Warriors sign former first-round pick to two-way deal

The Warriors have signed free-agent guard Jerome Robinson to a two-way contract, the team announced Friday in a press release (Twitter link). Golden State now has a full 21-man roster.

The 13th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Robinson appeared in 113 regular-season games for the Clippers and Wizards from 2018-21, averaging 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 14.2 minutes per night. He hasn’t played an NBA game since the 2020-21 season, when he made 17 appearances with Washington.

Robinson has spent the past two seasons playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G League affiliate. In 2022/23, he averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 4.1 RPG with a .455/.353/.909 shooting line in 38 games (29.4 MPG) for Santa Cruz.

Robinson’s agreement with Golden State was initially reported back in July, over two months ago. At that time, the expectation was that he’d sign a training camp deal. Instead, he’ll fill out the 21-man preseason roster by claiming the team’s third two-way slot alongside Lester Quinones and Usman Garuba. However, Anthony Slater of The Athletic suggests (via Twitter) that Robinson may have to battle in training camp to hang onto that spot.

Two-way deals only come with a small partial guarantee, while players on Exhibit 10 contracts can be converted to two-way contracts prior to the regular season, so it would be simple enough for Golden State to make a preseason change.