The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a great start. Even with their first loss of the season, basketball has been fun in Philly so far this season. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The 76ers team that people expected to see this season finally surfaced Monday night.

The Sixers struggled from the field and were flat-out overmatched against the Golden State Warriors, who cruised to a 110-90 victory in front of 11,089 at the Wells Fargo Center.

But perhaps the biggest blow for the Sixers (3-1) was the inability to stop Andre Iguodala.

The former Sixer made a career-high seven three-pointers on 11 attempts en route to 32 points. Twenty-seven of his points came before intermission. The 6-foot-6 swingman, who played only 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, also finished with three assists, three rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot.

Iguodala had scored just 26 points altogether, with three three-pointers, in the Warriors’ first three games.

The Golden State Warriors announced today that the team has exercised the fourth-year contract option on guard Klay Thompson and the third-year contract options on forward Harrison Barnes and center Festus Ezeli, which are all for the 2014-15 NBA season.

Thompson, 23, has appeared in all 148 games (111 starts) over two seasons with the Warriors, averaging 14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 30.7 minutes per game. Starting all 82 games in 2012-13, Thompson finished third in the NBA with 211 three-pointers and combined with Stephen Curry (272) to hit 483 threes, the most by a pair of teammates in NBA history. In 12 postseason contests, the 6’7” guard averaged 15.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 41.3 minutes. After only two seasons with the club, Thompson ranks 10th in team history with 322 three-point field goals and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.406).

Barnes, 21, appeared in 81 games (all starts) as a rookie in 2012-13, posting averages of 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.8 minutes and garnering First Team All-Rookie honors. In 12 playoff contests (all starts), the 6’8” forward upped his averages to 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 38.4 minutes, becoming the first rookie to averaged at least 16 points and six rebounds in the postseason (min. 10 games) since David Robinson did so for San Antonio in 1990. Including the postseason, no rookie earned more starting nods than Barnes’ 93 starts last season.

Ezeli, 24, appeared in 78 games (41 starts) in his rookie campaign in 2012-13, averaging 2.4 points and 4.0 rebounds to go with 0.95 blocks, which ranked fourth among rookies last season. His 41 starting assignments were the most by a Warriors rookie center since Joe Barry Carroll started 80 games in 1980-81. In 12 postseason appearances, the 6’11” center averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 11.2 minutes. Ezeli is currently recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee and is expected to miss a minimum of 6-9 months from the date of the procedure (June 12).

Under the terms of the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement, the first two years of a first round draft picks’ contract are guaranteed, while the third and fourth year of the contract are the team’s option. The Warriors selected Thompson with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and selected Barnes (7th overall) and Ezeli (30th) in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft.

The Golden State Warriors have waived forward Joe Alexander, guard Seth Curry and center Dewayne Dedmon, the team announced today.

Alexander, 26, was signed as a free agent on September 27 and did not appear in a preseason game due to a tibial stress reaction in his left leg.

Curry, 23, was signed as a free agent on August 22. He appeared in six preseason contests and averaged 2.2 points and 1.0 assist in 7.2 minutes.

Dedmon, 24, was signed as a free agent on September 23 and appeared in five preseason games, averaging 3.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.00 blocks in 10.3 minutes.

The Warriors roster currently stands at 14 players.

[Golden State Warriors center] Andrew Bogut got the ball on the left low block, with Pau Gasol on his back. He took a couple dribbles towards the middle then spun back to his left, dropping in the left hand hook. This was at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter.

Running back down court, Bogut began to grimace and hold his lower back. Moments later, he was taken out of the game. He limped straight to the locker room. Not exactly a sight Warriors fans wanted to see.

Bogut was done for the night, knocked out of the second and final preseason game with lower back spasms. No word on the severity of the spasms, but safe to say the 12 hours of flying back to the United States will be uncomfortable.

Reported by Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times (Blog)

The Warriors and Andrew Bogut have opened negotiations on a contract extension designed to keep him off the free-agent market in July, he told NBA.com, with Bogut willing to make major concessions to stay but also looking for payback from management for pursuing Dwight Howard last offseason.

Bogut said team officials started conversations with agent David Bauman last week, before the Warriors left Oakland for exhibition games in Beijing and Shanghai against the Lakers. Bogut expects talks to heat up once Golden State returns to the United States following the Friday night contest (7:30 a.m. ET, NBA TV). The issue will come to some resolution by early in the regular season: either he will have a new deal soon or he will become a free agent because neither side wants the discussions dragging long into 2013-14.

