Warriors release Rudy Gay and Rodney McGruder

The battle for the 14th roster spot on the Golden State Warriors has ended with quite a whimper. Shortly after the team concluded their preseason with their lone loss, 122-117 to the Sacramento Kings, it was announced that veterans Rudy Gay and Rodney McGruder had been waived.

The news comes via The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania, who report that the Dubs will enter the season with just 13 players under contract.

Golden State will have to address their roster sooner rather than later. The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement mandates that teams must carry at least 14 players throughout the season (with a maximum of 15). They’re allowed just two weeks all year long in which they can dip to 13 players, which is usually used for teams that take a hit to the size of their roster after a trade.

The Warriors will have plenty of options for addressing the 14th roster spot. They could revisit the Dwight Howard concept that nearly happened about a month ago, or try to lure another Hall of Fame-bound veteran, like Carmelo Anthony (who is a good friend of Chris Paul’s). Juan Toscano-Anderson was in the building for the team’s game on Friday night, as he joined the broadcast booth for the bulk of the game, and he could be an option — he’s currently under contract with a Mexican team, but the Dubs could likely buy him out. They could lure Andre Iguodala out of his fresh retirement (this is a joke ... I think). They could see if the Washington Wizards release Jordan Poole following his 1-for-15 shooting performance on Friday (for legal purposes, this is also a joke). They could even swing an early-season trade.

In all likelihood, though, the Warriors will either sign a veteran in the Gay/McGruder ilk — possibly even one of those two, after two weeks of tax payment savings — or they’ll convert one of their three two-way contracts (Jerome Robinson, Lester Quiñones, and Usman Garuba) to an actual contract.

We’ll just have to wait and see.