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Anthony Lamb has played a key role for the Golden State Warriors this season. With the amount of injuries that the team has had to deal with, he’s had to step up and take on a larger role than he may have expected.
Lamb has made 50 appearances for the Dubs this season, playing about 20 minutes each time. The 25-year-old has produced some solid numbers too, averaging 7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 47.5% from the field and 37.9% from deep.
That number 50 is an important one. Lamb had been playing for the Warriors on a two-way contract, which means he’s only allowed to play in 50 NBA games that season. The rest of his time is supposed to be spent in the G-League.
The stipulations of Lamb’s two-way deal don’t necessarily mean that his time with the Warriors is over. Golden State can keep the young wing around by converting his contract to a fully-guaranteed NBA deal.
This may appear to be an easy decision, especially since Lamb has been a reliable contributor all-year. However, should the Dubs convert his contract, then they would go even further into the luxury tax and have to pay even more than the $168 million that they already are.
Steve Kerr Wants Warriors to Retain Anthony Lamb
Lamb’s 50th game for the Warriors came on Sunday afternoon, when the Dubs took on the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, the milestone game came in a loss, with Golden State falling 113-105.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was well aware that Lamb’s NBA-limit had been reached. Following the loss, he made a strong case to keep the 25-year-old around.
“I’d like to have Lamb on the roster,” Kerr told reporters in L.A. via NBC Sports Bay Area. “He plays an important role for us because he connects a lot of lineups with his ability to space the floor and shoot the three. And then he plays the way we’ve always played, with Point-Five basketball, make a quick decision, drive it, pass it, shoot it. And then he’s big and versatile enough to guard multiple spots.
Kerr highlighted Lamb’s versatility, which allows him to utilize the 6-foot 6-inch forward in many different lineups.
“So he connects a lot of our lineups. When we play two bigs, we can have him at the three or you can play him at the four. So he’s been really helpful for us this year. We’d love to get him on the roster and we’ll see what happens.”
Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson Still Confident in Warriors
Despite the loss on Sunday, Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both relayed confident messages after the game.
Curry’s statement was centered around the challenges that his teammates have fought through all season.
“It’s a different challenge because I was out for four weeks before, four weeks this last time. Andre (Iguodala) has been chomping at the bit to get out there and play,” Curry said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “The way we’ve been shorthanded for a long time, these guys have been stepping up and playing at an extremely high level to give us even a little bit of life to be where we are in the standings and all of that. You know, there’s just a lot that we’re trying to deal with and still stay optimistic about where we’re headed. Until we get beat we feel like we’re a tough matchup for anybody. That’s the confidence that we have to have down the stretch and heading into the postseason.”
Thompson shared that his confidence is sky-high and he has supreme confidence in his guys.
“Our confidence is very high. I think I’ve stated this before, I’m never going to doubt this group or this franchise,” he told reporters via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We still have a lot of basketball left and we can put ourselves in a great position to finish the year the way we want to.”
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