Bogut said the initial numbers from the Warriors, “weren’t insulting. But they weren’t what I’m looking for. Nothing concrete has been actually formally written up. We’ve just been going back and forth, but nothing too crazy.”

Not insulting is encouraging — the sides are starting in the same vicinity.

Reported by Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com

After a stop-over in Anchorage, the Warriors arrived in Beijing at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday, and they were greeted by a swarm of fans. The team will play exhibition games against the Lakers that will be broadcast in the Bay Area at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and Friday, but this trip could be about bigger things than two preseason games in the middle of training camp.

Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes were treated like rock stars when they visited China this summer, and the entire team is about to witness the potential of the market. Many in the franchise believe that the Warriors are the natural gateway between the NBA and a growing fan base in China, and this trip will be the first step toward that goal.

Reported by the San Francisco Chronicle (Blog)

Truth is, this China trip is going to be a monster. About 12 hours on a plane, into a time zone 15 hours ahead. When they get there, they’ll have appearances and community events, in addition to practice and two games against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“We’re not kidding anybody,” Warriors forward David Lee said. “This is not going to be the easiest trip for us.”

With that said, why is Lee excited? Why was there a spirited buzz after Warriors practice, their last on American soil for at least the next 10 days? The answer is in the opportunity this China trip presents.

The middle-of-training-camp trip to Asia affords the Warriors a chance to bond as a team. With potentially seven new players on the roster, Golden State is a month into its latest chemistry project. The hope is to recreate the magic of last season.

Reported by Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Cameron Jones, the team announced today.

Jones, 24, has appeared in all three of Golden State’s 2013 preseason games, averaging 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest.

The Warriors now have 17 players under contract.

To his credit, Lee came to camp prepared to take it up a notch. The biggest need for improvement is defense, though he said a more reliable midrange jumper was also a priority.

Being in the best condition of his life, Lee said, will help on that end of the court and make him even more potent on offense. He should be more explosive, exploit the transition game more and have the energy he needs on the defensive end.

“As a former player I will say this,” [Warriors head coach Mark] Jackson said, “You can become very smart at when to cut corners or when to take a breather when you’re running out of gas. Those moments won’t happen as often with him because he’s in better condition.”

Perhaps the biggest hope is that the slimmed down Lee and the Warriors’ added depth will allow him to be fresher toward the end of the season.

Reported by Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group

The Golden State Warriors will wear white short-sleeve alternate uniforms for every Saturday home game during the 2013-14 season, beginning Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at Oracle Arena when the team takes on the Sacramento Kings.

The Warriors were the first team in NBA history to wear a modern short-sleeve NBA uniform when they debuted yellow alternates on February 22, 2013 against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors wore the yellow uniforms during the 2012-13 season for two additional home games including March 8 vs. the Houston Rockets and March 15 vs. the Chicago Bulls.

The Warriors will wear the white modern short sleeve NBA uniform for every Saturday home game.

The Golden State Warriors have signed center Ognjen Kuzmic (oge-NEN KOOZ-mitch) to a contract, the team announced today. The team has also added free agent forward Joe Alexander to the Training Camp roster.

Kuzmic, 23, was selected by the Warriors with the 52nd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and remained overseas last season to play with FIATC Joventut in Spain, where he averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. A 7’0” center from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kuzmic has played professionally in Europe for six seasons, with stops in Spain, Bosnia and Finland.

Alexander, 26, most recently played in Russia with Krasnie Krilya in 2011-12, averaging 8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in six Russian League games and 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in nine VTB United League contests. Prior to playing overseas, Alexander played two seasons in the NBA Development League, including the 2010-11 season when he earned First Team All-NBA D-League honors with the Texas Legends. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Alexander holds NBA career averages of 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 67 games over three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets.

The Warriors now have 18 players under contract.

Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry has decided to leave Nike and sign a new deal with the up-and-coming brand Under Armour, according to multiple sources.

Curry will debut is new allegiance at the Warriors’ media day on Friday.

His contract with Nike expires at the end of September. His rising stardom, coming off the Warriors’ playoff run, prompted Under Armour to go hard after Curry. After months of negotiations with both companies, Curry made the surprising move to leave the shoe giant, who he signed with as a rookie, to become the face of the new kid on the block.

Reported by Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times (Blog)

The Golden State Warriors have hired Lindsey Hunter as an assistant coach on Head Coach Mark Jackson’s staff, the team announced today.

Hunter comes to the Warriors after completing the 2012-13 campaign as the interim head coach of the Phoenix Suns, where he compiled a 12-29 record at the helm. Prior to being elevated to interim head coach, Hunter served as the Suns’ player development coordinator, having originally joined the team’s scouting department in 2012.

