Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry indicated the Golden State Warriors are aiming for 50 wins this season when he said earlier this month that there's a number that "has a five in front of it" written on a whiteboard inside the team's practice facility as a goal.
Apparently, that's not enough for Andre Iguodala.
Not after he helped the Denver Nuggets win a franchise-record 57 games last season. And not after he turned down more lucrative offers to sign a $48 million, four-year deal with the Warriors this summer.

Fifty wins?
"I would say more than that," Iguodala said Wednesday at the team's downtown Oakland headquarters, where most players have been voluntarily working out for about three weeks before training camp starts Sept. 29. "I just have really high expectations for us. I won't say too much about wins. I'd rather fly under the radar."
Iguodala's reasoning is simple. The Warriors knocked out his Denver team to reach the second round of the playoffs last season, return all five starters and made aggressive moves in free agency to sign him.
He cites the chemistry and camaraderie of the locker room as reasons the Warriors will improve, starting with most of the roster showing up a month before training camp. They've lifted weights alongside each other, worked on plays and held five-on-five and four-on-four scrimmages to speed up the learning curve.
"I'm going to have to make adjustments, just getting used to the guys. I think they're certainly finding out things that I bring to the table maybe they didn't know playing against me," Iguodala said. "Hopefully, that transition phase, we can work that out quickly to get things rolling."
Iguodala insists playing time will not be a problem. He praised the five returning starters - Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, David Lee and Andrew Bogut - for publicly and privately welcoming him to the team and making sure everybody is working toward the same goal: an NBA championship.
He sees no reason why the Warriors, which went 47-35 last season and made the playoffs for just the second time since 1994, can't be a serious contender. In the few weeks he has been scrimmaging alongside Golden State's prolific shooters, his excitement has been growing about the possibilities.
"Plan on some high assists nights," he said.
Iguodala is still settling into his new surroundings. He just secured a house, though he hasn't moved in yet. And the lifelong San Francisco 49ers fan took his 6-year-old son, Andre, to meet quarterback Colin Kaepernick - and quickly learned that some Oakland Raiders fans weren't happy about it.
Iguodala knows he can't please everybody, and he knows his contract brings the burden of expectations. But he also sees that as a challenge and a chance to elevate his own status.
The former Arizona star helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, and played his first eight years in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers before helping Denver go 57-25 last season. He has averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists in his career and made the playoffs five times.
"I don't think I got enough credit for what I bring to certain teams, especially last year with the record that we had, breaking the franchise record for wins and how we kind of kept everything together and pulled off a great season," Iguodala said. "Just really continue to build with this team as well. Not just for one year but do it for multiple years, keep making runs at everyone's ultimate goal, which is a championship."

NOTES: The Warriors hired Lindsey Hunter as an assistant coach. Hunter went 12-29 as interim coach of the Phoenix Suns last season after Alvin Gentry was fired. Hunter played 17 years in the NBA and won championships with the Detroit Pistons (2004) and Los Angeles Lakers (2002).

Golden State general manager Bob Myers appeared relaxed and comfortable as he leaned back in a chair, staring out into a small crowd of reporters and television cameras Wednesday.

After a busy offseason in which the team acquired swingman Andre Iguodala, added depth in the backcourt behind Stephen Curry and signed Jermaine O'Neal to help in the post, Myers can't help but smile.

The Warriors made it to the Western Conference semifinals last season, and the general manager believes his team is poised to make another deep run into the postseason.

A healthy Andrew Bogut only adds to the optimism. The 7-foot Australian center was limited to 32 games in 2012 while dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle and an assortment of other injuries.

Bogut proclaimed himself completely healthy and was a regular at Golden State's voluntary workouts, where Myers said the big center looked fine.

"This is the player we envisioned when we traded for him," Myers said. "He's the player that, if you follow the NBA, you'd have seen three or four years ago. The thing that's nice to see with Andrew is his mental game now. He's just happier."

The 28-year-old Bogut, who averaged a career-low 5.8 points and 7.7 rebounds last season, has missed 120 games over the past two seasons.

That's one of the primary reasons the Warriors signed O'Neal in the offseason. The 6-11 veteran center gives coach Mark Jackson some much-needed flexibility in the low post to go with second-year man Festus Ezeli as backups for Bogut.

Myers, however, believes Bogut is ready to be a force in the middle as he was earlier in his with Milwaukee career before fracturing his ankle more than 20 months ago.

"It's almost like he had an injury or toothache for a year, and all of a sudden it's gone," Myers said. "I'm happy for him. He went through a tough road. For him just to be healthy is great for him and great for our team. If you were here the last two or three weeks, he's got much more of an offensive game than you've seen in the past."

Golden State opens training camp on Saturday, earlier than most NBA teams. That's because the Warriors are headed to China for a pair of preseason games against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Myers, in his second season as Golden State's general manager, is credited with crafting the blueprint for the team's turnaround in 2012 when the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time since 2006-07.

He was the assistant general manager under Larry Riley when Golden State traded away fan favorite Monta Ellis in the deal to acquire Bogut from the Bucks.

Myers was in another tough position this offseason when he made the decision not to re-sign Jarrett Jack or Carl Landry, both of whom played pivotal roles in the Warriors' run to the postseason.

The addition of Iguodala, O'Neal and Toney Douglas, Myers believes, helps compensate for the loss of the two and should help the Warriors improve defensively.

"We like the fact that we think we upgraded a little bit defensively," Myers said. "That's not taking away anything from Jack and Carl, who were great for us. But we think we have a team that can defend at a high level."

Golden State's success last year, coupled with the moves orchestrated by Myers in the offseason, has many looking at the Warriors as a legitimate contender in the West after so many years of being an afterthought.

That's fine with Myers, who nevertheless remains cautiously optimistic.

"Expectations are new for this organization in some capacity," he said. "But all of the good organizations have expectations, so it is where you want to be. We're in a place where we feel like we deserve some of those expectations. If you're afraid of them you should do something else with your life."