One brutal loss doesn’t define the success of the Warriors’ NBA Summer League between the California Classic and Las Vegas.
The Warriors were a perfect 3-0 in the Cali Classic to raise the first Mitch Richmond Trophy. They then won their first four games to reach the semifinals in Vegas.
A three-point loss to the Miami Heat, a team the Warriors had previously beaten by 39 points ended their win streak at seven, and put an end to their summer league as a whole.
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The Warriors played to the style of head coach Anthony Vereen, a developmental coach for Golden State who is beloved among players and coaches. His group brought energy, pushed the pace, played hard and touted their togetherness. They only had their top players for three games, and battled key injuries.
Summer league, as previously stated, was an unquestioned success for the Warriors.
Here are five thoughts from the Warriors’ 7-1 summer league exhibition slate that gave them a new trophy, and had them within striking distance of another.
The Daeqwon Plowden Story
Golden State Warriors
If first impressions are everything, we should have known it all about Daeqwon Plowden after the Warriors’ blowout win to open the California Classic. Plowden was a plus-41 in the win over the Heat. The 25-year-old undrafted wing scored 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and drained six threes.
That was Plowden’s first game in a Warriors jersey, and just the beginning to his Golden State journey. The franchise agreed to a two-way contract with Plowden after five games this summer, where Golden State was a perfect 5-0.
Plowden at the time was averaging 16.7 points on 53.7-percent shooting from the field and 48.1 percent from three. He wound up playing in all eight games this summer and averaged 14.6 points – 16.7 at the Cali Classic and 13.4 in Las Vegas – on 47-percent shooting (39 of 83) and 39.6 percent (19 of 48) as a 3-point shooter. And Plowden sees himself as a 3-and-D player with an emphasis on defense first.
Every year in college, Plowden improved as a scorer. This past season in the G League he went from averaging 8.3 points to 11.9, seeing his shooting numbers go from 41.5-percent shooting and 33.3 percent on threes to then being a 47.2-percent shooter who made 39.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Plowden also showcased some major athleticism who has a non-stop motor on defense.
All of the aspects of his game give Plowden a real chance to make an impact on a two-way contract. The signing also created an interesting dilemma for the Warriors.
Two-Way Contract Landscape
The feel-good-story of the summer left the Warriors without any openings on a two-way contract. Plowden signed the team’s third and final deal they’re allotted on July 16.
Pat Spencer still is on a two-way contract with the Warriors after signing one in late February. Golden State shortly after the 2024 NBA Draft signed undrafted Virginia guard Reece Beekman to a two-way contract.
Each brings something different to the court.
Spencer is the oldest of the group at 28 years old, is just a solid player overall and his ability to be a ball-handling point guard off the bench actually is something missing on the Warriors right now.
Beekman is an NBA defender who won back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a 6-3 guard who has a 6-7 wingspan. He also isn’t much of a threat at all offensively and only played two summer league games due to injury.
Plowden proved why he deserves a spot in front of the Warriors’ coaching staff.
There’s plenty to like about all three. None are the Warriors’ only draft pick from last June.
What Post Showed
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy began the second day of the draft by trading their only pick, No. 52 overall, to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Lindy Waters III. But Boston College big man with a shooting touch, Quinten Post, still was available when the 52nd pick was on the clock – this time with it belonging to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Dunleavy reacquired Post’s draft rights for cash considerations, and the 7-footer showed why in his first summer league game after missing the first six to a leg injury. Post was a plus-5 in 14 minutes, playing seven minutes in each half. He scored 10 points and made two of his four 3-point attempts.
“The biggest thing we saw right away is that offensively he was what we're hoping he can be,” Warriors assistant GM Larry Harris said to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole. “Moves well, can run up and down the floor and he can pass. He handles the ball for a big guy and, obviously, shoots the three well. The offensive side, we feel pretty good about.”
The defense wasn’t great. Post looked stiff at times coming off injury and isn’t an elite athlete. His passing also stood out, and stretching the floor at 7-feet is something worth investing in. Post will be on the roster.
Where and how is the question.
Kevin Knox’s Resurrection
As it currently stands as of this publishing, the Warriors have 14 players on their roster, and don’t have room to sign a 15th player under the hard cap. A trade can change things. But Post appears headed for a two-way contract, from an outside perspective.
The Warriors’ second-round pick wasn’t their best player in their summer league finale, ending their seven-game win streak in a 102-99 loss to the Heat. Neither was Plowden. It was Kevin Knox, the No. 9 overall pick by the New York Knicks in the 2018 draft.
Post scored 10 points in 15 minutes, and Plowden missed all seven shots he took in a chance to play in the summer league championship game. Knox caught a hot streak to end his time in Las Vegas.
The former lottery pick exploded for a game-high 31 points off the bench on 12-of-17 shooting, 5 of 10 from deep, and came down with a game-high 11 rebounds. Those numbers bumped his summer league averages in five games to 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on shooting splits of 50.0/37.5/95.0.
Knox, who turns 25 on Aug. 11, took advantage of his summer league opportunity in a Warriors jersey. He’ll likely get another opportunity in the NBA, though it likely won’t be in San Francisco.
Waters and Gui Santos are both on non-guaranteed deals. Knox could come to training camp and compete for one of their roster spots. Dunleavy also has said he expects Waters to compete for rotation minutes and Santos is a cheap development player the Warriors do like.
Nonetheless, Knox is what makes summer league worthwhile.
Podz, TJD Do Their Job
Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis wanted to play more than three summer league games this year. Them only needing three is exactly what you want out of your best players who turned heads as rookies.
The two have been in the gym building their budding chemistry since May, and continued growing their relationship on the USA Select Team in Vegas. In their third and final game of the summer, Podziemski and Jackson-Davis combined for 38 points, 22 rebounds and 10 assists. Podziemski had a near triple-double of 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Jackson-Davis had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Podziemski and Jackson-Davis were given great opportunities for development this summer, and seemingly checked all the boxes. They’ve gone against the likes of Team USA’s stars and their summer league counterparts. They’ve continued to give reason for optimism going forward.
Where Podziemski stands in trade talks is getting clearer to gauge. What wasn’t easy to miss was how much Podziemski was placed in front of a camera at summer league. He played three games, yet had eight TV appearances and one radio interview.
Since late May, Podziemski is on a month’s-long run that has seen him be named All-Rookie First Team, be a standout on the USA Select Team where Cooper Flagg called him his favorite teammate and then at summer league Warriors owner Joe Lacob claimed in an in-game interview that the team believes the 21-year-old is a future All-Star.
The summer has been good to Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, and the former is being pushed like a star in the making.