Maybe it was fatigue. Maybe it was playing the unfamiliar position of point center. Maybe it was an aberration.
Whatever the reason, LeBron James pulled a Rajon Rondo with this eight-second violation.
Credit Klay Thompson a little for applying pressure in the backcourt, but this one is most on LeBron.
Mavericks fans everywhere were holding their breath.
Just more than three minutes into a showdown with the Suns Thursday, Luka Doncic drove on Cameron Johnson but didn’t get around him, so Doncic stopped, spun, tried to step back, and stepped on the foot of Mikal Bridges‘ and rolled his left ankle.
Luka went back to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/zHz5XBVawO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 27, 2023
After a Torey Craig 3-pointer, Doncic left the game and hobbled back to the Mavericks locker room to be checked out. While X-rays were negative Doncic is out for the remainder of the game.
Luka Dončić (left ankle sprain) will not return to tonight’s game in Phoenix.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) January 27, 2023
It will be tomorrow before the Mavericks can get a feel for how long Doncic might be out. They can’t afford for him to be out long, Dallas has been outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions this season when Doncic is off the court. He has been playing through ankle soreness for a few weeks but has missed only a couple of games.
Doncic, who was just voted an All-Star starter, is in the MVP mix this season averaging 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists a game. The Mavericks are 8.7 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court.
LeBron James is just 157 points shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA all-time scoring record, which he should break early next month. But before breaking that iconic record, he tied Abdul-Jabbar for another NBA milestone.
LeBron was the leading fan vote-getter and is an NBA All-Star Game for the 19th time, tying Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star appearances in league history.
James and Giannis Antetokounmpo received the most fan votes in their conferences and will be the captains of the teams for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City. This is Antetokounmpo’s third time as captain, it is LeBron’s sixth — and his teams are 5-0 in his previous captaincies.
In a new twist, James and Antetokounmpo will pick their teams playground style right on the court before the game. They will choose from a pool of starters announced Thursday — selected by a vote of fans, media, and current players — and then the backups from a list of reserves selected by the coaches (which will be announced next week). Here are this year’s starters (two backcourt, three frontcourt players from each conference):
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Stephen Curry
Luka Doncic
LeBron James
Nikola Jokic
Zion Williamson
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Kyrie Irving
Donovan Mitchell
Kevin Durant
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jayson Tatum
This is the first start for Zion Williamson and Donovan Mitchell.
The vote also squeezed Joel Embiid out of a crowded frontcourt in the East. Here is the voting breakdown, where each player’s score is weighted based on 50 percent for the fan vote, 25 percent for player vote, and 25 percent for the media vote.
Eastern Conference Frontcourt
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *#Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.25 |
| 2. *Kevin Durant (Brooklyn) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2.5 |
| 3. *Jayson Tatum (Boston) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2.75 |
| 4. Joel Embiid (Philadephia) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3.75 |
| 5. Jimmy Butler (Miami) | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5.5 |
| 6. Pascal Siakam (Toronto) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5.75 |
| 7. Paolo Banchero (Orlando) | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7.25 |
| 8. Bam Adebayo (Miami) | 11 | 5 | 5 | 8.0 |
| 9. Julius Randle (New York) | 9 | 10 | 5 | 8.25 |
| 10. Kyle Kuzma (Washington) | 7 | 16 | 5 | 9.25 |
Eastern Conference Guards
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *Kyrie Irving (Boston) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1.75 |
| 2. *Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.75 |
| 3. Jaylen Brown (Boston) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.75 |
| 4. James Harden (Philadelphia) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 |
| 5. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana) | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6.25 |
| 6. DeMar DeRozan (Chicago) | 6 | 4 | 10 | 6.5 |
| 7. Trae Young (Atlanta) | 12 | 5 | 6 | 7.0 |
| 8. LaMelo Ball (Charlotte) | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8.25 |
| 9. Darius Garland (Cleveland) | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8.25 |
| 10. Jalen Brunson (Milwaukee) | 12 | 8 | 9 | 10.25 |
*–Voted to start
#–Team captain
Western Conference Frontcourt
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *# LeBron James (Los Angeles) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 2. *Nikola Jokic (Denver) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 3. *Zion Williamson (New Orleans) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 4. Anthony Davis (Los Angeles) | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4.25 |
| 5. Lauri Markkanen (Utah) | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5.75 |
| 6. Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento) | 9 | 5 | 3 | 6.5 |
| 7. Paul George (L.A. Clippers) | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6.75 |
| 8. Andrew Wiggins (Golden State) | 5 | 19 | 9 | 9.5 |
| 9. Draymond Green (Golden State) | 14 | 9 | 9 | 9.75 |
| 10. Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers) | 11 | 14 | 7 | 10.75 |
Western Conference Guards
| Player (Team) | Fan Rank | Player Rank | Media Rank | Weighted Score |
| 1. *Stephen Curry (Golden State) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 2. *Luka Doncic (Dallas) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 |
| 3. Ja Morant (Memphis) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5. Damian Lillard (Portland) | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6.0 |
| 6. De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6.5 |
| 7. Devin Booker (Phoenix) | 10 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| 8. Russell Westbrook (Los Angeles) | 6 | 18 | 5 | 8.75 |
| 9. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) | 13 | 8 | 5 | 9.75 |
| 10. Klay Thompson (Golden State) | 5 | 25 | 5 | 10 |
*–Voted to start
#–Team captain
Stephen Curry has been ejected three times in his NBA career, and each time the incident was mouthpiece related.
