According to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Golden State Warriors will sign Usman Garuba.
Usman Garuba was initially the 23rd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets.
He is coming off a year where he averaged 3.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 48.6% from the field and 40.7% from the three-point range in 75 regular season games.
This summer, the 21-year-old was traded to the Atlanta Hawks (who then traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder).
The Thunder waived Garuba, so he has been a free agent.
On Friday, Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that Garuba will sign a two-way deal with the Golden State Warriors.
Via Charania: “Free agent center Usman Garuba has agreed to a two-way NBA contract with the Golden State Warriors, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. The former Rockets first-round pick is coming off averaging 8.2 points and 4 rebounds for Spain in the FIBA World Cup.”
Over two seasons in the NBA (with Houston), Garuba has career averages of 2.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.5% from the field and 36.7% from the three-point range in 99 games.
In addition, he has also played in the G League and has career averages of 9.0 points, 9.0 rebounds 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per contest in five regular season games (he has also appeared in six Showcase Cup games).
Since Garuba is a young player who is such a recent first-round pick, this could be a smart move by the Warriors.
The Warriors have won four titles in the previous nine seasons and are coming off a year where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the NBA playoffs (in six games).