Hunter enjoyed a 17-year NBA career as a player (1993-2010), appearing in 937 regular-season games with the Detroit Pistons (1993-00, 2003-08), Milwaukee Bucks (2000-01), Los Angeles Lakers (2001-02), Toronto Raptors (2002-03) and Chicago Bulls (2008-10). In 17 seasons, Hunter advanced to the playoffs 12 times, playing in 147 postseason contests and capturing NBA titles with the Lakers (2002) and Pistons (2004).

Originally selected by the Pistons with the 10th overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, the Jackson State University alum averaged 8.5 points, 2.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game during his NBA career. Following his retirement from the NBA in 2010, Hunter worked with the Bulls as a player development assistant before joining the Suns.

Andrew Bogut walked around the Golden State Warriors’ practice facility in flip-flops Friday, smiling and cracking jokes with reporters he had not seen since May.

Back then, Bogut hobbled around with heavily taped ankles. He winced in pain every time he took a step, and he brushed off the constant questions about his health.

Now?

”I’m excited, man,” he said.

After splitting time this summer with family in Australia and Croatia, Bogut said he’s ”100 percent” healthy and feeling the best he has since fracturing his left ankle in January 2012. He also said he has not been limited in any workouts since July and expects ”to play a lot of minutes” this season - the final year of his five-year, $60 million contract.

”The most important thing is not having a trainer or coach tell you that there are restrictions on what you’re doing,” Bogut said. ”I can come in here and do what I want. I can come in here and run. I can condition. I can lift. I can shoot. I can play five-on-five and nobody can tell me I can only do one set or play 20 minutes. I have none of that right now and I’m not going to have any of that during the season.”

Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Stephen Curry Still looks 14. Has big-time game.

“I’m 25. Still young. But I know the drill. I know the expectations,” Curry said in a chat with local media after working out at the team facility Thursday. “For me to have the same coaching staff, the same leadership, for three straight years is big. … We have the stability for us to make that move (to another level), and I hope to lead that charge.”

Certainly, Curry’s not alone in leading the locker room. David Lee and center Andrew Bogut share the leadership load, and Andre Iguodala figures to eventually emerge as a leader. But not even Curry’s reputed humility can help him escape the pedestal on which he is now perched.

He’s been a hot commodity since the season ended, making numerous appearances and joining James Harden in a Foot Locker commercial. His ability to exist anonymously in public places is rapidly decreasing. And now he’s considered by many to be the best player on a team expected to be a factor in the Western Conference.

And if that’s not enough of a reminder of his elevated status, his little brother is living with him. Seth Curry, who went undrafted out of Duke, signed with the Warriors last month. His star big brother encouraged him to save his money and move in.

Reported by Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group

The Golden State Warriors established a franchise record in season ticket base earlier this week, surpassing 14,000 full season tickets for the 2013-14 campaign, it was announced today. The Warriors, spurred by the addition of 3,250 new season tickets this summer, are currently the third NBA team to exceed the 14,000 season ticket plateau for the upcoming season.

Forward Harrison Barnes, who earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors last season, elected to surprise the individual who purchased the two season tickets that enabled the club to reach the 14,000 milestone on Tuesday. Barnes placed a phone call on Wednesday afternoon informing the fan that he planned to pay for the season tickets as a way to say thank you for the support and helping the team reach the 14,000 base.

The Warriors ended last season with 38 consecutive sellouts, the most for the club since the 1995-96 season. The team registered the second-highest single-game attendance average in franchise history last season (19,374) and averaged over 18,000 per game for the eighth consecutive season, a feat matched by only six other NBA teams during this same period (including the Bulls, Jazz, Lakers, Mavericks, Knicks and Spurs). Overall, the Warriors ranked fifth in the NBA in average attendance last season.

The Golden State Warriors have named Kenny Lauer as Vice President, Digital and Marketing, it was announced today. Lauer, who has begun his duties in this newly created role this week, will oversee all digital strategies and all day to day management of marketing, game operations, youth basketball camps, and retail. In addition, he will drive all experience and ideation initiatives related to Oracle Arena and future development for the team’s proposed arena in San Francisco on Piers 30-32.

“This appointment will accelerate the integration of digital throughout our entire business operation,” said Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts. “The creation of this new role and hiring of Kenny is an important step in our goal of growing into the most ‘digitally fit’ organization in the sports and entertainment industry.”

Lauer joins the Warriors most recently from George P. Johnson, where he was Vice President, Digital Experience. Lauer ran the worldwide Digital Experience group where he was responsible for the creation and threading of digital experiences in both the live and virtual marketing efforts of some of the largest companies in the world.

