The Golden State Warriors have quickly admitted to a strange mistake they should never have made, signing center Charles Bassey to a 10-day contract on Sunday as first reported by Mike Scotto of Hoops Hype.
Bassey has been an impressive piece of Golden State's G League affiliate in Santa Cruz this season, but that didn't stop the franchise from turning their back on the 25-year-old in favor of another big man in Omer Yurtseven last month.
Warriors admit their mistake by signing Charles Bassey
The decision to sign Yurtseven over Bassey always looked like a strange one, with the Boston Celtics quickly taking advantage by signing the latter to a 10-day contract themselves immediately after. Perhaps the deal with the Celtics was already lined up, but if not there was really no reason for the Warriors to sign Yurtseven over someone who was already within their organization.
Yurtseven's second 10-day contract came to an end following Thursday's defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Turkish center did have 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a block the night before against the San Antonio Spurs, but otherwise failed to make enough of an impact for the Golden State to consider persisting with him.
Bassey's second 10-day contract with the Celtics also finished up, giving the Warriors this opportunity to sign the 6'11" big man who will now wind up playing for four different franchises this season alone.
Bassey played 23 games in his rookie year with the Philadelphia 76ers, before playing the next three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. This season he's played two games with the Memphis Grizzlies while on a 10-day hardship contract, one game with the 76ers on a 10-day, and five with the Celtics on a pair of 10-day deals.
Charles Bassey rewarded for strong G League form
In between all his various stints with NBA teams this season, Bassey has managed 17 games for Santa Cruz where he's averaged an impressive 20.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per game on a highly efficient 61% shooting from the floor and 40.5% from 3-point range.
There's a good chance this 10-day contract finishes up as just that, rather than Bassey having any long-term future with Golden State. However, sometimes it's just good to reward strong form from your G League team, which is exactly why signing Yurtseven over Bassey didn't make a whole lot of sense initially.
But as they say, better late than never and the Warriors have now admitted their mistake and given Bassey a runway, albeit a short one, to try and make an impact over the remainder of the season.