The latest came Wednesday night. With 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tight game with the Grizzlies, Klay Thompson missed a floater, Donte DiVincenzo tipped the rebound out and kept it alive, Thomspon grabbed it and passed it to Poole out top to reset the offense, with Curry calling for the ball a few feet away from him. Instead, Poole jacked up a three like the shot clock was going to expire. The shot missed and Curry, out of frustration, threw his mouthpiece in the stands. That got him an automatic ejection.
Steph was just ejected from the game after throwing his mouth piece … pic.twitter.com/b1rl7cEMXq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“He knows he can’t make that mistake,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said postgame, via the Associated Press.
Poole had fun with Curry postgame, throwing his mouthpiece in the hallway.
JP threw his mouthpiece when he saw Steph 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ZSInkuY0P7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 26, 2023
“I did see that,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s like one of those ‘too soon’ jokes. I was still hot. I was still hot.”
After the game, some fans tried to argue that, by NBA rules, Curry did not have to be ejected. The NBA rulebook specifically states that any “player who throws or kicks the ball directly into the stands with force” will be ejected, as will a player who throws “the ball or any object at an official.” The argument goes Curry didn’t throw his mouthpiece at an official. However, the rulebook also says a technical can be “assessed to any player on the court or anyone seated on the bench for conduct which, in the opinion of an official, is detrimental to the game,” and the league has said consistently in recent years that throwing a mouthpiece or anything into the crowd is detrimental to the game, penalized with a technical and automatic ejection. Maybe there should be more leeway with the enforcement of said rule, but Curry knew better.
The Warriors went on to get the win over their rivals from Memphis, the old guard held the new guard off again. But the next time these teams meet, the Warriors will need Curry on the court until the end of the game.
This summer, the Warriors have on their plate a couple of major decisions that could lead to free agency and change the course of the franchise. One is Draymond Green, who has a $27.6 million player option, didn’t get an extension he wanted with the team last summer (while Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins did), and could be the guy standing without a chair when the music stops. The Warriors can’t pay everyone.
The other free agent: general manager Bob Myers.
His is an even more complex and nuanced situation — will the Warriors make him the highest-paid executive in the league, and does Myers still want the job — that could be the latest sign that the dynastic Curry era in Golden State is coming to an end.
At the Athletic, Anthony Slater, Marcus Thompson II and Sam Amick break down the situation incredibly well in a story Warriors fans should read.
As the clock ticks and extension talks remain flat, many around Myers are wondering whether – and even predicting that – his days with the Warriors are about to run out…
For all the nuance that surrounds the situation, this much is clear: team and league sources, who like all of the sources in this story were granted anonymity so they could speak freely, say Myers believes he should be among the highest-paid front office executives in the league, if not the highest. He’s been the architect of four NBA title teams, was the lead recruiter in the Durant free agency signing, and has been the trusted conduit between players, coaches and ownership. Myers also has served as chief problem solver, the coolant in an ecosystem that periodically overheats…
Part of the equation for Myers, known for his deep conversations and intellectual curiosity, is the contemplation of what’s next. After more than a decade of building a dynasty, and managing it through the intensity of modern scrutiny, and living beneath the relentless pressure of the Warriors’ championship standard, might Myers be interested in a new challenge? Would it be better for him and his family to move on, build up another franchise away from the Golden State fish bowl? He walked away from a successful career as a player agent to become an NBA executive. Is it now time to leave the front office behind and try his hand in another industry?
While there are other layers, it’s always about the money.
The very top NBA executives make north of $10 million a season. While Warriors owner Joe Lacob has said Myers is one of the highest-paid general managers in the league, titles get fuzzy (and somewhat meaningless) around the league — many guys in Myers’ role have a president or VP title attached to their name. His pay relative to title can get bogged down in semantics that miss the basic “pay me” bottom line of this.
There are no straight lines and simple answers here, but if Myers gets paid like Daryl Morey or Masai Ujiri he is far more likely to stay. Even if he gets that money, how badly does Myers want to stay on for the final years of the Stephen Curry era and start rebuilding whatever comes next? Does he want to walk away? Hang around for a few years then take his leave?
More than whatever happens with Green, the Myers situation will signal what comes next for this era of the Warriors and what they may look like going forward. He is the ultimate architect. This is the biggest decision the Warriors have this offseason.
