It was always going to be a longshot for Dalen Terry to make the Golden State Warriors roster. After Saturday’s roster moves, his best chance might be a spot on the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Terry was waived, along with 26-year-old forward Tyler Burton, and Australian Alex Toohey, a Warriors second-round pick from 2025. All three are candidates for the G League squad.
Burton played 12 games at the end of the season for the injury-decimated Memphis Grizzlies. Toohey played just two games for Santa Cruz last
season before undergoing knee surgery in December, a procedure he’s still recovering from. Terry had a big preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers, putting up 23 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and four steals while most of the team didn’t make the trip. However, he has too much NBA experience to sign a two-way contract, so there’s really no spot for him on the roster.
The last spots on the roster still belong to Georges Niang and Brandon Williams, who will have his contract partially-guaranteed when he’s on the opening night roster. Niang and Charles Bassey each have partially-guaranteed deals, though waiving them wouldn’t open up much money to sign a replacement. Bassey figures to be a necessary part of the rotation, particularly while Kristaps Porzingis remains out.
It didn’t appear that there was a real competition for roster spots during training camp, though Williams impressed by scoring in double digits in his first four games, before sitting out the final game with back soreness. The Warriors remain quite close to the salary cap apron, which limits their options, and the team seems focused on staying afloat until Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler can come back from their own knee injuries.
Could there be a change in the team’s two-way contracts, which currently belong to Graham Ike, LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons? It really depends on who might become available during league-wide roster cuts, but the Warriors tend to value continuity, which favors Cryer and Leons. Like Bassey, Ike might play a lot out of sheer necessity, given the fragile center rotation.
The roster appears set. Santa Cruz looks like they have a nice roster as well. Dalen Terry, we’ll always have Portland.
