While most of the attention right now centers on what moves the Golden State Warriors could make before the February 6 trade deadline, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office also have some imminent decisions to make in the coming days.
On January 10 all non-guaranteed deals across the NBA become guaranteed, but as Spotrac's Keith Smith smartly pointed out on Sunday, teams have to make decisions by January 7 in order for any cut players to clear waivers.
Warriors are likely to be stuck with Gui Santos at the end of their roster
One player whose future is likely to become solidified is Gui Santos, with the second-year forward holding a non-guaranteed $1.9 million deal entering this season. After averaging 8.3 minutes in 23 games during his rookie year, Santos has been sparingly used in a deep Warrior rotation that currently sits at 18-17 and ninth in the Western Conference.
The Brazilian has logged just 59 minutes across 11 games so far this season, almost all of which have come during garbage time. Santos is averaging 0.9 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.5 assists, having shot 33.3% from the floor and 12.5% from 3-point range after impressive 51/37/94 shooting splits in 2023-24.
Golden State could certainly find an upgrade over Santos, something that could become important if they were to make a 3-for-1 trade ahead of the deadline that all of a sudden requires more legitimate rotation players.
However, as Smith alludes to, the financial aspect means the Warriors will have to hold onto Santos over the remainder of the season before reassessing the future of the 22-year-old during the offseason.
"The Warriors are so tight around their first apron hard cap, that they have to keep Santos," Smith wrote. "Replacing him with a non-drafted player would cause Golden State to see a higher than desirable tax hit, which causes further hard cap issues. Santos will stay beyond the guarantee deadline."
Golden State could waive Santos and convert Quinten Post from a two-way deal to a standard contract without taking a financial hit, but that seems highly unlikely given the 52nd overall pick doesn't appear to be anywhere close to the rotation.
Post did impress with a career-high 29 points to go with 15 rebounds and two assists in the G League on Saturday, yet his only opportunity of a standard deal appears to be if the Warriors need to fill out their roster rather than as a replacement for Santos.
Santos has appeared in six games for the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, averaging 14.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 43.3% shooting from the floor and 32.4% from 3-point range.