A move years in the making.
After choosing not to sign Rudy Gay, Rodney McGruder, or any of their other camp invites, the Golden State Warriors entered the regular season with just 13 players on their roster, plus a trio of two-way contracts. League rules mandate that the team can only go two weeks without adding a 14th player, so a move has to be made very soon.
Now we know what that move is. According to a report from ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Dubs are signing wing Gui Santos to a three-year contract.
ESPN Reporting with @Kendra__Andrews: Golden State is finalizing a three-year deal to sign Brazilian F Gui Santos. Santos was the 55th overall pick in the 2022 Draft and has been playing for Santa Cruz of G League. Deal’s expected to be completed in coming days.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 6, 2023
This is exciting news. Golden State drafted Santos, a 6’8 wing from Brazil, with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. With a roster overly-full with young players, Santos was seen as a draft-and-stash player.
Last year, Golden State loaned Santos from Minas, the Brazilian team he was playing for, and he instead spent the year with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League, where he averaged 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 26.0 minutes per game, and reportedly impressed the coaching staff.
Many fans were hoping Santos, who only turned 21 in June (putting him in between Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga in terms of age), would be on a two-way contract this year, but league rules prohibited Golden State from doing that, since he was still under contract with Minas. They are allowed, however, to buy out his deal and sign him to an actual contract, which it seems they are doing.
No word yet on what the terms of the deal will be.
Golden State likely waited until the last minute to fill the roster spot for two reasons. First, it saves them a decent amount of money in tax payments to go two weeks with just 13 players under contract. And second, it gave them time to analyze the team and see if they needed to try and add a veteran, or if they could fill the spot with someone who is more of a project. They obviously chose the latter, and given how good the team has looked so far, it’s easy to see why.
Welcome to the Dubs, Gui!
