Lonzo Ball’s biggest challenge isn’t on the court

The Golden State Warriors are likely to keep their 14th roster spot open as the remainder of the offseason plays out, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

The extra flexibility would allow the Warriors to make a trade if something unexpectedly materializes, or they could sign a player that suddenly becomes available such as Rudy Gay.

Gay has $6.5 million remaining on his expiring contract and is on an Oklahoma City Thunder that is overcommitted on guaranteed roster spots. The Warriors have had interest in Gay in the past.

Golden State similarly added JaMychal Green and Ty Jerome late in the 2022 offseason.

If no player materializes for that spot, they could then use it on a non-guaranteed training camp invite. Lester Quinones is a leading candidate for the spot.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was introspective following the Milwaukee Bucks season coming to an end in five games against the Miami Heat. Asked what happened to cause his Bucks to fall to the Heat in the first round, Antetokounmpo was candid in his response.

“They were playing to beat us and we were playing to win a championship”, Antetokounmpo said. “We were a little bit ahead of ourselves, to be honest.”

Antetokounmpo went on to say he doesn’t consider the season to be a failure.

“It’s not a failure,” he said. “It’s steps towards success. There’s always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years. He won six championships. The other nine years, he was a failure? (No.) So why do you ask me that question? It’s the wrong question.

“There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days. Some days you’re able to be successful. Some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn. Some days it’s not your turn. And that’s what sports is about. You don’t always win. Some other people are going to win. And this year, somebody else is going to win. Simple as that.

“We’re going to come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better. Not have a 10-day stretch of playing bad basketball. And hopefully we can win a championship. So, for 50 years, from 1971 until we won in 2021, that we didn’t win a championship, it was 50 years of failure? No, it was not. There was steps to it. And we were able to win one. Hopefully we can win another one.”