It looks like the Golden State Warriors finally found a solution to their Juan Toscano-Anderson problem, and they didn’t even have to do anything. According to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the NBA is planning to lift restrictions for two-way contracts for the remainder of the season, pending approval from the board.
Sources: The NBA and NBPA are planning to eliminate the 50-game limit for two-way contract players this season and to allow two-way players to be eligible for the playoffs, pending Board approval.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 2, 2021
Removing the restrictions means that players on two-way contracts (Toscano-Anderson and Nico Mannion for the Warriors) would no longer be limited to 50 games and, more importantly, would be eligible to join the postseason roster.
That’s huge in the case of Toscano-Anderson, who has carved out a valuable role on the team. Fans have been weary of entering the postseason without Toscano-Anderson, and coach Steve Kerr himself has made the case for finding a way to get the Oakland native onto a guaranteed contract.
Steve Kerr says it's not his job to decide if Juan Toscano-Anderson gets promoted from his two-way contract, but certainly seemed to give his word of support for it: "I think Juan should be part of our team for many years to come."
— Golden State of Mind (@unstoppablebaby) February 9, 2021
But with Mychal Mulder’s contract guaranteeing last week, the Warriors don’t have any easy path towards promoting Toscano-Anderson. The most likely scenario seemed to be that the team would wait until the last week of the season, and then possibly cut Marquese Chriss or Alen Smailagić to make room for Toscano-Anderson.
Now they don’t have to. Assuming the measure passes the board, the Warriors can keep Toscano-Anderson active for every game, including the ones in the playoffs.
That will be vital if the Dubs suffer an injury to Kevon Looney or James Wiseman. Toscano-Anderson has fallen out of the rotation a bit since the team returned to full health, but was a critical part of the team’s success when they were forced to play small in the absence of their centers.