What we learned about Warriors from NBA Summer League

After eight games in two cities, the Warriors concluded their Summer League schedule on Saturday. 

They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 82-71 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Chris Manon led Golden State with 17 points on 4 of 5 shooting, while teammates Ja’Vier Francis and Blake Hinson combined for 25 points. UCLA product Jules Bernard scored 16 off the bench. 

Now that the summer exhibitions are over, it is time to figure out what can be gleaned from the games. 

Here’s what we learned:  

Will Richard looks like a steal

During the predraft process, general manager Mike Dunleavy made sure to emphasize that the team would like but was not expecting to select an immediate contributor in the second round. 

If Summer League is anything to go by, Dunleavy might be pleasantly surprised by at least one of their two draft picks.

Will Richard, who helped Florida win the national championship last spring, was the Warriors’ most consistent player during the summer games.

Unlike many teams that try to give their draft picks reps as the No. 1 scoring option, Warriors summer coach Lainn Wilson placed the 6-foot-4, 22-year-old Richard in the position of a 3-and-D wing that he will likely play if he receives minutes during the NBA season. 

The rookie thrived in that role, averaging 10.3 points on 48.5% shooting in his four games in Las Vegas, displaying a willingness to fire away off the catch and attack the basket on cuts and drives.

While his defense can be handsy at times, leading to fouls, Richard has not backed down from high-profile matchups. 

Toohey a work in progress

Alex Toohey does not fit the traditional mold of a “project player,” being neither exceptionally athletic nor a knockdown shooter. 

But after Summer League, there is no question the 21-year-old Australian forward has a ways to go before he is NBA-ready.

Flashes of talent are there for the 6-foot-8 power forward, like when he made a series of nifty reverse layups around Utah’s rotation center Kyle Filipowski in a 15-point night. 

He also took advantage of ballhandling opportunities by bringing the ball up the floor in transition and appeared comfortable in open space. 

But his lack of burst was also apparent in the helter-skelter Summer League environment, and Toohey had trouble getting into gaps against NBA-caliber defenses. His poor shooting percentages reflected that. 

Expect to see Toohey spend most of the year developing in Santa Cruz. 

Lainn Wilson can coach

The Warriors had, arguably, the least-heralded Summer League roster. Second-year center Quinten Post did not play, and there were no ballyhooed prospects on a roster populated by NBA hopefuls, benchwarmers and future all-stars in Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional. 

So for the Warriors to win 4 of 8 games while shuffling through lineups like a hand of blackjack at the nearby Aria was a credit to Wilson’s ability to squeeze every last ounce of talent out of his squad. 

The former video coordinator was recently promoted to the head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors, which means he will be in charge of developing at least a few of the players from his overachieving Summer League squad. 

Armstrong makes good first impression

Despite spending the last four months of the season with the Warriors organization after being signed from Australia’s National Basketball League, an air of mystery still surrounded 23-year-old Tasmanian point guard Taran Armstrong. 

The 6-5 floor general impressed in his Summer League minutes as the only true table-setter on the roster. Entering Saturday’s finale, he averaged 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists while playing with an assorted bunch. 

Like his Australian brethren Toohey, Armstrong is a particularly twitchy athlete, which showed in Thursday’s loss to the Raptors. But he made the most of his catch-and-shoot opportunities and sprayed the ball around as a passer. 

For a Warriors team desperate for young – and cheap – players, Armstrong might be a factor in the rotation. 

Other Warriors notables

– Chris Manon may not make an NBA roster, but the undrafted rookie forward probably earned a pro basketball contract somewhere with his high-energy style. He cannot shoot, but that does not matter when you play with the kind of energy and defend at the level the Vanderbilt alum does. 

– Second-year big man Jackson Rowe did his best Draymond Green impression during Summer League, making a number of impressive passes as the short-roll playmaker. The 28-year-old could be a factor in the Warriors’ rotation this season.

– Coleman Hawkins was quite vocal about his belief that he should have been drafted, and the Sacramento native was probably right. Aside from an atrocious game against the Raptors, he was a high-energy and athletic big who flashed some high-level passing ability out of the high post. 

– Gabe Madsen’s 22-point outburst against the Jazz – six 3-pointers in the first half – was the kind of random fun that can occur in the Summer League. And shooting over 50% from 3-point land and the field as whole will pique some team’s interest, whether it’s in the U.S. or overseas. 

– A year after tearing his Achilles, Marques Bolden made his return to the court. Even if he does not make it back to the NBA, he will likely sign with a G-League team or play outside of the U.S.