After eight video games in two cities, the Warriors concluded their Summer time League schedule on Saturday.
They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 82-71 at Thomas & Mack Heart in Las Vegas. Chris Manon led Golden State with 17 factors on 4 of 5 taking pictures, whereas teammates Ja’Vier Francis and Blake Hinson mixed for 25 factors. UCLA product Jules Bernard scored 16 off the bench.
Now that the summer time exhibitions are over, it’s time to work out what might be gleaned from the video games.
Right here’s what we discovered:
Will Richard appears to be like like a steal
In the course of the predraft course of, normal supervisor Mike Dunleavy made certain to emphasise that the staff would love — however was not anticipating — to pick out a direct contributor within the second spherical.
If Summer time League is something to go by, Dunleavy is perhaps pleasantly stunned by a minimum of one of many staff’s two draft picks.
Will Richard, who helped Florida win the nationwide championship final spring, was the Warriors’ most constant participant through the summer time video games.
In contrast to many groups that attempt to give their draft picks reps because the No. 1 scoring choice, Warriors summer time coach Lainn Wilson positioned the 6-foot-4, 22-year-old Richard within the place of a 3-and-D wing, one which he’ll seemingly play if he receives minutes through the NBA season.
The rookie thrived in that function, averaging 10.3 factors on 48.5% taking pictures in his 4 video games in Las Vegas, displaying a willingness to fireplace away off the catch and assault the basket on cuts and drives.
Whereas his protection might be handsy at occasions, resulting in fouls, Richard has not backed down from high-profile matchups.
Toohey a piece in progress
Alex Toohey doesn’t match the normal mildew of a “project player,” being neither exceptionally athletic nor a knockdown shooter.
However after Summer time League, there is no such thing as a query the 21-year-old Australian ahead has a methods to go earlier than he’s NBA-ready.
Flashes of expertise are there for the 6-foot-8 energy ahead, like when he made a sequence of nifty reverse layups round Utah’s rotation middle Kyle Filipowski throughout a 15-point night time.
He additionally took benefit of ballhandling alternatives by bringing the ball up the ground in transition and appeared snug in open area.
However Toohey’s lack of burst was additionally obvious within the helter-skelter Summer time League atmosphere, and he had bother stepping into gaps towards NBA-caliber defenses. His poor taking pictures percentages mirrored that.
Count on to see Toohey spend a lot of the yr creating in Santa Cruz.
Lainn Wilson can coach
The Warriors had, arguably, the least-heralded Summer time League roster. Second-year middle Quinten Publish didn’t play, and there have been no ballyhooed prospects on a roster populated by NBA hopefuls, benchwarmers and future all-stars in Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
So for the Warriors to win 4 of 8 video games whereas shuffling by way of lineups like a hand of blackjack on the close by Aria was a credit score to Wilson’s capability to squeeze each final ounce of expertise out of his squad.
The previous video coordinator was just lately promoted to the pinnacle coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors, which implies he will probably be in command of creating a minimum of just a few of the gamers from his overachieving Summer time League squad.
Armstrong makes good first impression
Regardless of spending the final 4 months of the season with the Warriors group after being signed from Australia’s Nationwide Basketball League, an charisma nonetheless surrounded 23-year-old Tasmanian level guard Taran Armstrong.
The 6-5 ground normal impressed in his Summer time League minutes as the one true table-setter on the roster. Getting into Saturday’s finale, he averaged 7.8 factors, 3.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists whereas enjoying with an assorted bunch.
Like his Australian brethren Toohey, Armstrong is just not a very twitchy athlete, which confirmed in Thursday’s loss to the Raptors. However he made essentially the most of his catch-and-shoot alternatives and sprayed the ball round as a passer.
For a Warriors staff determined for younger – and low cost – gamers, Armstrong is perhaps an element within the rotation.
Different Warriors notables
– Chris Manon could not make an NBA roster, however the undrafted rookie ahead in all probability earned a professional basketball contract someplace along with his high-energy type. He can not shoot, however that doesn’t matter while you play with the sort of vitality — and defend — on the stage the Vanderbilt alum does.
– Second-year huge man Jackson Rowe did his greatest Draymond Inexperienced impression throughout Summer time League, making quite a few spectacular passes because the short-roll playmaker. The 28-year-old could possibly be an element within the Warriors’ rotation this season.
– Coleman Hawkins was fairly vocal about his perception that he ought to have been drafted, and the 6-foot-10 Sacramento native was in all probability proper. Apart from an atrocious recreation towards the Raptors, he was a high-energy and athletic huge who flashed some high-level passing capability out of the excessive publish.
– Gabe Madsen’s 22-point outburst towards the Jazz – six 3-pointers within the first half – was the sort of random enjoyable that may happen within the Summer time League. And taking pictures over 50% from 3-point land and the sphere as complete will pique some staff’s curiosity, whether or not it’s within the U.S. or abroad.
– A yr after tearing his Achilles, Marques Bolden made his return to the courtroom. Even when he doesn’t make it again to the NBA, he’ll seemingly signal with a G-League staff or play exterior of the U.S.
Initially Revealed: July 19, 2025 at 6:42 PM PDT
