Here’s a breakdown of the 2017-18 NBA G League training camp roster for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
In case you didn’t know, the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors have a G League affiliate known as the Santa Cruz Warriors, and they’ve been pretty damn good for the past five seasons.
And for the third consecutive season, I will be committing to bringing you all the latest news from Surf City via the FanSided network’s flagship Golden State Warriors site, Blue Man Hoop.
Following the departure of longtime head coach Casey Hill, the Santa Cruz Warriors will be headed over by rookie head coach Aaron Miles. Like his predecessor, he will be expected to develop and showcase a group of young, ambitious players who dream of playing basketball at the highest level.
As it currently stands, the team primarily consists of 2017 undrafted rookies, who make up a third of the training camp roster. Santa Cruz fans will recognize at least three names returning from last season, and they may also recognize the pair of two-way contract players who will be spending the majority of their time in Surf City.
The Santa Cruz training camp roster also sports four players who just recently spent time playing for Golden State as training camp invites, as well as a number of players who are G League or NBA Summer League veterans.
This article will briefly touch on all 15 players currently on the 2017-18 training camp roster for the Santa Cruz Warriors. All stats were provided by RealGM.com.
Alex Hamilton
Surf City faithful will recognize Alex Hamilton right off the back. He’s back for another season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take more of leadership role as one of the three returning Santa Cruz players.
Having gone undrafted back during the 2016 NBA Draft, this 24-year-old, 6-foot-4 combo guard was selected by the Oklahoma City Blue with the third overall pick of the 2016 NBA Development League Draft. He found his way to Santa Cruz via a draft night trade.
Appearing in 43 games for the Sea Dubs, Hamilton averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steals in 23.3 minutes. He shot a promising 45.6 percent from the field, but didn’t shoot too well from behind the arc (22.6 3P%) or the free throw line (70.5 FT%).
I spoke with Hamilton during his training camp stint with the Golden State Warriors this past summer, and he said his main focus during the offseason has been on improving his shooting. If he can prove to be a much more reliable shooter this season, there’s no way in hell he fails to earn a call-up to the NBA.
Cleanthony Early
Cleanthony Early will be heading into this second season with the Santa Cruz Warriors after only playing just 14 games with the Sea Dubs last season. The 6-foot-8, 26-year-old forward is due for a breakout season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if an NBA team scoops him up early on in the year.
Last year, Early averaged 10.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 17.8 minutes while shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 43.3 percent from behind the arc and 63.9 percent from the free throw line.
Early was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors in a 3-team trade involving the Texas Legends and Westchester Knicks last season. Early — formerly of the New York Knicks — unfortunately started the season nursing a hamstring injury, failing to find consistent minutes after finally being cleared to play in January 2017.
Early had originally signed with Green basketball club AEK B.C. in September, but he was released soon after due to alleged “disciplinary reasons.” He’ll be coming into this season with something to prove.
James Southerland
Despite just joining the team last December, James Southerland has become something of a staple with the Santa Cruz Warriors, providing the Sea Dubs with a rather efficient scoring option able to space the floor. The 6-foot-8 forward is also notably skilled at playing multiple positions, having played as the small ball big man in some of last year’s lineups.
Appearing in 35 games for Santa Cruz, Southerland averaged 13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 27 minutes on shooting splits of 46.5/39.2/71.7. He’ll be heading into his fifth year as a professional basketball player — his second with the Sea Dubs.
In addition to Alex Hamilton, I also see Southerland taking on more of a leadership role with the Warriors. Not only is he a respected vet that’s played at almost every level of professional basketball — a trait he shares with head coach Aaron Miles — but his familiarity with the Warriors system makes him the ideal candidate to help guide some of the younger G League players.
At 27 years of age, Southerland will be entering what may be his prime. I’m not too sure what to expect from Southerland as he goes into his third year with the G League, but this could very well end up being the most important year of his professional basketball career — and I’m here for it.
Chris Boucher
Chris Boucher is one of the two players who currently have a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors. In short, what this means is he’ll be splitting his season between Golden State and the Santa Cruz Warriors, playing much of the year with the latter.
This 6-foot-10 forward out of Oregon still has a ways to go before he’s considered fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered back in March, but he’s reportedly ahead of schedule according to Golden State Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr.
Boucher enjoyed a solid season with the Ducks last year as a senior, appearing in 31 games on per game averages of 11.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 23.5 minutes. He shot 52.4 percent from the field 35.0 percent from behind the arc and 56.6 percent from the free throw line.
His ACL injury played a huge factor in where he ended up after declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft, ultimately going undrafted. Lucky for Golden State, Boucher has all the tools required of a modern NBA big man, and it’ll be a pleasure to watch him develop over the course of his time with Santa Cruz.
