he leaves Golden State.

Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic reported in July that Green "wants and believes" he deserves a four-year max contract from the Warriors, but the team had "no plans" to make him such an offer.

The Warriors are in a tricky spot with player contracts. They have been willing to pay deep into the repeater tax to keep their core of Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson together.

Things will start to get interesting after this season with Green able to opt out of his deal and Andrew Wiggins set to become an unrestricted free agent. Kerr told reporters earlier this week that Poole is "hopefully" about to sign a "big extension" with the team.

Green's current deal pays him $25.8 million this season with a $27.6 million player option for 2023-24. The 32-year-old was named to the All-Defensive second team last season, and he averaged 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in 46 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

The Warriors will begin defense of their NBA title Oct. 18 when they host the Lakers at Chase Center.

On Thursday, Draymond Green told reporters he doesn't plan to focus on his uncertain contract situation with the Golden State Warriors during the 2022-23 season (0:44 mark):

"I spoke on that at the very beginning [of training camp]. I said, 'I don't think we'll do an extension.' Quite frankly, that doesn't mean that I won't be back here. I just don't think we'll do an extension this year. So I said that at the beginning of camp. That's not something that I'm gonna talk about all year.

"We've got a championship to win. I'm not one to let conversations about my future or what I'm going to do ... I don't get off into that. I don't like to let contract drama linger. Especially when it's involving me. ... If you're going to let a contract situation linger, then you better be damn sure that you're willing to handle all the effects of a contract lingering, that it can have on a team. And quite frankly, everybody don't do that."

The potential subtext to Green's comments on Thursday was that after last week's altercation between Green and Poole, Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill reported that tensions between the two men had been "boiling since training camp began" and that "both Poole and Green are up for contract extensions, and it appears Poole will receive an extension while Green knows he has to play this season out—playing a part in leading to Green striking Poole, sources said."

TNT's Chris Haynes added more details:

Multiple members of the Warriors organization, including Green, have denied that the altercation had anything to do with either player's contract situation:

"From my vantage point ... I don't think this was related to who's getting paid and who isn't," Warriors general manager Bob Myers told reporters. "I don't sense that—make your own conclusions. Probably more important what players think on that than what I think, but I don't see it."

Green has a $27.5 million player option for the 2023-24 season he could choose to exercise. If he declines it, he'll hit free agency at the age of 33 and certainly be one of the more fascinating players on the market.

For now, however, Green—at least publicly—isn't focused on his contractual future.

Draymond Green does not expect his fight with Jordan Poole to linger on into the regular season.

Speaking to reporters Thursday for the first time since returning from his hiatus after a video of him punching Poole during practice leaked, Green said he expects to be able to move forward from the controversy.

"Jordan’s a professional and I’m a professional. ... We’re going to do what it takes to win," Green said.

Green has publicly and privately apologized to Poole for his actions, though there remains widespread speculation about what level of damage the incident will do to the Warriors' chemistry. Video obtained by TMZ shows Green being the aggressor in a practice altercation, getting in Poole's face before punching his teammate in the face after Poole pushed Green away.

Poole has not publicly commented on the situation. Marc J. Spears of ESPN reported Poole "didn’t think it was necessary that Draymond get a suspension," and Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the two recently met in private.

"Jordan, obviously, had to be involved in this," Kerr said of the decision to not suspend Green. "The players have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. Steph has been working like crazy to try to figure out the best way to try to move forward. He's been organizing some of these conversations. Jordan and Draymond got together and had a great discussion that I think will help us move forward."

Chris Haynes, writing for Yahoo Sports, reported tension had been brewing behind the scenes over "teammates noticing a change in Poole’s behavior throughout camp with the guard on the verge of securing a lucrative extension."

Poole is set to be a restricted free agent this summer and will almost certainly land a nine-figure contract, either from the Warriors or another team. Green can be an unrestricted free agent in July as well if he declines his $27.6 million player option for 2023-24.

The four-time All-Star again addressed his future Thursday, saying he does not expect to sign a contract extension with the Warriors this season.

Kevin Durant plays for the Brooklyn Nets, but he is familiar with the inner workings of the Golden State Warriors considering he suited up for three seasons alongside many members of the current core.

That makes it all the more notable he weighed in on Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole during practice on Oct. 5.

"I know that group," Durant said, per ESPN's Nick Friedell . "That's a strong group, tight-knit group. And I just hate to see that be seen in the public, what's going on in practices and stuff. But hopefully they get that figured out and we can move forward."

He also pointed out Golden State has rallied around the saying "Strength in Numbers," and the collaboration of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and others should help the team move on as the 2022-23 season begins.

Perhaps some of that strength was already on display when both Curry and head coach Steve Kerr told reporters a report suggesting there was a buildup in frustration from some around the team with Poole's attitude ahead of a potential contract extension wasn't true at all.

Friedell noted an incident between Durant and Green during the 2018-19 campaign escalated to the point where it "carried over into the locker room and threatened to derail the team's camaraderie" even though it didn't become physical.

"That's not the same situation," Durant said. "Somebody got punched in the face. ... It's no comparison to that. It was just some words that being—I heard people say that that happens a lot in the NBA. I had never seen nothing like that before. But what me and Draymond did a few years back, that s--t happens all the time. So it's easy to get through something like that, but I don't know what this situation is like."

Green apologized for the incident and took some time away from the team in the aftermath.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported the expectation is that the Michigan State product will return for the Tuesday opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.

As for Durant, he played for the Warriors from 2016-17 through 2018-19, and any potential lingering tension with Green didn't stop the team from building a modern-day dynasty. Golden State reached the NBA Finals all three seasons and won the championship twice in that span.

Perhaps it would have won all three titles had Durant not missed the majority of the 2019 Finals against the Toronto Raptors with an injury.

The Warriors are entering the new season as reigning champions after defeating the Boston Celtics in last season's Finals, and they surely hope to work through this issue as well to continue their run of success.