The Golden State Warriors are trying to manage things well although there are expected casualties. One player who recently fell prey to that is Marquese Chriss. The 8th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft was forcibly waived by the Dubs, a move to make room for another player in Damion Lee.
However, it turns out that the move was merely temporary. Chriss ended up signing a two-way contract with the Dubs a week after, NBC Sports reported. Apparently, the 22-year-old was the unfortunate sacrificial lamb to give the Warriors some flexibility in dealing with their current predicament. Now that all of the ruckus is over, Chriss may have a different contract but undoubtedly better than being unemployed.
When the 2019-20 NBA season started, Chriss was an odd addition. Draymond Green did bat for him to be on the roster and the move gave the California native a new lease on life. He saw action in 37 games averaging 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists. These are far better numbers compared to his career averages although it is his age that most are focusing on.
At 22, there is no doubt that Chriss can still hone his skills. He showed plenty of promise when he was with the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, things just went in disarray when he moved from one team to another. He was slowly dissipating and most thought that his NBA career was slipping away.
Given that the Warriors need all the help they can get, Chriss has proven he can contribute when called upon. Looking ahead, the 6-foot-9 cager hopes that his next deal would be a long-term deal.
"That's the plan. I would love to be here to spend a lot of time here creating a memory of myself in this organization and I'd love to be a part of what we're continuing to build so that's the end goal," said Chriss.
A thing to note here is that Golden State can only use him for 24 days. If the Dubs do not convert it to a standard NBA contract, there is a chance that Chriss could be sent to the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G-League, NBC Sports reported. If so, this aligns with plans to help him develop further. The time element may give him some added pressure although the Dubs investment includes seeing if he can blossom and help Golden State in their rebuilding efforts.
"We might put him into one or two practices if we feel like it's important. But we'll try to save most of those days for games, and go from there," said Kerr.
