Warriors hedge their bets with late signings

What this suggests is that the Warriors will use training camp to evaluate all the roster candidates, including players from their Summer League championship team. They'll also pay attention to what players become available when teams have to cut down their rosters. For example, the Memphis Grizzlies currently have 19 players under contract and need to cut that number to 15, and the Warriors may try to snap up one of their discards.

Golden State Warriors have shuffled roster late before

It's not unprecedented for the Warriors to keep their roster in flux until just before the season, even if it's risky this year, given the unavailability of Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, who will occupy two roster spots while recovering from injury. Golden State is unlikely to play Al Horford and perhaps Kristaps Porzingis on back-to-backs, while Stephen Curry will need more rest at age 38.

Three years ago, the Warriors added Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb two weeks before the season, converting them to two-way deals on the eve of the 2023-24 season. This feels like a similarly fluid situation, with the Warriors likely wanting to see how Williams looks next to Curry and how Niang looks after missing a year to injury.

That means there may be as many as three roster spots and three two-way deals all up for grabs when the Warriors begin training camp. Their exhibition games could be remarkably competitive when the established veterans sit, with a large portion of the preseason team auditioning for jobs in every game.

Williams, Niang and Bassey still have the inside track on NBA deals, especially since they have too much experience to sign two-way contracts. But like the Warriors' financial commitments to the trio, very little is guaranteed.