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Juan Toscano-Anderson’s interesting contract situation with the Warriors
THREAD
THREAD
JTA is on a two-way deal, meaning he can only be active for 50 of the team’s 72 games this year.
He has already been active for 15 of their 26 games, meaning he is only eligible to play in 35 of their remaining 46 games.
He has already been active for 15 of their 26 games, meaning he is only eligible to play in 35 of their remaining 46 games.
JTA has been awesome in his recent six-game stretch with the Warriors. I don’t need to go into the details - I’m sure you already know.
With GSW in the playoff hunt, JTA needs to play in every game he can for the rest of the season, especially with GSW's current injury situation
With GSW in the playoff hunt, JTA needs to play in every game he can for the rest of the season, especially with GSW's current injury situation
However, his two-way deal requires him to sit 11 more games. Plus, two-way players are not eligible to play in the postseason.
The Warriors can't afford to let that happen: meaning, they need to sign him to their NBA roster.
The Warriors can't afford to let that happen: meaning, they need to sign him to their NBA roster.
The problem is that the natural player to cut in order to make room for JTA is Smailagic.
At this point, it seems pretty clear that the GSW FO believes Smiley is an important project, and would prefer to not cut him.
At this point, it seems pretty clear that the GSW FO believes Smiley is an important project, and would prefer to not cut him.
So, GSW will most likely wait as long as possible to cut Smiley and add JTA to the roster.
If JTA plays in every game moving forward, he will reach his 50-game limit around late April.
(The NBA hasn’t released the second half schedule yet, so I’m projecting)
If JTA plays in every game moving forward, he will reach his 50-game limit around late April.
(The NBA hasn’t released the second half schedule yet, so I’m projecting)
So, by late April, which is almost 2.5 months away, the Warriors can assess if Juan is still playing this well, how Smiley has played in the G League, and what their roster looks like at that point
THEN they can go ahead and cut Smiley (and potentially re-sign him to a two-way deal) and THEN sign JTA to a roster spot.
Basically - no rush to convert JTA's deal. There's plenty of time and incentive for everyone to wait.
Basically - no rush to convert JTA's deal. There's plenty of time and incentive for everyone to wait.
Here’s where it gets interesting - what would JTA's contract look like?
The Warriors will want to sign JTA for as long as possible while as cheap as possible.
For a 2-way contract conversion, that’s 3 years on the NBA minimum salary.
The Warriors will want to sign JTA for as long as possible while as cheap as possible.
For a 2-way contract conversion, that’s 3 years on the NBA minimum salary.
JTA, I’m assuming, will want to only be converted for the remainder of the year.
That way, he can be an RFA in the offseason, giving him a shot at more money.
That way, he can be an RFA in the offseason, giving him a shot at more money.
See Danuel House’s situation in Jan 2019. House was offered 3 years/min midway through the season. He refused, forcing HOU to just convert his NBA contract for the remainder of the year.
In the offseason, he re-signed with the Rockets for 3 years, $11M. https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2019/01/examining-stalemate-between-rockets-danuel-house.html
In the offseason, he re-signed with the Rockets for 3 years, $11M. https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2019/01/examining-stalemate-between-rockets-danuel-house.html
JTA & the Warriors would most likely face that same dilemma around late April in the above scenario.
It’s a little too soon to compare JTA’s value to House’s. House had a 25 game stretch with the Rockets at that point that was considered a “breakout” - JTA has only played 6 games so far in his own breakout stretch.
However, assuming JTA keeps playing like this, I imagine he would have a very similar value to House, if not a bit more.
That would make for a very interesting negotiation between the Warriors FO and JTA.
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That would make for a very interesting negotiation between the Warriors FO and JTA.
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