Golden State Warriors: Who is Jarell Eddie?

The rich get richer.

The Golden State Warriors, already one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league, will offer NBA D-League Three-point Shootout Champion Jarell Eddie a training camp invite. The Warriors have not officially signed Eddie yet, but the deal is most likely to be unguaranteed. At this stage, Eddie will be given a chance to make the team, provided he convinces head coach Steve Kerr in training camp that he is the right person for the Warriors’ bench.

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So, who is Jarell Eddie? After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, Eddie joined the Washington Wizards for the 2014 NBA Summer League. He subsequently signed with the Atlanta Hawks, but was later cut one month later – this was once again repeated with the Boston Celtics (but his stay lasted just four days).

He then alternated between playing for the Hawks’ D-League affiliate (the Fort Wayne Mad Ants), San Antonio Spurs’ D-League affiliate (the Austin Spurs) and the Atlanta Hawks (where he signed a ten day contract). His most memorable moment came when he defeated Seth Curry in the D-League three-point shooting contest.

The Warriors will be hoping that between Eddie, Ian Clark, and Chris Babb, they will be able to find one consistent shooter coming off the bench. Despite leading the league in three-point shooting, they only had Leandro Barbosa as the only bench player shooting above the league average from long range.

Eddie averaged 12.9 points per game while shooting 45.2 percent for the Spurs in the D-League. He was ranked third in that category, and was also known as a sharpshooter in college, where he averaged 37.6 percent in his final season.

Now, I will admit that I don’t know much about Eddie (which I suspect will be the same for many fans out there), but from the videos that I’ve watched since the rumours started, there is much to like about the 23-year old.

He has a quick release which makes him such a threat from behind the arc, and at 6’7”, can play either wing position. His size and defensive flexibility will be factors that could swing the final roster spot in his favour. Both Ian Clark and Chris Babb (who are presumably going to battle Eddie for the final spot) are smaller, and cannot provide that same flexibility at the wing spots that the switch-heavy Warriors’ defense demands.

The Spurs’ motion-focused offense is very similar to the one the Warriors’ employ. Watching the clips, Eddie would either curl off screens to receive a wide-open pass for a triple or be wide open on the perimeter as his defender slacks off to cover the drive – I’m sure these scenarios were what convinced the Warriors’ organization to take a flyer on him. Just imagine Eddie on the perimeter as the defense sinks in to contain a Stephen Curry drive, or him trailing behind a fast break and sinking one of those patented Warriors’ fast-break threes.

In all, Eddie’s three-point shooting, size, and play style could mean that the final roster spot is his for the taking. If he can show that his shooting in the D-League is transferrable into the big leagues, and that he can pick up the Warriors’ defensive schemes, he might be the Warriors’ final man on the roster.

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