SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors announced Thursday morning they have waived two-way contract guards Quinndary Weatherspoon and Lester Quinones.
Weatherspoon’s cut seems rather surprising, given his strong defensive performances on the perimeter and high IQ brand of basketball. He appeared in 11 games with Golden State last year but spent the bulk of his season competing for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Quinones signed a two-way deal with the Warriors this summer and played sparingly in the preseason, averaging 10 minutes per game. He also had defensive capabilities on the wing but appeared to be limited offensively.
"This is the worst part of the job, when you get to the end of camp and you have to release players," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Today was not fun. Quinndary helped us win a championship last year. He was here all summer, he's a hell of a teammate, great player. Lester did a great job over the last couple months, coming in, putting the work in. I think both guys can really play, but for us it was a positional decision."
The Warriors have an abundance of combo guards and shooting guards, beginning with Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. While the team lost Gary Payton II in free agency, it added free agent Donte DiVincenzo and second-round pick Ryan Rollins this offseason.
The Warriors now have a pair of vacancies to fill with their two-way contracts. In-house candidates include guard Ty Jerome, forward Anthony Lamb, guard Pat Spencer and guard Jerome Robinson. Those four players are on Exhibit 10 deals, which include clauses that can convert their contracts into two-way deals.
Last week, Warriors coach Steve Kerr sounded upbeat about the acquisition of Jerome, a 2019 first-rounder with three years of NBA experience.
“I think for our roster, we needed more of a pass-first guy,” Kerr said. “Ty is a very intriguing player because of his size and his ability to see over the top of the defense, his pick-and-roll play. So it’s a great opportunity for us to get a look at him to play with our guys.”
Among the group, Lamb, who more of a traditional small forward, has led the way with 18 minutes per game so far in the preseason, averaging 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
It’s possible Golden State has its eye on a player outside the organization as well, heading into their roster finalization before the Oct. 18 season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"We've got a really intriguing group here," Kerr said. "This has been a fantastic group of young players, including Lester and Quinndary. We've got some intriguing guys to fill those. We've got options. There are other players as well out there who will be on the waiver wire that we can considered. Nothing has been decided, nothing has been set in stone, but we like the guys who are here right now in camp. We'll make that decision in the next 48 hours."
Golden State has also cut ties with guard Mac McClung and forward Trevion Williams earlier in training camp. Second-round pick Gui Santos recently tweeted that he is headed to the Santa Cruz Warriors, but Kerr couldn't confirm it Thursday afternoon. Here’s an updated look at the 2022-23 Warriors roster:
1. Steph Curry
2. Klay Thompson
3. Draymond Green
4. Andrew Wiggins
5. Kevon Looney
6. Jordan Poole
7. Donte DiVincenzo
8. JaMychal Green
9. Jonathan Kuminga
10. Moses Moody
11. James Wiseman
12. Patrick Baldwin Jr. (rookie)
13. Ryan Rollins (rookie)
14. Andre Iguodala
OPEN
15. Ty Jerome (Exhibit 10)
16. Anthony Lamb (Exhibit 10)
17. Pat Spencer (Exhibit 10)
18. Jerome Robinson (Exhibit 10)
Gui Santos (G League)
