Golden State Warriors Sign James Michael McAdoo
To help round out the fringe of their eventual 15-man roster, the Golden State Warriors have signed James Michael McAdoo, Aaron Craft and Mitchell Watt to contracts, the team announced Tuesday. The terms of the contracts were not disclosed, but according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, McAdoo was signed to a one-year deal worth the minimum.
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The contracts for all three are partially guaranteed, per
.
McAdoo was expected to be a one-and-done player heading into his anticipated freshman season at North Carolina, but after averaging 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in limited minutes, he decided to return to the Tar Heels for a sophomore season, during which he was projected to be a potential No. 1 overall pick. He averaged 14.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game that season and his NBA future looked bright.
But then McAdoo decided to come back to North Carolina AGAIN, killing his draft stock by joining one of the most loaded draft classes in the last decade. McAdoo also failed to significantly improve in his junior season, averaging 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
He went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft and will now have to work his way onto the Dubs’ roster at training camp.
That’s easier said than done, especially since the Warriors already have David Lee and Marreese Speights at the power forward position. Speights isn’t untouchable by any means in Golden State’s rotation, but McAdoo’s status as a “tweener” means he won’t be outworking any of the Warriors’ talented small forwards either.
However, McAdoo did impress at the NBA Summer League, averaging 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
The Dubs currently have only 13 players on guaranteed contracts, so there’s a chance some combination McAdoo, Craft and Watt could make the final 15-man roster if they prove themselves at training camp. Craft’s signing was reported a few weeks ago, and though he’ll really have to work on his offense and his shot to become a rotation player in this league, his defense and mental toughness gives him a chance.
Rookie head coach Steve Kerr likes Craft’s game, and his ability to push the starters in practice as that Annoying As S**t Guy That Gets All Up In Your Personal Space Up And Down The Court shouldn’t be underrated. Love him or hate him, Craft is already an Ohio State legend for tough defense and countless clutch plays in four years with the Buckeyes.
Craft averaged 9.8 points, 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in his senior season.
At 6’2″, Craft is a little bit undersized and he’s not much of an athlete either. But between his hustle, his competitive fire and his impressive D, Craft will definitely get a look from Kerr at training camp, especially with third-stringer Nemanja Nedovic dealing with a foot injury.
Watt, another power forward and a four-year player from the University at Buffalo, has spent the last two seasons playing professional basketball in Israel. Last season with Irona Nes Ziona, Watt averaged 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
In his senior season with the UB Bulls, he put up 16.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks per game.
Right now, Watt seems like the long shot given McAdoo’s raw talent and potential as a late bloomer, not to mention Craft’s performances with the Summer League team. Another potential wrench could be thrown in the works if Jermaine O’Neal stops pondering retirement and decides he wants to play one more season, although it admittedly feels like he’s leaning more toward not returning as each passing day moves us closer to the start of training camp.
Any player the Dubs decide not to keep likely has a short-term future with Golden State’s D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, although any team would be able to sign them if they were waived.