With NBA free agency set to get underway next week, the Golden State Warriors have been busy making moves.
The team decided not to tender a qualifying offer to guard Lester Quinones, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:
“The Golden State Warriors won’t tender a qualifying offer to guard Lester Quinones, league sources told @hoopshype. The 23-year-old guard will become an unrestricted free agent after shooting 36.4 percent from 3-point range in 37 games for the Warriors last season.”
The move comes as the Warriors will be forced to make some difficult decisions this offseason. With the team up against the hard cap, the team is relatively hamstrung when it comes to making sweeping changes to a roster that disappointed last season. Core piece Klay Thompson, still effective but on the downside of his career, could leave Golden State if he doesn’t receive a contract to his liking.
The Warriors are also looking to trade forward Andrew Wiggins for salary relief, and even forbid him from playing for Team Canada in the Olympics later this summer.
Quinones, who signed a two-way deal with the Warriors in 2022, played in 44 games over two seasons. He averaged 4.2 points per game.
Warriors and Chris Paul come to decision amid trade talks
© Bob Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports
Warriors guard Chris Paul agreed to push back the guaranteed date on his $30 million salary for the 2024-2025 to June 30. The move occurred as Friday’s deadline for the decision arrived.
The news came amid word that both Wiggins and Paul are being “aggressively” shopped on the trade market as the Warriors seek to retool their fading former championship-caliber roster on the fly and could signal that Paul is on his way out of Golden State.
Paul averaged less than ten points per game last season and shot 44.1 percent from the field, a solid but unspectacular total. He dished out 6.8 assists in limited minutes but was not his usual self in terms of offensive efficiency and effectiveness on defense. Passing to Stephen Curry, who had another MVP-caliber season in 2023-24, is a big reason for his high assist totals.
Paul turned 39 years old this May. Barring an incredibly unlikely career resurgence in his 40s, his days as a frontline NBA player appear numbered – which is part of the reason why Golden State appears to be shopping him.
With such an astronomical contract figure it is going to be difficult for the Warriors to find a buyer, although the New Orleans Pelicans, who just acquired Dejounte Murray on Friday, may be interested according to recent rumors. Most likely, he will either return to Golden State or come to a buyout agreement and then sign with another team for a much lower figure. A team like the San Antonio Spurs makes some sense for Paul at a lower price than what it would currently cost.
