Despite the ongoing stalemate with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, the Golden State Warriors went ahead and made a flurry of moves to solidify their roster on Sunday.
One of those was second-round pick Will Richard who the Warriors took 56th overall in June's NBA Draft. Following an impressive summer league campaign, Golden State have invested long-term in Richard by signing him to a four-year contract which includes two guaranteed seasons.
Some have been left surprised that Richard has flown straight onto the Warriors main roster, let alone on a four-year deal rather than starting on a two-way contract. It does suggest that Golden State believe they have a real player in the 6'4" guard who averaged 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals with the Florida Gators last season, including going for a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds on 4-of-7 3-point shooting in the victorious NCAA championship game against the Houston Cougars.
Quinten Post's rookie contract now looks even worse for the Warriors
Richard's new contract will look similar to that of Trayce Jackson-Davis who the Warriors selected 57th overall two years ago, with the 6'9" big man also getting a four-year deal that was only guaranteed for the first two seasons.
General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Golden State have had success with their late second-round picks in recent years. The most exciting of those might be second-year big man Quinten Post who impressed significantly toward the end of last season, having finished as the team's leading 3-point shooter by percentage (40.8%) in his rookie year.
The problem for the Warriors is that arguably their best recent second-round pick is also the one that's contracted for the least amount of time. After starting last season on a two-way contract, Post was moved onto the roster mid-season but only given a two-year deal with a second year team option.
Golden State unsurprisingly picked up that team option instead of renegotiating this offseason, but it means Post will become a restricted free agent next year. The franchise will have some control given he'll be restricted, but they may still need to pay the 25-year-old in excess of $10 million annually if he can build on what was an impressive first season.
While it's easy to hindsight, the Warriors made a mistake by not signing Post to a four-year deal as they did with Jackson-Davis and now Richard. Perhaps the seven-footer's management didn't give them an opportunity once it came time to negotiate on a new deal in February, but they surely would have been open to that rather than take a two-way contract last offseason.
Unfortunately that's now all in the past, with Post hoping for a strong second year in the hope he may be ready to take the starting center role from Al Horford next season assuming he remains with the Warriors.