Golden State Warriors waive 4 players including Avery Bradley, leave 15th roster spot open
The Golden State Warriors are making quick decisions to finalize their roster heading into the 2021-22 NBA regular season. After assessing the performance of some of the candidates to fill the 15th guaranteed roster spot in preseason, the franchise has decided to waive four players.
That includes Avery Bradley, Jordan Bell, Mychal Mulder and Gary Payton II. Bradley played four preseason games, averaging 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 12.7 minutes per game. He also shot just 22% from the 3-point line, which led to his elimination. Meanwhile, Mulder averaged 5.8 points, shooting 35.8% from the 3-point line.
Avery Bradley had a rotation spot early in the preseason, but minutes waned. Warriors opting against carrying the veteran guard. twitter.com/shamscharania/…
Bell played just over 8 minutes per game, averaging 3 points, while Payton played just one game. It was always going to be a difficult task for these players to make the cut after an underwhelming preseason.
The Golden State Warriors will now keep their 15th roster spot open, heading into the regular season.
Gary Payton II could be brought back by Golden State Warriors
Gary Payton II played just one game in the preseason (against the LA Lakers) for the Golden State Warriors, but he was impressive. He scored 12 points in 11.2 minutes, shooting 5 of 7 from the field. As per Anthony Slater of The Athletic, there is a possibility the Warriors may look to bring him back to fill the 15th spot.
Warriors have also waived Gary Payton II. The 15th spot is currently vacant. But Steve Kerr said there will be "discussions" in the coming days about the vacancy. I'm hearing that there is a possibility of bringing Payton back, once the process plays out.
Payton had a remarkable summer league outing with the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 11.3 points, seven rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game across three appearances. He couldn't play much in the preseason due to his injury problems.
The Golden State Warriors may be inclined to include him as their 15th player heading into next season to save some money. Offering Gary Payton II a non-guaranteed deal would give them more flexibility moving forward in case they feel there is a need for a specific player mid-season.
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