Getty Rodney McGruder takes on Warriors guard Steph Curry.
The Golden State Warriors are finalizing a deal with free agent wing Rodney McGruder, according to The Athletic.
McGruder spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Pistons. The 32-year-old undrafted shooting guard averaged 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds across 33 games, including 12 starts, last season with the Pistons.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania added that McGruder will compete for a roster spot in the training camp. The Warriors have two available roster spots as they head to the training camp next week.
McGruder played his first three seasons in Miami after winning a D-League (now G League) championship with Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2016. The Heat waived him in 2019 despite averaging a career-high 7.6 points in the 2018-19 season. After three seasons with the Heat, McGruder spent one season with the Los Angeles Clippers before being shipped to Detroit as part of the Luke Kennard trade.
McGruder is a 36% career three-point shooter.
Steve Kerr Remains Non-Committal on Chris Paul Starting
Warriors coach Steve Kerr will defer his decision on whether Chris Paul will start after the training camp and the preseason games.
“What we’re going to do I [is] want to see training camp [first]. We’re going to try different combinations and take a look,” Kerr told reporters on Monday (h/t The Athletic’s Anthony Slater). “Obviously, all six guys are going to play a lot of minutes for us.”
Kerr referred to Paul and long-time starters Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.
“But, you know, if this is going to work, then everybody has to embrace it, regardless of who’s starting and who’s not and it only works if the whole team buys in and I know these guys will,” Kerr said.
“I know five of them really well. And I’m getting to know Chris and one thing I know about all of them is they want to win more than anything hurt, incredibly competitive group. And I’m very confident that we’ll figure it out and the guys will buy in and find a winner,” he continued.
Earlier this month, ESPN and Andscape’s senior writer Marc Spears reported that Paul is expected to start.
“I do expect him to start. And I think it’s like five-minute spurts,” Spears said on the September 7 episode of the Yahoo Sports Ball Don’t Lie’s Good Word with Goodwill podcast. “I don’t know that they really want his minutes to be high, but I think they’re gonna try it. I could be wrong, but that’s the gist I’m getting. This isn’t an opinion that he’s expected to start. It’s what I’m hearing. He’s never not started in his career.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Warriors’ Radar
The Warriors are among the few teams expected to monitor Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s situation in Milwaukee, according to ESPN.
A few preliminary teams, who, at the very least, will be watching this situation closely, could include the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, according to Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne during a recent episode of the Lowe Post podcast. Each of those teams has a combination of intriguing young players and valuable draft picks available that could be packaged in the kind of trade it would theoretically take to land Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo recently doubled down on his ultimatum to the Bucks to keep their title window open. Otherwise, he’d seek a better situation elsewhere.
The extension-eligible Antetokounmpo is deferring his decision to next summer when he could sign a more lucrative deal to stay in Milwaukee or enter the final year of his current supermax contract. That will all depend on how the Bucks perform this season.