Quinn Cook
Quinn Cook, a 6-foot-2 point guard out of Duke who went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, is the other two-way contract player with the Golden State Warriors (and, by extension, the Santa Cruz Warriors).
Cook has a bit of NBA experience having played nine games with the New Orleans Pelicans last season and five games with the Dallas Mavericks. Altogether, Cook appeared in 14 games over the course of the 2016-17 NBA regular season, averaging 5.6 points and 1.8 assists in 13.4 minutes. He shot 50.8 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from behind the arc and 40.0 percent (2-of-5) from the free throw line.
Cook is no stranger to the G League, having two years of experience playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, the Canton Charge. Over the course of his entire G League career, he’s appeared in a total 82 games on per game averages of 22.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals. He’s shot 47.1 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from behind the arc and 88.2 percent from the charity stripe.
The Santa Cruz Warriors will benefit from having such a decorated G League vet in their backcourt. The 24-year-old’s presence on Golden State’s roster also gives the Warriors some much-needed insurance should any of Golden State’s backup point guards miss significant time.
Antonius Cleveland
Warriors fans will likely recognize Antonius Cleveland‘s name from his time as a training camp invite with Golden State. Though he only appeared in one game for the Warriors during the preseason, he showed a great deal of potential posting eight points, two rebounds and two steals in just 5.7 minutes of play against the Denver Nuggets.
The 23-year-old, 6-foot 6 guard went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft despite a number of solid pre-draft workouts. He posted modest numbers in six appearances with the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 5.8 points (40.6 FG%) and 1.6 rebounds in 14.7 minutes.
Cleveland has the tools to develop into an all-around NBA shooting guard. As the primary scoring option at Southeast Missouri State, Cleveland averaged 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in 32.9 minutes, shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from behind the arc.
If Cleveland can improve his shooting over the course of this season with Santa Cruz, he’ll be one step closer to realizing his NBA dream.
Georges Niang
Prior to the announcement for Quinn Cook’s signing, I honestly thought Georges Niang had the best chance of staying on with the Golden State Warriors after training camp as their second two-way contract player.
The Indiana Pacers selected the former 4-star recruit and former All-American with the 50th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He appeared in 23 games with the Indiana Pacers last season, averaging 0.9 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.0 minutes.
He was assigned to Indiana’s G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, four times last season, playing six regular season games on per game averages of 19.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals, as well as three postseason games on per game averages of 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Niang posts all around great numbers, but he has yet to distinguish himself among his peers. Nevertheless, I highly doubt he goes too long without an NBA call-up some time this season.
Michael Gbinije
Michael Gibinije was the other Golden State Warriors training camp invite from this past month that I thought had the next best chance of staying on with the team after the preseason.
Not only was he the only other player aside from Niang that played more than one game while in training camp with Golden State, but he’s also the only other training camp invite aside from Niang to have previous NBA experience.
Selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 79th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, Gbinije played a total of nine NBA games last season on per game averages of 0.4 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 3.5 minutes.
He was assigned multiple times to Detroit’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.8 steals over the course of 16 games. I’m unsure as to how the 6-foot-7 small forward will fit on this Santa Cruz Warriors team, but it will no doubt be an interesting storyline to follow as the season progresses.
Trevor Thompson
Trevor Thompson was one of the five players invited to training camp with the Golden State Warriors. Funny enough, I was the one that had been responsible for writing the Blue Man Hoop article on him being announced as a training camp invite — an article that was published over an hour after Golden State had announced that he had already been waived!
While his stint as a training camp invite was short-lived, it was clear from the get-go what Golden State had intended for Thompson all along. The Santa Cruz Warriors definitely need some height on their roster, and the 7-foot forward out of Ohio State has plenty of it.
Last season, Thompson, 23, played 32 games in his junior year, averaging a career-best 10.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 23.0 minutes. He also recorded a team-best 11 double-doubles and earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors.
Thompson’s role on the Santa Cruz Warriors is easy to predict: anchor the team inside, be a threat in the paint and control the glass. I’m unsure whether he’ll start in the absence of Chris Boucher, but that’s definitely a question mark worth asking about come Media Day on Tuesday.
Avry Holmes
Avry Holmes can flat out shoot the ball. Back at Clemson last season, Holmes proved himself to be quite an efficient scorer, averaging 10.3 points on 41.5 percent shooting from the field, 44.2 percent from behind the arc and 81.5 percent from the free throw line.
By far one of his best seasons, however, was his sophomore year playing at the University of San Francisco, where he averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 assists on 43.8 percent shoot from the field, 41.9 percent shooting from behind the arc and 83.7 percent shooting from the charity stripe.
