The Warriors are making a habit out of potentially awkward reunions this offseason.
On Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Golden State has signed guard Rodney McGruder to have him compete for a roster spot during training camp, which begins next week.
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and coach Steve Kerr spoke to the media on Monday afternoon, but the move has yet to be officially announced.
McGruder first caught the attention of Warriors fans in January 2021, when he caught the ire of a mic’d up Klay Thompson. While playing with the Detroit Pistons, McGruder got into it with Juan Toscano-Anderson and Klay didn’t hold back on his burns while on the TV broadcast.
“This dude might be out of the league soon,” Thompson said. “He’s probably mad about that, who knows. He’s out here checking my guy. … He’s over here trying to start something like he’s a good player or something. It’s like, bro, get outta here.”
This is light work compared to adding Chris Paul to the locker room following a decade-plus of animosity, but the Warriors definitely have some icebreaking to do with the new guys in camp.
McGruder, 32, is listed at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. He played in 32 games with the Detroit Pistons last year, averaging 5.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point land. For his career, McGruder is a 36 percent shooter from distance.
The Warriors officially announced the signing of center Usman Garuba to a two-way contract on Monday and appear to have lost interest in Dwight Howard. Here’s a look at the updated roster, which is now at a full capacity of 21 players with a week left before the start of training camp, but with just 13 guaranteed contracts.
2023-24 WARRIORS ROSTER
1. Steph Curry
2. Klay Thompson
3. Andrew Wiggins
4. Draymond Green
5. Kevon Looney
6. Chris Paul
7. Dario Šarić
8. Jonathan Kuminga
9. Moses Moody
10. Gary Payton II
11. Cory Joseph
12. Brandin Podziemski (rookie)
13. Trayce Jackson-Davis (rookie)
OPEN
OPEN
14. Lester Quinones (two-way)
15. Usman Garuba (two-way)
TWO-WAY
16. Jerome Robinson (training camp invite)
17. Kendric Davis (training camp invite)
18. Javan Johnson (training camp invite)
19. Jayce Johnson (training camp invite)
20. Donovan Williams (training camp invite)
21. Rodney McGruder (training camp invite)
