The Warriors have announced their training camp schedule and roster for 2016. Although most of the roster already looks solidified, there’s a handful of guys battling for what’s looking like one definitively open spot.
There are 19 players on the roster for training camp, meaning that not everybody invited will ultimately end up on the regular season roster.
The NBA collective bargaining agreement sets specific rules for the roster size of each franchise in the league.
15 players are allowed on the active roster, and at least 8 players must suit up for a game. Teams can have a maximum of 2 players on the inactive list.
Players sent to the D-League continue to count against the NBA team’s inactive list. Teams have to carry a minimum of 13 players at a time, 12 of them being active and 1 player being inactive.
So in any game, the most players that can get playing time is 12, but a maximum of 15 players can make up a team’s roster.
The Warriors will hold their training camp at the team’s practice facility in downtown Oakland starting on September 27th.
The 19 players on the training camp roster are Ian Clark, Elgin Cook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Cameron Jones, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, James Michael McAdoo, Patrick McCaw, JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Phil Pressey, Klay Thompson, Anderson Varejao, David West, and Elliot Williams.
19 players will take the court for Warriors Training Camp, beginning September 27 » https://t.co/6ZnYPtjGiY pic.twitter.com/c8YvEAzou5
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) September 17, 2016
This training camp is essentially a competition for the last remaining spot on the roster for guys like Cook, Cameron Jones, McGee, Pressey, and Williams.
15 out of the 19 guys invited to training camp have guaranteed contracts for the 2016-2017 season.
Cook, Cameron Jones, McGee, and Pressey don’t, which might end up giving Williams the early edge for that 15th spot.
McGee’s presence as a rim protector also makes him an especially intriguing candidate for that last roster spot, along with having the most impressive NBA track record amongst the group of players with non-guaranteed contracts.
Barring any shocking developments, the first 14 spots look pretty set. The core of Curry, Durant, Thompson, Green and Iguodala will be there.
The key complimentary players like Pachulia, Livingston, and West don’t have to fear not making the team.
Depth guys like Varejao, Clark, and McAdoo will get to be a part of what’s setting up to be a potentially dominant roster.
Rookies Damian Jones and McCaw will get their chances, although Jones is unlikely to be healthy enough to be ready for the start of camp.
✌?️ weeks until the Dubs tip off the preseason in Vancouver. #NBACanadaSeries pic.twitter.com/AoxmSWMVNG
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) September 17, 2016
Jones is likely going to end up being one of those 3 inactive players once the regular season starts.
Looney is a former first round pick, and although he only played in 5 games last year due to injury, the team is intrigued by what he’d look like at full strength, and he’s expected to be ready for camp. He shouldn’t be overly fearful of losing his roster spot at this point.
That leaves Cook, Cameron Jones, McGee, Pressey, and Williams as players who don’t have roster spots virtually locked up.
I’m guessing that it’s likely going to be either Williams or McGee who makes the team. The team would have to eat about $1.2 million if Williams doesn’t get the spot, but that’s not an exorbitant amount of money for a team.
Williams wouldn’t even be the only player getting paid by the Warriors who isn’t on the roster. The team owes Jason Thompson about $945,000 next season that will count against their cap.
McGee certainly fills a role they desperately need, especially with Jones currently being injured. McGee is an athletic shot blocker, and can provide rim protection off the bench.
He has been known for making some hilarious mental errors on the court, but nobody doubts his talent and athleticism as a 7 footer.
I’m leaning towards McGee securing that 15th spot, and this coaching staff and roster should be able to get the most out of him.