Holmes was selected by the Santa Cruz Warriors with the 66th pick in the 2017 NBA G League Draft. Seeing as Cleveland, Cook and Hamilton are the most likely guards to vie for the starting backcourt spots, I expect Holmes to play the role of being a spark plug off the bench and quite possibly the primary floor spacer in the second unit.
Najeal Young
Najeal Young is a relatively unknown player out of Texas Wesleyan, which is an equally unknown school, to say the least. This is most evident in the fact that FanSided’s access to Getty Images doesn’t afford me any pictures of Young to use in this slideshow.
But judging from his highlights, there’s a lot to like about the 6-foot-6 small forward, who averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 35 games last season. He posted pretty solid shooting numbers, going 54.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc.
His game reminds me a bit of Maurice Harkless, whom I cover on my Portland Trail Blazers beat for Hoops Habit. Like Harkless, Young isn’t much of a long range shooter, but he makes up for that as an incredibly potent inside scorers.
Young also posted the most blocks on his team last season and the fourth-most steals, which are promising for Young defensively. His natural athleticism and intensity on the floor will serve him well going into the 2017-18 G League season.
Kelvin Lewis
Kelvin Lewis is the first player listed by the Santa Cruz Warriors as a “local tryout” that we’ll be examining today. The 29-year-old, 6-foot-4 guard last played for two different clubs overseas, averaging 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 38.5 shooting from the field, 33.1 percent shooting from behind the arc and 81.4 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Since going undrafted in 2010 out of Houston, Lewis has spent much of his time playing international basketball, appearing in a total of 169 games.
Lewis has some experience in the G League, last appearing in 50 games (38 starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers during the 2011-12 season. He averaged 12.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 28.2 minutes, shooting 41.3 percent from the field, 39.0 percent from behind the arc and 76.9 percent from the free throw line.
My main question for Lewis: why leave a relatively successful international career behind in lieu of going back to the G League? Such is a question I plan on asking come Media Day on Tuesday.
Zeke Marshall
“Local tryout” Zeke Marshall is the only other 7-footer on this training camp roster aside from Trevor Thompson. If Thompson doesn’t earn the start at center in Chris Boucher’s absence, then Marshall will likely become the starting big man in the middle for the time being should he stick with the team.
Marshall, 26, last played a total 21 games for Chalone-Sur-Saone in France. In those 21 games, he posted per game averages of 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.2 minutes off the bench, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 72.2 percent from the free throw line.
While those numbers may not be the most eye-popping stats you’d want from your starting big man, the fact of the matter is Santa Cruz is in desperate need of some size should Boucher miss significant time.
If Marshall wants to stick with this team, he’ll have to play a role similar to JaVale McGee, in that he’ll only play to match up with opposing big men. This may result in some inconsistent minutes, but I just can’t see exactly how Marshall will play into Santa Cruz’s long term plan as a small ball team.
Dennis Mavin
6-foot-3 guard Dennis Mavin is the last of the three “local tryouts” listed on the Santa Cruz Warriors training camp roster. Before going undrafted in 2015, he played 33 games in his senior year at Florida International, averaging 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.6 minutes.
There isn’t any statistical information for Mavin on RealGM beyond the five games he spent with Lithuianian club Pieno Zvaigzdes during the 2015-16 season. While in Lithuania, Mavin averaged 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 12.1 minutes.
From what I understand, Mavin also spent time with Fath Union Sport de Rabat in Morocco during the 2015-16 season, and he re-signed with them for the 2016-17 season. Note that none of this information is confirmed and is entirely based in speculation.
If Mavin remains anything close to the player he was in college, then he’ll have a chance of staying on the roster past training camp. On the other hand, it makes no sense to have seven guards on the roster — five of which are shorter than 6-foot-4.
Damion Lee
And finally, the last player on my list is 6-foot-6 guard Damion Lee out of Louisville. Lee, 25, was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors in a trade involving the Maine Red Claws and the Agua Caliente Clippers, giving up LaDontae Henton‘s returning player rights to the latter.
Last season, Lee played 16 games for the Boston Celtics’ G League affiliate, averaging 17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.1 minutes. He shot 47.2 percent from the field, an impressive 46.6 percent from behind the arc and 81.7 percent from the free throw line.
This summer, he played 11 Summer League games with the Miami Heat, averaging 7.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes. He didn’t shoot as well for Miami as he did for Maine, going 32.5 percent from the field and 25.5 percent from behind the arc.
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Lee is an interesting pick up for Santa Cruz. Alex Hamilton and Quinn Cook will likely switch off at point guard, while Antonius Cleveland and Avry Holmes are expected to take turns at shooting guard. Lee brings the backcourt rotation to five players if Dennis Mavin and/or Kelvin Lewis fail to stay on past the preseason.