The Golden State Warriors only tentatively filled their final roster spots when they signed Georges Niang and Brandon Williams to contracts that were partially and non-guaranteed, respectively. That’s why their Exhibit 10 signing of Dalen Terry may be more than just training camp depth and stocking the roster of the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Terry was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 18th pick of the 2022 draft after two years at Arizona, where he was teammates with recent New Orleans Pelicans addition Bennedict Mathurin. He played for the Wildcats two seasons after Williams had his lone season in Tucson and now gets a chance to impress Wildcats legend Steve Kerr.
The Warriors have an affection for Arizona players, from Gilbert Arenas to Andre Iguodala to Luke Walton to Nico Mannion. And don’t forget Richard Jefferson, Jud Buechler, Tom Tolbert, and the immortal Chris Mills, who tried to fight the entire Portland Trail Blazers team and their bus driver in 2002. Terry will need to impress with his play but should also bone up on campus trivia and the Wildcats alumni song.
Terry’s main calling card is his defense, where his 7-foot-1 wingspan allows him to be disruptive on, well, the wings. He’s a decent passer and playmaker, but he never really developed into a part-time lead guard like he was in college. Instead, Terry has struggled as a shooting guard who doesn’t shoot well.
He’s had years where he made threes, like going 41.3% from distance in 2024-25 on 1.3 attempts. But his shooting is inconsistent, he’s been prone to turnovers, and his free throw shooting cratered to 53.3% last season — granted, he only had 30 attempts.
Could the Warriors end up deciding Terry is the best last man on the bench and choose him over Williams or Niang? Possible but unlikely, unless Terry has really improved his shot. He’s ineligible for a two-way deal because he’s played four NBA seasons, so the odds are he will end up in beautiful Santa Cruz, not the worst place to continue a G League career.
Terry is an interesting pickup albeit a longshot. At this point in the summer, adding any 24-year-old who was a first-round pick is a good bit of business, even if the title of “first-round pick” is somewhat tainted by the Chicago Bulls making the pick. Remember Chandler Hutchison? Yeah me neither.
Welcome to San Francisco, Dalen Terry! Let’s hope you packed some board shorts and beach sandals.
