Warriors Waive Backup Shooting Guard Labeled As 'Tough Kid' By Gregg Popovich

With just days away from the upcoming NBA season, the Golden State Warriors have added and released another backcourt backup.

The Warriors have hinted at what solid Dubs fans could expect this year in the preseason.

As it stands, it appears that head coach Steve Kerr will have plenty of options in the backcourt, having unraveled Jordan Poole in the team’s exhibition games.

Despite the emergence of Poole and the looming return of All-Star sharpshooter Klay Thompson, it is quite interesting that the Warriors are still leaning towards honing young shooting guards with Quinndary Weatherspoon as one of the latest additions, the team announced Monday.

According to the press release, Weatherspoon is included in the Warriors’ 20-player overall roster for the 2021-22 NBA season.

However, just over 48 hours after signing Weatherspoon, the Dubs decided to waive him, the team confirmed in a new PR post.

Weatherspoon was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 49th overall pick in 2019. He finished his two-way deal with the Spurs but only played a total of 31 NBA games, averaging an underwhelming 1.9 points per game.

Despite not being handed much playing time in his first two seasons in the NBA, Weatherspoon managed to impress Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich with his ability to utilize his “size.”

“He’s a pretty tough kid, tough-minded, tough physically, good size," Popovich said of Weatherspoon.

While the 25-year-old evidently failed to leave a lasting impression in the NBA, he successfully made his mark in the NBA G League, finishing his stint with 14.9 PPG and 5.1 APG on .455/.333/.795 shooting in 37 games for the Austin Spurs.

However, the Spurs still opted not to give Weatherspoon an offer that would send him back up to the NBA this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Meanwhile, the Warriors are looking forward to having Thompson back in action sometime in the first half of the upcoming season.

Ahead of his highly-anticipated return, Thompson stressed that he might not be the same player he was a few years ago, but he’ll definitely still be “a very effective player.”

"I expect to get back there,” Thompson previously said on Sirius XM radio. “Not right away just because that was 100 games worth of work and incredible shape. But when I step back on the floor I’m gonna be a very effective player. Maybe not what I was doing shooting the ball like I was, but I will still be really good. And I will just keep going up–and I really believe that."