Dub Hub: Steph Curry praises ‘seamless’ offensive fit alongside Chris Paul

Warriors News:

Steph Curry describes his experience practicing with Chris Paul

Lakers’ LeBron James will not play in Saturday’s preseason opener | ESPN

LeBron James will not play in his team’s exhibition opener against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, but the Los Angeles Lakers star says he plans to see significant court time during the preseason.

“Six preseason games, so hopefully I can get to at least half of them,” James said after practice Thursday. “But we’ll see. I think every game will dictate it. I will not be playing in Saturday’s game, that’s for sure, in the Bay. But we’ll see after that.”

Steph Curry, Warriors’ NBA success makes WNBA’s Bay Area team safe bet | NBC Sports Bay Area

“It’s finally the moment when we feel, as an organization, that we can do our best job to have a WNBA team in this building and in this market,” said Lacob, whose interest in owning a women’s professional basketball franchise dates back more than 30 years. “I also think that women’s basketball – women’s sports in general – is really starting to take a big upswing.”

Women are indeed taking a bigger bite of the professional sports market. Soccer is a force, as are tennis and golf. As for the WNBA, attendance was up 16 percent over last year, and TV viewership was up 21 percent and social-media engagement was up an astounding 96 percent.

Klay Thompson breaks down why he thinks he can play power forward on defense

Joe Lacob promises a WNBA championship ‘in the first five years’ of the franchise

NBA News:

Joel Embiid announces he will be playing for Team USA during the 2024 Olympics

Why is James Harden suddenly playing ball with the Sixers? | The Athletic

But beyond the money matters, league sources say Harden also is taking part because he remains hopeful that a trade to the Clippers is still in the works and believes, for now, that it would be wise to not be a distraction. And the Clippers, league sources say, are going to great lengths to make it happen.

League sources say the Clippers have been talking to several teams about ways to move pick swaps for additional draft capital with the intention of bolstering their offer and getting a deal done.

The Clippers offered the Sixers an unprotected first-round pick, a pick swap and salaries for Harden in July, league sources say, but Philadelphia has set a much higher threshold. The Sixers have valued fifth-year forward Terance Mann and multiple first-round picks in a potential trade with the Clippers, sources added.

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s able to play point guard | NBA

“There really are no limitations. On a lot of set plays, on a lot of plays, it really depends on where you are. I can be the point guard just as I can be the wing. It doesn’t matter.”

The rookie acknowledged the difficulty of processing so much being thrown his way by a staff stressing now that winning ranks as highly this season as development did just a year ago.

“What is coming fast is all the information, the new set plays, the principles,” Wembanyama said. “It’s a lot, a lot of stuff I have never seen before and don’t know. It’s hard. You have to be focused when you are on the court because if you lose attention one second, you’re screwed for the next 15 seconds.”

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

WNBA officially announces Bay Area expansion team

The Warriors taking on an expansion team is huge for the WNBA, as it comes with a near guarantee that Lacob — who uses his checkbook as a provider for, not an obstacle to success — will give the team the devotion and financial backing it deserves. That was made clear during the introductory press conference, when Engelbert hinted at a very large expansion fee.

That fee may never be known, but Yahoo Sports reported that it is $50 million.

Tweets to end the week:

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.