Roster moves: Weatherspoon waived, Figueroa signed.

The Golden State Warriors made a pair of roster moves today designed to fill out the roster for their G-League team, the Santa Cruz Warriors.

The waiving of Quindarry Weatherspoon happened just one day after the signing of Quinndary Weatherspoon, and we can safely predict that LJ Figueroa will spend a similarly short amount of time on the training camp roster. That’s because a G League roster has slots for four “affiliate players.” A team gets the first crack at anyone they cut during their training camp, so this is effectively calling “dibs” on these two players.

Weatherspoon was a second-round pick for the Spurs in 2019, and played very limited minutes with them over 31 games in the past two years. He’s a bit of a tweener as a 6’3” combo guard, but he has a 6’9” wingspan and scored efficiently in college and the G League. Weatherspoon’s age (he just turned 25) and lack of standout skills make him a non-prospect, but his well-rounded game and lack of glaring weaknesses makes him an ideal depth piece for a team like the Warriors, who simply need reliable bodies at guard.

LJ Figueroa went undrafted this year after teaming up with lottery pick Chris Duarte on an Oregon Ducks team that reached the Sweet Sixteen. Figueroa is a 6’6” forward with a nice outside shot (37% from deep in college) and a high steal rate. He played his first two college years for St. John’s and was a member of the Dallas Mavericks Summer League team.

Last year’s affiliate players in Santa Cruz were Elijah Pemberton, Dwayne Sutton, Kaleb Wesson, and NBA champion Axel Toupane, who won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks last year after singing with them in March. So at least one member of the 2020-21 Warriors won a ring.

Either player may be a candidate for an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a G League contract that can be converted into a two-way deal before the season. An Exhibit 10 deal often offers a bonus for players who stay with their G League club a certain amount of time, as an enticement to choose the G League over options like playing overseas. That may be a factor for the Spanish-speaking Figueroa, who has already played professionally in the Dominican Republic.

You can expect the Warriors to repeat this sign-and-waive process up to two more times for other players they’d like to see at the Kaiser Permanente Arena this year.