The Golden State Warriors finalized the roster with which they will begin the 2018-19 NBA season Saturday. With guard Patrick McCaw continuing his holdout, Alfonzo McKinnie was named the 14th man on the Warriors roster.
It wasn’t long ago that Andre Iguodala talked about Patrick McCaw getting the second-round max.
Now, just a year and a half later, McCaw is floating in NBA limbo after the Warriors finalized their regular season roster.
After McCaw and his family spurned his agent’s advice and rejected the Warriors qualifying offer as well as a two-year contract, the organization effectively replaced him with Alfonzo McKinnie.
McKinnie has been a revelation in training camp. The 26-year old averaged 6.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in the five preseason games.
He’s drawn rave reviews from the players as well as Steve Kerr, especially for his athleticism and his ability to make winning plays.
He was rewarded for his efforts with a two-year, non-guaranteed contract and the 14th and final spot on the Golden State roster.
While the club is carrying one less player than the league maximum, it was always their plan to keep that spot open for financial reasons, but also as a perspective buyout spot.
The team also finalized their two-way contract spots with Marcus Derrickson claiming the second contract, joining Damion Lee as their designated two-way players.
Lee didn’t get to suit up for a preseason game as he deals with a plantar fascia injury, or he would have been in contention for the roster spot that has gone to McKinnie. Derrickson on the other hand, has been productive in his limited minutes following up a strong Summer League.
The power forward shot over 37 percent from deep and scored five points per game in just over 11 minutes.
He was actually fourth on the team in 3-point percentage — behind the big three of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
The final tally for the team stands at six guards, four forwards and four bigs, with two more forwards on two-ways.
A much more balanced roster than the big-heavy ones they have had the last couple years. And couple that with a younger bench and this Warriors team will have a much different look this season.
The Warriors begin their quest for a third-consecutive title and fourth in five years Tuesday when they welcome Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.
Curtis Uemura is SFBay’s Golden State Warriors beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @CUemura on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Warriors basketball.
Last modified October 13, 2018 6:05 pm
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