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Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the Golden State Warriors preliminary roster for Las Vegas summer league yesterday.
The following are just some thoughts on each of those players on the preliminary roster, broken down by their relationship to the Warriors' organization.
Golden State newcomers
Ognjen Kuzmic, C (7'1", Bosnia/FIATC Joventut): DraftExpress still has the most detailed information about Kuzmic, but if you're interested in his statistics from this past season you can check those out at Eurobasket.com. As reported by Rusty Simmons, he has a bone bruise in his right ankle and will not play.
Nemanja Nedovic, G (6'4", Serbia/Lietuvos Rytas): We've already said pretty much everything any of us know about Nedovic and you can see all of that here. But it remains to be seen whether he'll be available for summer league as described on draft night.
Golden State players
Kent Bazemore, G (6'5", Old Dominion): If indeed neither Harrison Barnes nor Klay Thompson play for the Warriors in summer league, it will be time for the second-year fan favorite to show he can lead a team on the summer league stage in Vegas. He spent time handling the ball both in his limited minutes for Golden State and on assignment in Santa Cruz and figures to get some time doing that this summer. People speculated on Twitter that the selection of Nedovic was a threat to Bazemore's role on the team, but based on early reports the trust the Golden State coach staff has in him defensively probably matters as well.
Draymond Green, F (6'7", Michigan State): What stood out about Green during summer league last season was how vocal he was on defense and it's no surprise that defense got him on the court throughout his rookie year. But barring any major moves for Golden State, Green's role will almost certainly increase in the 2013-14 season and the 2013 NBA Playoffs - where he performed admirably in 18.6 minutes per game for a rookie second round pick - were probably more important for his development than summer league will be. If there's anything we'd want to see from Green in summer league, it's probably his shooting range: he shot 39.1% on 23 attempts during the playoffs, but just 20.9% during the regular season. At his size, Green becomes much more valuable to the team if he can knock down threes.
Dwayne Jones, F/C (6'11", St. Joseph's): Jones played two minutes in Golden State's playoff run after being called up from the D-League's Texas Legends. So it's hard to say much about him except what stands out in his D-League statistics: he was the best offensive rebounder in the D-League during 2012-13 (19.2% offensive rebounding percentage), which is something any pro team could use. The question is just whether he can score (48% true shooting percentage).
Scott Machado, G (6'1", Iona): Machado only played 16 games for Santa Cruz (regular season and playoffs) this past D-League season, but his performance in the D-League Finals against Glen Rice, Jr. and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers was encouraging for those who have followed him since the 2012 NBA Draft: the biggest knock on him was that he couldn't shoot and he was 10-for-22 from 3-point range in the D-League playoffs. And the player whose spot with the Warriors is probably even more threatened by the selection of Nedovic is Machado: anybody who has seen him play knows he has the court vision to fill the point guard spot efficiently but showing the ability to drive and score efficiently this summer would really help him based on what Golden State has publicly identified as needs.
Santa Cruz Warriors players
Lance Goulbourne, F (6'8", Vanderbilt): Goulbourne was an "affiliate player" last season (meaning Golden State held exclusive call-up rights) and anybody who watched Santa Cruz consistently had to love how hard Goulbourne played this past season - he said before the season that he hoped to bring "energy and toughness and physicality and just heart" and he did that. But with Hilton Armstrong, Mickell Gladness, Chris Johnson, and Jeremy Tyler shuffling in and out of Santa Cruz throughout the season and with veteran Taylor Griffin also playing big minutes, Goulbourne didn't get consistent minutes. He's a strong rebounder (20.8% defensive rebounding percentage) and it will be interesting to see him compete against players from NBA rosters this summer.
Cam Jones, G (6'4", Northern Arizona): There's a lot to like about Jones - he knows his limitations, he's decisive with the ball, and he's able to find spots on the floor where he's most effective as a scorer. But the knock has typically been that he's not quite explosive enough or tall enough to make it as a scorer in the NBA. In summer league, chances are that he'll make all the right decisions and show the ability to set up others for scoring opportunities. But he has struggled to earn a role as a full-time starter in the D-League and would probably have to have an extremely efficient summer league performance to catch the attention of NBA GMs this summer.
Others:
Ian Clark, G (6'3", Belmont): Clark could be really fun to follow in summer league. Luke Winn of SI.com wrote about Clark (h/t OkayJay81) being the draft's forgotten shooter and laid out Synergy numbers showing that he's the best shooter in the entire draft. But I'll keep it simpler while expanding the scope a bit: he was the most efficient scorer in the country this past NCAA season, according to College Basketball Reference (68.88% true shooting percentage). As Winn points out - and similar to the type of knock Jones faced - the problem is that he's a small school guard who doesn't have standout physical characteristics. But anyone who can shoot 45.9% from the 3-point line should be fun to watch.
Michael Eric, C (6'11", Temple): David Zavac of SB Nation's Fear the Sword has a bit more on Eric, who signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers for last season's training camp. Apparently, former Cavs coach Byron Scott once compared him to Serge Ibaka, so there's that.
Gary McGhee, C (6'11", Pitt): Even SB Nation's Pitt blog Cardiac Hill wasn't all that convinced that McGhee was a strong NBA prospect, but he has been playing overseas for a couple of years now and we'll see how he looks in summer league.
Craig Smith, F (6'7", Boston College): You probably recognize Smith's name has he has played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, L.A. Clippers, and Portland Trail Blazers over his six seasons in the NBA. He also has dodgeball skills.
James Southerland, F (6'8", Syracuse): Jared E. Smith of SB Nation's Nunes Magician has some information about Southerland, including Chad Ford considering him a late first or early second round pick after some impressive workouts and "Big Game" James' decision to say no to being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs who wanted him to develop in Europe. But who trusts the Spurs judgment anyway? Oh, you too? Ok.
Alex Young, SG (6'6", IUPUI): Benjamin Miraski of SBN's Mid Major Madness did a thorough breakdown of Young last year and the concerns about him coming out of college had to do with scoring efficiency. Most notably from college, he broke George Hill's freshman scoring record.
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Anybody who has followed summer league knows that things can be extremely fluid and the guys listed here might not even end up with the team in Vegas so feel free to post fan shots or in the comments here as you hear more about the Warriors' roster.