Five main takeaways from Warriors’ successful NBA Summer League run originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
One brutal loss doesn’t define the success of the Warriors’ NBA Summer League between the California Classic and Las Vegas.
The Warriors were a perfect 3-0 in the Cali Classic to raise the first Mitch Richmond Trophy. They then won their first four games to reach the semifinals in Vegas.
A three-point loss to the Miami Heat, a team the Warriors had previously beaten by 39 points ended their win streak at seven, and put an end to their summer league as a whole.
The Warriors played to the style of head coach Anthony Vereen, a developmental coach for Golden State who is beloved among players and coaches. His group brought energy, pushed the pace, played hard and touted their togetherness. They only had their top players for three games, and battled key injuries.
Summer league, as previously stated, was an unquestioned success for the Warriors.
Here are five thoughts from the Warriors’ 7-1 summer league exhibition slate that gave them a new trophy, and had them within striking distance of another.
If first impressions are everything, we should have known it all about Daeqwon Plowden after the Warriors’ blowout win to open the California Classic. Plowden was a plus-41 in the win over the Heat. The 25-year-old undrafted wing scored 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and drained six threes.
That was Plowden’s first game in a Warriors jersey, and just the beginning to his Golden State journey. The franchise agreed to a two-way contract with Plowden after five games this summer, where Golden State was a perfect 5-0.
Plowden at the time was averaging 16.7 points on 53.7-percent shooting from the field and 48.1 percent from three. He wound up playing in all eight games this summer and averaged 14.6 points – 16.7 at the Cali Classic and 13.4 in Las Vegas – on 47-percent shooting (39 of 83) and 39.6 percent (19 of 48) as a 3-point shooter. And Plowden sees himself as a 3-and-D player with an emphasis on defense first.
Every year in college, Plowden improved as a scorer. This past season in the G League he went from averaging 8.3 points to 11.9, seeing his shooting numbers go from 41.5-percent shooting and 33.3 percent on threes to then being a 47.2-percent shooter who made 39.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Plowden also showcased some major athleticism who has a non-stop motor on defense.
All of the aspects of his game give Plowden a real chance to make an impact on a two-way contract. The signing also created an interesting dilemma for the Warriors.
Two-Way Contract Landscape
The feel-good-story of the summer left the Warriors without any openings on a two-way contract. Plowden signed the team’s third and final deal they’re allotted on July 16.
Pat Spencer still 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.
Each brings something different to the court.
Spencer is the oldest of the group at 28 years old, is just a solid player overall and his ability to be a ball-handling point guard off the bench actually is something missing on the Warriors right now.
Beekman is an NBA defender who won back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a 6-3 guard who has a 6-7 wingspan. He also isn’t much of a threat at all offensively and only played summer league games due to injury.
Plowden proved why he deserves a spot in front of the Warriors’ coaching staff.
There’s plenty to like about all three. None are the Warriors’ only draft pick from last June.
What Post Showed
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy began the second day of the draft by trading their only pick, No. 52 overall, to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Lindy Waters III. But Boston College big man with a shooting touch, Quinten Post, still was available when the 52nd pick was on the clock – this time with it belonging to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Dunleavy reacquired Post’s draft rights for cash considerations, and the 7-footer showed why in his first summer league game after missing the first six to a leg injury. Post was a plus-5 in 14 minutes, playing seven minutes in each half. He scored 10 points and made two of his four 3-point attempts.
“The biggest thing we saw right away is that offensively he was what we’re hoping he can be,” Warriors assistant GM Larry Harris said to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. “Moves well, can run up and down the floor and he can pass. He handles the ball for a big guy and, obviously, shoots the three well. The offensive side, we feel pretty good about.”
The defense wasn’t great. Post looked stiff at times coming off injury and isn’t an elite athlete. His passing also stood out, and stretching the floor at 7-feet is something worth investing in. Post will be on the roster.
Where and how is the question.
As it currently stands as of this publishing, the Warriors have 14 players on their roster, and don’t have room to sign a 15th player under the hard cap. A trade can change things. But Post appears headed for a two-way contract, from an outside perspective.
The Warriors’ second-round pick wasn’t their best player in their summer league finale, ending their seven-game win streak in a 102-99 loss to the Heat. Neither was Plowden. It was Kevin Knox, the No. 9 overall pick by the New York Knicks in the 2018 draft.
Post scored 10 points in 15 minutes, and Plowden missed all seven shots he took in a chance to…
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