West Notes: Nuggets, Mavericks, Warriors

Nuggets

• After landing the No. 30 pick from the Thunder in the agreed-upon JaMychal Green trade, the Nuggets are likely on the lookout for some ball-handling help, per Fischer. One such draft target could be Gonzaga guard Andrew Nembhard, Fischer noted. Other guards projected to fall in the range of the final pick of the first round: Tennessee’s Kennedy Chandler, Arizona’s Dalen Terry and Alabama’s JD Davison.
• The Nuggets have spoken to several teams about Monte Morris, per Fischer. It’s the second report in less than a week that Morris may be available. Matt Moore of Action Network wrote something similar, noting that Will Barton may be available too.
• In case you missed it, new head of basketball operations Calvin Booth cleared some much-needed salary space by agreeing to trade Green to the Thunder. You can read that full post here or simply check out our Nuggets page here.

Warriors

The Warriors are now one win away from their fourth title since 2015, holding a 3-2 series edge over the Celtics with Game 6 slated for Thursday in Boston.

They expect Steph Curry to be even better next time, after seeing his record of 233 straight games with at least one 3-pointer come to an end in Game 5.

“Whether Steph gets 43, 10, 4, or whether he finishes with 16-for-22 shooting — a win is a win,” teammate Draymond Green said, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “… He was 0-for-9 from 3. He’s going to be livid going into Game 6, and that’s exactly what we need.”

Curry himself said he won’t be deterred.

“I’m going to keep shooting and taking shots that you normally feel like you can make,” he said, via Youngmisuk. “And I’ve responded well when I’ve had games like that from the 3-point line. But I’ve never — I don’t think I’ve ever been happier after a 0-for-whatever type of night, just knowing the context of the game, the other ways you tried to impact the game and the fact that you had four guys step up in meaningful ways to help us win offensively.”

• With the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole due for paydays, the Warriors are “motivated” to trade their No. 28 pick, per Fischer. Should the Warriors end up keeping the pick, they very well could end up taking an international “draft-and-stash” prospect and keep him overseas for a few years.

Mavericks

• Add the Mavericks to the list of teams looking to trade out of the first round of the draft, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. The Mavs own the No. 26 overall pick, something they could use to help land a veteran in reserve. Or simply to move into the second round and avoid guaranteeing a rookie salary.
• As noted by Grant Afseth of Dallas Basketball, the Mavs’ offseason priority continues to be re-signing free agent guard Jalen Brunson. As we relayed, Mavs owner Mark Cuban likes the team’s odds.