Golden State Warriors Training Camp: Who Takes Final Spot?

The Golden State Warriors’ list of training camp invites has gotten longer, but which of those players will make the final cut?

With Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green now enjoying their time off following their gold medal performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Golden State Warriors look to transition their focus from foreign, international contests to preparing for the 2016-17 NBA regular season back at home.

The NBA has slowly but surely started to ease back into the limelight with preseason schedules having been released, and everyone’s eyes will be on the title-favorite Warriors as they take their first step on the road to redeeming themselves for last season’s disappointing Finals performance.

Training camp is upon us, and the Warriors have thus far brought in four solid candidates to compete for the final roster spot: Cameron Jones, Elliot Williams, JaVale McGee, and Phil Pressey.

Last time Blue Man Hoop took an in-depth look at the training camp roster, Phil Pressey was the newest addition to the Warriors’ training camp list. To recap: Pressey, 25, is an undersized point guard who played 23 games last season, splitting time between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns. Pressey, however, is best known for his contributions to the squad he last played for, the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League.

Updating the training camp list, Cameron Jones appears to be the not-so-new guy on the block, first reported by Chris Reichert of FanSided’s Upside Motor.

Santa Cruz Warriors fans may remember the 6-foot-4 off-guard from his two years playing for the Sea Dubs, holding career averages of 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals in 99 regular season games for Surf City. The scoring guard also boasts D-League career shooting averages of 46.3 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from three, and 82.8 percent from the line.

Last season, the 27-year-old split time between two teams overseas, the last of which was Arkadikos of Greece. Playing 10 games for Arkadikos, Jones averaged 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals. In the 15 games he played for Ironi Nes Zerona of the Israeli League, Jones averaged 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals.

Although Pressey would certainly serve as an invaluable insurance policy should Stephen Curry or Shaun Livingston go down with an injury, I see it being rather unlikely he takes the final spot on the regular season roster with the team needing to address other needs.

Jones is an intriguing prospect, but with many already questioning how the scoring load will be divided among the three top notch scorers in Golden State (Curry, Durant, Thompson), I don’t see Jones as a necessary addition. The same goes for Elliot Williams, whom I believe deserves a bigger scoring role on an NBA team — something that Golden State is not in the position to give him right now.

Which leaves us with the Shaqtin’ A Fool MVP, JaVale McGee.

Put simply: what Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli lacked offensively, they surely made up for it on the defensive end, and those two rim protectors are no longer on this team. McGee could fill that need.

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An inside scoring presence to balance out the number of shooters on the Warriors is a nice thing to have — and offensive glass cleaner Zaza Pachulia could possibly fill that role — but the Warriors desperately need a proven shot blocker to fill the void left by the absence of Bogut and Ezeli.

While McGee is viewed in some circles as a low-IQ player with an affinity for spectacular, bonehead plays, the Warriors core could be the support McGee needs to get his career back on track. Although injuries have plagued the 7-footer as of late, McGee will likely play a situational role on Golden State, which could possibly work to McGee’s favor in terms of long term health.

For the Warriors, McGee is the best long term option among the four training camp invites if can accept his role, play it efficiently, and remain healthy. And if he can’t, then at least maybe you’ll be able to occasionally enjoy your 15 seconds of fame being featured on Shaqtin’ A Fool.