OCTOBER 19: The Warriors have now officially waived McKinnie, a source tells Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll be on waivers until Monday at 5:00pm eastern time and could be claimed by any team. However, a club would need an open roster spot to make a claim, and McKinnie’s contract can’t be converted into a two-way deal.
OCTOBER 18: The Warriors are waiving forward Alfonzo McKinnie, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who notes (via Twitter) that the move will clear the way for Marquese Chriss to earn a spot on the team’s regular season roster.
McKinnie, 27, emerged as a rotation player for Golden State last season, averaging 4.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG with a .487/.356/.563 shooting line in 72 regular season games (13.9 MPG). He also appeared in 22 playoff games for the club.
Because the Warriors are right up against a hard cap, the team can only carry 14 players on its roster to start the regular season. Golden State has 13 players on guaranteed salaries.
McKinnie – who has a non-guaranteed contract – was widely considered the favorite to claim the 14th and final spot. However, an impressive training camp and preseason by Chriss, a former lottery pick, forced the Warriors’ hand.
Chriss is technically eligible to sign a two-way deal, but because his non-guaranteed contract didn’t feature an Exhibit 10 clause, it can’t be converted into a two-way contract, so the Dubs would’ve had to put him through waivers for that to be a possibility. Instead, they’ll just keep him on their standard roster, releasing McKinnie instead.
The NBA’s waiver order is currently based on 2018/19 records, with last year’s worst teams at the top of the priority list. Any team can place a claim for McKinnie using the minimum salary exception.
Mckinnie can’t play defense the one thing that GSW has not been doing during the preseason. McKinnie can rebound and score 3s but is inconsistent. He will find a job on somebody bench as the 13th or 14th option off the bench.
McKinney’s the odd man out as the low man on the totem pole on the wing. He can easily be replaced by recent signees Glenn Robinson and Alec Burks. No big loss here.
Hopefully Marquese Chriss turns into a good rotation player amongst the big men. He’s still young enough to make it happen.
Lakers could use him
Who cares about the Lakers besides LA fans
I think NBA fans care about the Lakers a lot more than they care about the last place Suns. But the Suns could be interesting and fun to watch. Booker’s a nice player and they’ve added a couple guys. Going to be a great year especially out west.
Obviously you do
I would have liked to see him stay and instead waive Evans. But, the non guaranteed contract was the deciding factor.
I agree with you on that. Doesn’t seem like Evans has what it takes right now. Maybe he’ll figure it out but apparently he’s a little short of expectations currently.
I’m going to give a reassessment to Evans right now. Maybe he’s growing? This first quarter of this preseason game tonight against the Lakers is the best quarter I’ve ever seen from Jacob Evans. Summer league, preseason, whatever.
He looks confident, Sharp, and even looks like a backup point guard in the NBA. Maybe he can make it happen this year.
Right now? No, what he is is a wasted Myers draft pick
Wish GSW took Brunson over Evans in the draft. Brunson would’ve been good knowing Livingston didn’t have long left and that Brunson could be the back up to Curry
Not sure about a guy like Brunson. He is at his Peak right now. 5-11 short squatty not fast. He’s just heady and doesn’t make mistakes. Amazing college point guard not sure about the pros and his athleticism. Dallas seems to find a way to make it work. Good for him and good for them. Love guys with great attitudes.
Not sure huh Gary. See you take a guy like Brunson when you have a well crafted roster. A guy who is heady, DONT need all the athlecism, just results. Evans is not a good player and really wasn’t that great in college. And really not a super athlete either.
This is what Warrior fans called “depth”
Its what warrior fans called progress. Defense is more important than casual offense.
If GS can improve Chriss on defense, that would be huge. He obviously has all the upside in the world, with his incredible athleticism and length. He hasnt played that much basketball though, which is why his instincts are lacking at times. He is still super young, so he still has a chance to realize his potential, and GS is a great place for him to do that.
That being said, its unfortunate they were in the situation they were in b/c Mckinnie also fits into their offense. Burks makes it easier to make that move though.
A team that could use a scoring 2 guard/wing might make sense for Mckinnie. Maybe Toronto?
I suspect Draymond is pleased.
Very few people have brought up that maybe Chriss being coached by Earl Watson, Jay Triano and Larry Drew might have something to do with his underperformance. No matter what you think of Kerr, he’s a way way better coach than those three. I’m not even sure Chriss needs to be that good on defense if he’s going to score, grab rebounds and dole out assists.
Also Phoenix didn’t use anyone right lol, and houston is where careers go to die and be turned into a scapegoat