Warriors roster breakdown: From two-way deals to training camp invitees

For their six preseason games, the Golden State Warriors are allowed to have 21 players on their roster. However, that number will need to be trimmed to 18 before October 19, when opening-day rosters are due.

Among those 18 players, 15 will own standard roster spots and three will be on two-way contracts. The other three players will be waived. To be fair, there isn't much suspense as to how things are going to turn out. Twelve of those roster spots are already locked in, and the remaining three will most certainly go to Georges Niang, Brandon Williams and Charles Bassey.

Warriors' main roster is practically set in stone

Niang, a nine-year veteran who missed all of last season after suffering a foot injury in the offseason, is a career 40% shooter from three who's expected to bring depth and experience to the frontcourt.

Williams and his blistering quickness have shown enough during training camp and in his first three appearances with the franchise to earn a rotation role in the backcourt — he's reached double digits in all three of his games. The 26-year-old is currently on a non-guaranteed minimum contract.

As for Bassey, who finished with 13 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in Portland on Wednesday, he should serve as the third-string center in a very fragile center corps.

There's no real competition for the two-way spots

Regarding the two-way spots, don't expect a massive reshuffling. Or any.

LJ Cryer, Malevy Leons and Graham Ike currently hold the three two-way spots available. Two of them — Cryer and Leons — already have experience at the NBA level from last season (Cryer appeared in 18 games and Leons in 25) and both fill positional needs.

Cryer is a sharpshooter who can provide scoring sparks off the bench — he finished in double digits nine times last season — while Leons is a solid defender that could fill a Santos-like role if injuries were to hit an already undermanned Warriors squad even harder.

Meanwhile, Ike, whom the Warriors brought in as an undrafted free agent out of Gonzaga, adds even more depth to that vulnerable center rotation where it's complicated to trust Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford to remain healthy. The big man averaged 10.5 points and eight rebounds over six summer league games.

So what happens with Dalen Terry, Miles Kelly and Alex Toohey, the Warriors' three camp invitees? The most likely scenario is that they'll end up in Santa Cruz, unless a team snatches them after the Warriors eventually waive them before the October 19 deadline. Teams have 48 hours after the player gets waived to claim their contract. Terry, who already has four NBA seasons under his belt, can only be signed to a standard NBA contract, while the other two are eligible for a two-way deal.

Both the lengthy Terry and dynamic Kelly stood out in the Warriors' as-lopsided-as-it-gets contest in Portland. Terry finished with a near triple-double, putting up 23 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, and four steals in 43 minutes. Steve Kerr has been impressed with Terry's versatility and pointed out an area of work.

"He's an excellent defender, he's got good size, can handle the ball, play the point or play off the ball," Kerr said of Terry following the Warriors' 123-118 loss at Moda Center. "You saw him knocked down some three tonight, that's really the number one goal for him in his career is to become a more consistent shooter because you can see he does an awful lot of things well at both ends of the floor."

Kelly, who appeared in 14 NBA games with the Mavericks last season, led all scorers with 24 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. A three-point specialist with the Texas Legends (the Mavericks' G League affiliate), the 6-foot-4 guard converted six of his 11 three-point attempts against the Blazers.

In his second stint with the Warriors after being selected with the 52nd pick in the 2025 draft before getting waived a few months later, Toohey has been underwhelming in his scarce playing time. After barely playing in the team's first two preseason games, he posted a team-worst -20 in his 19 minutes of action in Portland. Due to a knee injury, he only played in two games with the Sea Dubs last season. Now healthy again, the Australian forward should receive more opportunities this time around.

Steve Kerr mentioned in his media day press conference that he plans on using his entire depth, including his two-way players. Recent history has told us how much their contributions can end up mattering.

As recently as last season, Pat Spencer turned from an unheralded two-way player to a major contributor when needed most. Now playing on a two-way contract for the Phoenix Suns, Spencer filled in for the then-injured Steph Curry. His productive outings as both a starter and reserve — he appeared in 66 games and started 14 — even earned him a standard NBA contract.

The Warriors are already thinner than they would have preferred with both Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody on the mend. Throw in the advanced ages of their core players, and those two-way guys might ultimately play a much more prominent role than their title suggests. As for Terry, Kelly, and Toohey? They're next in line.

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