West Notes: Warriors, Steph Curry, Nuggets, Spurs, Stephon Castle

Warriors

GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. said he is “confident” that star guard Stephen Curry will spend his entire career with the Warriors. That may involve a contract extension to make sure it happens.

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that too. I mean that guy [Curry], kind of whatever he wants,” Dunleavy told reporters, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It [has] been a sprint here getting through the draft, free agency, summer league and all that. All that stuff will get figured out. I think I can say pretty confidently he will be a Warrior for life.”

Curry turned 36 in March, but is showing no signs of slowing down. He averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 74 games last season, shooting 45.0% from the field and 40.8% on 3-pointers. He has spent his entire 15-year career with Golden State.

• By the way, Curry is said to be the only member of the current Warriors whose name isn’t being mentioned in trade talks.

Nuggets

The Nuggets took another summer blow when it was learned at top draft pick DaRon Holmes II is expected to miss the entire season with an Achilles injury, suffered at NBA Summer League.

Holmes is 6-foot-10 and was selected with the No. pick out of Dayton. The hopes were he’d provide immediate relief for star center Nikola Jokic off the bench. But that will have to be put on hold.

“An Achilles injury will take Holmes at least a year to recover from and could affect his explosiveness and athleticism,” wrote Ian Casselberry of Yahoo Sports. “But at 22, the hope is that he’ll be able to return as the player the Nuggets project him to be.”

• Jokic isn’t pressuring Denver to land supposedly available Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, though he’s believed to have endorsed the idea.

Spurs

The Spurs may have found another formidable prospect in rookie guard Stephon Castle, who could perhaps pair with center Victor Wembanyama to gtive the Spurs a one-two punch of the future, suggested Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself that way and I feel like our team and our coaching staff does, too,” Castle told reporters. “So I mean, just that ability to go out here and play my game. It’s been a it’s been a luxury for me.”

Castle, 19, is 6-foot-6 and was selected with the No. 4 overall draft pick out of UConn.

• San Antonio is among those that have contacted the Jazz about the availability of forward Lauri Markkanen in recent weeks, per one report.
• Forward Harrison Barnes, acquired in a three-way trade with the Kings and Bulls, gives the Spurs another vet to assist in the development of Wembanyama.