Warriors Sign Free Agent Swingman: Report

Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr

Getty Golden State Warriors new head coach Steve Kerr (L) speaks during a news conference at the Warriors headquarters in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Golden State Warriors remained active in the free agent market this week, signing a young swingman to the roster.

The Dubs on Wednesday, October 13 picked up LJ Figueroa, an un-drafted free agent out of the University of Oregon. The team announced the move via its official Twitter account.

“The Warriors have signed free agent guard/forward L.J. Figueroa,” the Warriors wrote. “L.J., 23, appeared in 26 games (21 starts) during his senior season at the University of Oregon in 2020-21, averaging 12.3 points, a team-high 6.1 rebounds and 1.58 steals.”


Figueroa’s Basketball Career Has Included Several Stops

Bob Myers

GettyBob Myers, president of basketball operations for the Golden State Warriors.

As far as NBA rookies go, Figueroa is older than most.

He spent time with the Dallas Mavericks before landing with the Warriors and bounced around a good deal before that throughout the course of his college career. Golden State detailed all the stops along the way for Figueroa in a team press release issued Wednesday.

“The 6’6” guard/forward began his collegiate career at Odessa College where he was named the Western Junior College Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year,” the release said. “He transferred to St John’s for his sophomore and junior seasons. Figueroa went unselected in the 2021 NBA Draft.”


Figueroa Likely Headed to Warriors G-League Affiliate

Steph-Steve-Kerr

GettyGolden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr during a game in 2018.

Figueroa is almost certainly headed to the Dubs’ G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, after signing the training camp contract.

He will join another free agent signing, Quinndary Weatherspoon, who Golden State inked to a deal on Monday, October 11. The team also announced that news via their official Twitter account.

“The Warriors have signed free agent guard Quinndary Weatherspoon,” the Warriors wrote. “Quinndary, 25, appeared in 31 games with the San Antonio Spurs over the last two seasons, averaging 1.9 points in 6.4 minutes per game.”

Weatherspoon was waived by the Warriors Wednesday, the next step in the process of relegating him to the G League where he and Figueroa will compete to elevate to the team’s active roster.

While it will be Figueroa’s first time in the G League, Weatherspoon is a veteran of the experience. He achieved a substantive measure of success in that league over the last two years.

“The Mississippi State product also spent parts of the last two seasons with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s G League affiliate, averaging 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.05 steals in 29.1 minutes over 37 games (35 starts),” a press release from the Warriors said.

While the Weatherspoon waiving made way for the Figueroa signing, it was the dismissal of a seasoned NBA veteran from the Dubs’ roster that made way for the Weatherspoon addition.

The Warriors on Saturday, October 9 parted ways with guard Langston Galloway. Galloway was signed on September 24. He appeared in three preseason games for Golden State in the just over two weeks of time he spent with the organization. Galloway played just under 9 minutes per contest, posting averages of 3.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Golden State’s current roster stands at 20 players. A total of 15 will be on the active roster when the Warriors open the regular season next week against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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