Warriors notebook: Trayce Jacskon-Davis eyeing Thursday Summer League finale for debut
LAS VEGAS — Trayce Jackson-Davis is expecting to make his Warriors debut at Summer League for the team’s final game on Thursday afternoon, the rookie told this news organization.
Jackson-Davis, 23, has missed the team’s first four Summer League games, including two California Classic games in Sacramento, dealing with a right hamstring injury. He is expected to sit out Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks as a precaution, he said.
But the former Indiana forward is holding out hope that he’ll be able to see some action before the summer showcase wraps up this weekend.
Jackson-Davis has been participating in Warriors’ practices and drills, but the team is being cautious to keep from re-injuring his hamstring. Jackson-Davis tweaked it during a Summer League practice in the days before the California Classic.
The Warriors acquired Jackson-Davis as the 57th overall pick in a deal on draft night. Even slightly hobbled, he’s been working on some of the fundamentals he’ll be asked to do to earn NBA minutes this season. He adds to Golden State’s big depth that includes Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Dario Saric and, like them, will be expected to be a proficient screener and passer. Jackson-Davis thrived as a passer at Indiana University, but he’s learning the details of how to operate in the Warriors system during Summer League.
“I think it’s really paying dividends,” he said on Tuesday. “Just being able to learn from Draymond Green at that position is going to pay dividends.”
Summer League tidbits
Chris Paul, new Warrior, has been working out at the team’s Las Vegas facility and was getting shots up alongside Gary Payton II and Moses Moody on Tuesday while the Summer League team practiced.
Speaking of Payton, the defensive savant looks to be regaining his 2022 physical form. He’d lost some weight and wasn’t 100 percent healthy during last season’s playoff run. He’d lost some of his strength and size recovering from core surgery undergone in the 2022 offseason.
Two-way possibilities
The Warriors have two open two-way spots available on their roster and a few options to potentially fill those spots. The big league roster is in need of more wing depth and can always use a few more bigs.
They have shooting guard Lester Quiñones as the only player currently signed to a two-way contract. He’s shown why team officials believe in him in just a few games. The guard is averaging 20.5 points per game and shooting 35.3 percent from 3 in 33.3 minutes per game.
Gui Santos, a 6-foot-7 forward, could earn a two-way in his second year with the Warriors. Santos is averaging 19 points in 29.8 minutes per game averaging five rebounds and four assists per game. The Warriors took Santos out of Minas in Brazil with the 55th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The Warriors could, and may, flip through a handful of players this summer and into fall to fill those three two-way spots. Last year, the Warriors waived two-way guys Quinones and Quinndary Weatherspoon on Oct. 13 and signed Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome to the two-way deals the following day. Pat Spencer and Jerome Robinson were training camp candidates to take over those two-way spots, but the Warriors brought in Jerome and Lamb late in the game. The two-way roster could be a carousel of names until preseason begins.