“I am honored to join the Golden State Warriors,” said Lauer. “The opportunity to truly revolutionize how our fans experience the Warriors and deeply embed digital strategies into that fan experience has never been greater—both in the mindset of owners, the executive management, and running through everyone that works to support the team. There is no doubt that the engagement of fans, the deepening of brand relationships, and the driving of results is through powerful experiences created and maintained through the blending of our physical-digital realities.”

Lauer’s diverse background includes an array of creative and quantitative roles at agencies and within corporate marketing teams. Lauer started his career at Apple Computer, previously was an enterprise strategic Consultant at KPMG and a CRM strategist at Peppers and Rogers Group where he assisted clients such as Ford, E*Trade, Adobe, Hewlett Packard and SAP build better customer relationships. He also was co-founder, CVP at Top Niche Partners, an online performance marketing agency specializing in helping clients improve the performance of their online properties and marketing programs. Prior to his role at Peppers & Rogers Group, Lauer was the Director of Consulting Services for Prospero Technologies, an interactive technology and services firm where he led Fortune 500 clients through the strategic process of building better relationships through online communities.

A graduate from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Psychology, Lauer is also an active member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys), Interactive Media Peer Group; an Advisory Board Member to the SXSW Interactive Festival; and was awarded the “Certified Experience Economy Expert” designation from Strategic Horizons.

Andre Iguodala Brings versatility

Bob Myers got his man. He got Andre Iguodala. But before the forward signed with the Warriors, Myers was convinced that he wasn’t going to get Iguodala.

In an interview with Sporting News, Myers was very candid in his persuit of the 2011-12 All-Star.

“Andre was still a longshot, too,” Myers told Sporting News. “And it looked like more of a longshot as we were going through the process. I remember walking into my house late at night, just about every night that week, and telling my wife, ‘This is disappointing because no one cares about the work you put in, they just care about the result.’ We were ready to not get the result. You can say you tried really hard, but no one wants to hear that. Many times it looked futile. I killed it, five, 10, 20 different times. I said, ‘We’re not getting him, we can’t do it.’”

Reported by CSN Bay Area

Andrew Bogut hasn’t played more than 69 games in a season since 2007-08, but the Warriors expect that to change next season.

According to general manager Bob Myers, Golden State is currently treating Bogut like he is completely healthy, and Myers didn’t have to go through questionable sources to come to this conclusion.

“At this point, you treat him like he is 100 percent healthy,” Myers told Sporting News, “that is what he is saying, that is what the medical staff is saying, so, you don’t treat him any other way.”

Bogut, 28, underwent ankle surgery in the April 2012, and suffered a setback in November after playing just four games for the Warriors. He came back in January, but the center still showed signs that the ankle was bothering him. Even though Myers is optimistic about Bogut’s health, he said the Warriors are prepared for another injury problem.

Reported by CSN Bay Area

The Golden State Warriors announced today a variety of upgrades to Oracle Arena, the Warriors ground for all home games. This summer the Warriors are adding new theater boxes, a second row of floor seats and a new VIP Club.

“We are committed to continuing to invest in Oracle Arena and improve the game day experience for our fans,” said Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts. “The new theater boxes, floor seats and VIP Club are a great way for more fans to have a first-class experience at our games.”

During the offseason, the following additions and upgrades to Oracle Arena are being made:

- Theater Boxes – The 16 new Theater Boxes at Oracle Arena feature four (4) seats for all regular season Golden State Warriors games, world-class concerts and family shows, providing fans with a fantastic view for both basketball and concert events in a more intimate and private setting. Located on the south side of the Mezzanine Suite Level, the new suites include a private Chef’s table dining experience with concierge, bartender and personal service attendant, complimentary food and beverage, enhanced technologies including iPads and charging stations, access to the exclusive Courtside and Sideline Clubs and more.

- Floor Seats – The Warriors have sold out their inventory of floor seats for the past five (5) years and in order to increase premium seating options for fans, have created a second row of floor seats (114 seats). The second row of floor seats is directly behind the first row with fans still having the opportunity to have their feet on the hardwood as it has been extended past the second row of floor seats. There are now a total of 264 floor seats. Floor seat holders receive a personalized parking spot, name plates on their seat and exclusive access to the brand new VIP Club.

- VIP Club – To further enhance the experience of our floor seat holders, a new VIP Club space is being created. Floor seat holders can park in their personalized parking space and enter straight into the new 3,000 sq. ft. space located on the South side of the Event Level. The VIP Club, which features 11 high-definition flat screen televisions, will be open pregame and throughout the game serving complimentary food and beverage.