WARRIORSTALK

Are the Warriors Finished Making Free Agency Moves?

The Warriors have certainly not had the busiest free agency period among NBA teams this offseason, but they have made a few moves designed to add a veteran presence to a squad that received some criticism last season for being too young and inexperienced. They started by bringing in capable shooters in Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica. More recently, they brought back Andre Iguodala, a strong defender and ballhandler who proved himself to be both a fan favorite and a vocal leader during his previous tenure in Golden State, which lasted from 2013 to 2019. Although the team missed out on other targets, such as Nicolas Batum and Patty Mills, all three acquisitions appear at least on paper to upgrade the roster.

FeatureAlex HuttonAugust 7, 2021free agency, warriors, golden state warriors, free agentsComment

Iguodala Returns to the Golden State Warriors on Veteran Minimum

He’s back.

It was early Friday morning when Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times tweeted out the news that Andre Iguodala would be returning to the team in which he had won three championship with.

Get to Know Jonathan Kuminga

At seventh overall, Jonathan Kuminga was Golden State’s first lottery pick in the NBA draft. For years, Kuminga has been lauded for his size, speed and otherworldly-potential, but his journey to bring those skills to fruition hasn’t been the easiest.

Kuminga was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and played basketball ever since he could remember. He was born with basketball in his blood, as is his whole family—his parents hooped, his cousin, Emmanuel Mudiay, plays for the Utah Jazz, his other cousin, Omari Gudul, currently plays professionally in Romania, and his older brother played at Texas Tech. Even though he was born to play basketball, hooping competitively in Africa certainly wasn’t as convenient as it is in the states.

FeatureBen StrawnAugust 5, 2021jonathan kuminga, kuminga, golden state warriors, warriorsComment

Exploring and Explaining Kelly Oubre Jr. Sign-and-Trade Scenarios

Trade exceptions.

You might have heard of them from NBA 2k or from a Shams Charania tweet, but it isn’t totally obvious what they are. However, if you follow a team like the Warriors – which seem to always be in the middle of trade rumors – understanding what a traded player exception is could potentially be extremely relevant, and exciting.

Now, the same could be in play for Kelly Oubre Jr., with the topic brought up in the Warriors Off-Season 2021 Primer, posted by u/perksofthesewalls in r/warriors.

Wes Goldberg from the Mercury News reported Bob Myers wants Oubre back, and despite his benching, Oubre has a good relationship with the Warriors’ organization. So, if Oubre ends up wanting to leave via a sign-and-trade, Golden State still does not want to lose him for nothing – and they could leverage their good standing with the wing to get the traded player exception in return.

Warriors Lottery Picks Looked Good in California Classic Loss

We got our first look at the Warriors new draft picks today when the Warriors were defeated by the Heat by a score of 89-82 in the Warriors’ second summer league game.

As it always is with summer league, we are less concerned with wins and losses and more concerned with player development. The Warriors summer league roster is filled mostly with players that will not likely make the final roster.

With that said, Wednesday’s game was quite the success, as both the rookies had good first games with the team. 14th overall pick Moses Moody led the way for the Warriors with 19 points on 7/18 shooting from the field and 2/4 from three. He also had seven rebounds, with four of them offensive.

Will the Warriors Use Their Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception?

With Golden State’s most recent signings, they’ve been able to fill out their roster with some much-needed help: Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. join the team on minimum salaries, bringing very good shooting, solid defense, and rebounding – if they can remain healthy. The Warriors still have one trick left in the bag in their taxpayer midlevel exception, allowing them to sign another player to a $5.9 million contract to pick up some insurance.

The problem arises, as The Athletic’s Warriors writer Anthony Slater pointed out on the radio this week, in how much the Dubs will actually have to spend if they sign another free agent using the TPMLE: