Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wants All-Defensive First Team power forward Draymond Green to shoot more, writes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Simmons reports that, ahead of Golden State’s 2021 preseason, Kerr told Green that he hopes the former three-time All-Star can average two or three three-point looks a night. “If you’re open, let it fly,” Kerr said. Green connected on just 27.0% of his 2.0 attempts a night during the 2020-21 season. He has not shot better than 31% from deep since the 2015-16 season.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Suns center Deandre Ayton has expressed his extreme frustration that he has yet to secure a rookie contract extension with Phoenix, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I love Phoenix, but I’m really disappointed that we haven’t gotten a deal done yet,” Ayton said. “I mean we were two wins [away] from a championship [last season] and I just really want to be respected, to be honest. To be respected like my peers are being respected.” Several players among Ayton’s 2018 draft class, including Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young, Mavericks All-Star point guard Luka Doncic, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets power forward Michael Porter Jr. have all been signed to maximum contract extensions this summer. The deadline for Ayton this year is Oct. 18. Although Ayton initially seemed hopeful to get a deal done ahead of the season, reports last week suggested that extension-signing talks had been paused. This week, however, it was suggested that negotiations were still continuing.
- Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker had a surgery to repair a right thumb tear, and is set to miss the next four weeks of action, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). It was reported that Tucker injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb earlier this week. This is a significant blow for the Lakers’ perimeter depth. Los Angeles has high hopes for Horton-Tucker this season, having inked him to a three-year, $32 million extension during the summer.
- Marcus Morris and big man Serge Ibaka are set to rejoin the Clippers for their first full-contact practices following injuries they suffered during L.A.’s 2021 playoff run, per Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. “This will be his first opportunity to change ends of the floor, play with some contact, trying to get acclimated to what we are trying to do,” head coach Tyronn Lue said of Morris. “Serge is a great man, he’s happy all the time, I think he’s almost back,” starting center Ivica Zubac raved of reserve Ibaka.
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