5 major takeaways from Warriors’ profitable NBA Summer season League run initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Bay Space
One brutal loss doesn’t outline the success of the Warriors’ NBA Summer season League between the California Traditional and Las Vegas.
The Warriors had been an ideal 3-0 within the Cali Traditional to lift the primary Mitch Richmond Trophy. They then received their first 4 video games to achieve the semifinals in Vegas.
A 3-point loss to the Miami Warmth, a workforce the Warriors had beforehand overwhelmed by 39 factors ended their win streak at seven, and put an finish to their summer season league as an entire.
The Warriors performed to the fashion of head coach Anthony Vereen, a developmental coach for Golden State who’s beloved amongst gamers and coaches. His group introduced power, pushed the tempo, performed laborious and touted their togetherness. They solely had their high gamers for 3 video games, and battled key accidents.
Summer season league, as beforehand said, was an unquestioned success for the Warriors.
Listed below are 5 ideas from the Warriors’ 7-1 summer season league exhibition slate that gave them a brand new trophy, and had them inside putting distance of one other.
If first impressions are every thing, we should always have identified all of it about Daeqwon Plowden after the Warriors’ blowout win to open the California Traditional. Plowden was a plus-41 within the win over the Warmth. The 25-year-old undrafted wing scored 26 factors on 10-of-14 capturing and drained six threes.
That was Plowden’s first recreation in a Warriors jersey, and only the start to his Golden State journey. The franchise agreed to a two-way contract with Plowden after 5 video games this summer season, the place Golden State was an ideal 5-0.
Plowden on the time was averaging 16.7 factors on 53.7-percent capturing from the sphere and 48.1 p.c from three. He wound up taking part in in all eight video games this summer season and averaged 14.6 factors – 16.7 on the Cali Traditional and 13.4 in Las Vegas – on 47-percent capturing (39 of 83) and 39.6 p.c (19 of 48) as a 3-point shooter. And Plowden sees himself as a 3-and-D participant with an emphasis on protection first.
Yearly in school, Plowden improved as a scorer. This previous season within the G League he went from averaging 8.3 factors to 11.9, seeing his capturing numbers go from 41.5-percent capturing and 33.3 p.c on threes to then being a 47.2-percent shooter who made 39.7 p.c of his 3-pointers. Plowden additionally showcased some main athleticism who has a continuous motor on protection.
All the features of his recreation give Plowden an actual likelihood to make an influence on a two-way contract. The signing additionally created an fascinating dilemma for the Warriors.
Two-Method Contract Panorama
The texture-good-story of the summer season left the Warriors with none openings on a two-way contract. Plowden signed the workforce’s third and remaining deal they’re allotted on July 16.
Pat Spencer nonetheless is on a two-way contract with the Warriors after signing one in late February. Golden State shortly after the 2024 NBA Draft signed undrafted Virginia guard Reece Beekman to a two-way contract.
Every brings one thing completely different to the court docket.
Spencer is the oldest of the group at 28 years outdated, is only a strong participant total and his capacity to be a ball-handling level guard off the bench really is one thing lacking on the Warriors proper now.
Beekman is an NBA defender who received back-to-back ACC Defensive Participant of the 12 months as a 6-3 guard who has a 6-7 wingspan. He additionally isn’t a lot of a risk in any respect offensively and solely performed two summer season league video games on account of damage.
Plowden proved why he deserves a spot in entrance of the Warriors’ teaching employees.
There’s lots to love about all three. None are the Warriors’ solely draft choose from final June.
What Submit Confirmed
Warriors normal supervisor Mike Dunleavy started the second day of the draft by buying and selling their solely choose, No. 52 total, to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder for Lindy Waters III. However Boston School massive man with a capturing contact, Quinten Submit, nonetheless was out there when the 52nd choose was on the clock – this time with it belonging to the Portland Path Blazers.
Dunleavy reacquired Submit’s draft rights for money issues, and the 7-footer confirmed why in his first summer season league recreation after lacking the primary six to a leg damage. Submit was a plus-5 in 14 minutes, taking part in seven minutes in every half. He scored 10 factors and made two of his 4 3-point makes an attempt.
“The most important factor we noticed instantly is that offensively he was what we’re hoping he might be,” Warriors assistant GM Larry Harris mentioned to NBC Sports activities Bay Space’s Monte Poole. “Strikes properly, can run up and down the ground and he can move. He handles the ball for an enormous man and, clearly, shoots the three properly. The offensive aspect, we really feel fairly good about.”
The protection wasn’t nice. Submit seemed stiff at instances coming off damage and isn’t an elite athlete. His passing additionally stood out, and stretching the ground at 7-feet is one thing value investing in. Submit can be on the roster.
The place and the way is the query.
Because it at present stands as of this publishing, the Warriors have 14 gamers on their roster, and don’t have room to signal a fifteenth participant underneath the laborious cap. A commerce can change issues. However Submit seems headed for a two-way contract, from an outdoor perspective.
The Warriors’ second-round choose wasn’t their finest participant of their summer season league finale, ending their seven-game win streak in a 102-99 loss to the Warmth. Neither was Plowden. It was Kevin Knox, the No. 9 total choose by the New York Knicks within the 2018 draft.
Submit scored 10 factors in quarter-hour, and Plowden missed all seven pictures he took in an opportunity to play in the summertime league championship recreation. Knox caught a sizzling streak to finish his time in Las Vegas.
The previous lottery choose exploded for a game-high 31 factors off the bench on 12-of-17 capturing, 5 of 10 from deep, and got here down with a game-high 11 rebounds. These numbers bumped his summer season league averages in 5 video games to 17.8 factors and seven.8 rebounds per recreation on capturing splits of fifty.0/37.5/95.0.
Knox, who turns 25 on Aug. 11, took benefit of his summer season league alternative in a Warriors jersey. He’ll probably get one other alternative within the NBA, although it probably received’t be in San Francisco.
Waters and Gui Santos are each on non-guaranteed offers. Knox might come to coaching camp and compete for one among their roster spots. Dunleavy additionally has mentioned he expects Waters to compete for rotation minutes and Santos is an inexpensive improvement participant the Warriors do like.
Nonetheless, Knox is what makes summer season league worthwhile.
Podz, TJD Do Their Job
Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis needed to play greater than three summer season league video games this yr. Them solely needing three is strictly what you need out of your finest gamers who turned heads as rookies.
The 2 have been within the fitness center constructing their budding chemistry since Might, and continued rising their relationship on the USA Choose Crew in Vegas. Of their third and remaining recreation of the summer season, Podziemski and Jackson-Davis mixed for 38 factors, 22 rebounds and 10 assists. Podziemski had a close to triple-double of 21 factors, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, and Jackson-Davis had 17 factors, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Podziemski and Jackson-Davis got nice alternatives for improvement this summer season, and seemingly checked all of the packing containers. They’ve gone towards the likes of Crew USA’s stars and their summer season league counterparts. They’ve continued to give explanation for optimism going ahead.
The place Podziemski stands in commerce talks is getting clearer to gauge. What wasn’t simple to overlook was how a lot Podziemski was positioned in entrance of a digicam at summer season league. He performed three video games, but had eight TV appearances and one radio interview.
Since late Might, Podziemski is on a month’s-long run that has seen him be named All-Rookie First Crew, be a standout on the USA Choose Crew the place Cooper Flagg known as him his favourite teammate after which at summer season league Warriors proprietor Joe Lacob claimed in an in-game interview that the workforce believes the 21-year-old is a future All-Star.
The summer season has been good to Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, and the previous is being pushed like a star within the making.
Obtain and comply with the Dubs Speak Podcast
