Getty Juan Toscano-Anderson looks on before a preseason game between the LA Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Golden State Warriors may have retained all of their foundational pieces during the offseason but, make no mistake — there was significant roster turnover. The departure of veteran wing Juan Toscano-Anderson may have stung as much as any the team experienced, though.
Sure, he wasn’t playing important minutes in the playoffs like Gary Payton II or Otto Porter Jr., and he wasn’t Steph Curry’s bro-in-law like Damion Lee. What he was, though, was Oakland born and bred; a local kid who overcame adversity to achieve championship success at the NBA level.
As it happens, JTA will be in the building at Chase Center on October 18 (as a member of the LA Lakers) when the Warriors receive their championship rings. And while it’s fortuitous that the schedule broke that way for the 29-year-old, he has made it clear that he has things other than jewelry on his mind.
Namely, getting a measure of revenge on his old crew.
Toscano-Anderson Gets Real on the Ring Ceremony
After the Lakers got blown out in their preseason finale by the Sacramento Kings, Toscano-Anderson was asked about opening the regular season in the Bay Area and being able to receive his ring along with his old teammates.
Very clearly, he feels that he has bigger fish to fry.
“Obviously, it’s a big night for myself and for Golden State, something that I definitely want to enjoy it. But I’m a Laker now — I want to go in there and kick their… butts,” Toscano-Anderson said, via Spectrum SportsNet.
“The ultimate goal is to start off the season on the right foot and go into Golden State, which is a tough place to win. You know, I’ve played many games in Chase, I know how tough it is to win there, I know how their fans are, and they’re an amazing team, so I would like to go in there and get a win. That would be better than the ring, to be honest.”
When pressed about how he would proceed after receiving his ring, Toscano-Anderson doubled down on his belief that the game’s the thing.
“I’m just gonna look at it; I’ll enjoy all that after the game. Like I said, it would feel much sweeter to go in there, get my ring and win and feel good about the win itself but feel confident moving forward in the season,” he said.
“Beating Golden State, it’s a big deal. They’re a great team, they’re the champions and so that would be much sweeter than anything else. Getting my ring, enjoying that with my family but capping it off with a win at Golden State.”
JTA spent three seasons with the Dubs from 2019-22, averaging 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 139 games.
Chiozza Released by New Team
With the 2022-23 season tipping off in a matter of days, teams around the Association have been trimming their rosters in an effort to get down to the league maximum of 15 standard-contract players and a pair of two-way ballers. For the Warriors, that meant that Pat Spencer and Jerome Robinson were released.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, former Warriors guard Chris Chiozza met a similar fate.
Per an announcement from the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday morning, Chiozza joined forward RaiQuan Gray in being waived by the team. The former Warrior had signed with the Nets in mid-September and went on to appear in two preseason games for the club.
Chiozza spent the entirety of the 2021-22 season with the Dubs as a two-way player, appearing in 34 games and averaging 2.0 points, 1.9 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per outing.