The Golden State Warriors will kick off the unofficial second half of the season on Thursday, when they host the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that’s very meaningful for the standings. And when they do, the roster will look slightly different — not in terms of who is on it, but in terms of what contracts they have.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Warriors will convert guard Lester Quiñones’ two-way contract to a standard NBA contract. Wojnarowski had pretty solid sources that he revealed, too: Quiñones’ agents.
The news isn’t surprising at all, after the Dubs traded Cory Joseph at the February 8 trade deadline. Because Joseph was on a veteran’s minimum contract, the Warriors would be able to save a significant amount of tax money by unloading his deal, and replacing it with the smaller contract that Quiñones received.
Teams can go two weeks without filling a 14th spot on their roster, which means the Warriors needed to sign someone — be it Quiñones or a 10-day contract — by Thursday. So while the news is being reported on Tuesday, I’m guessing Golden State will wait until Thursday to make it official, and save an extra two days worth of salary and tax payments.
Quiñones clearly played his way onto the team, not only surpassing Joseph on the emergency depth chart, but surpassing Moses Moody in recent games to earn solid minutes. After playing just four games and 18 minutes in his debut season last year, Quiñones has now played 19 games and 245 minutes this year. He has solid per 36-minutes averages of 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 turnovers, is shooting 39.6% from three-point range, and has impressed with his defensive competitiveness.
He’ll enter restricted free agency next year, and I’m guessing the Warriors are hoping to keep him around for years to come.
