How Warriors players recruited Willie Cauley-Stein when he was on Kings

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Tampering alert! Tampering alert! Tampering alert!

But not really, though.

So here's the story, courtesy of Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle:

(Willie) Cauley-Stein recalled an exchange before a Warriors-Kings game in Sacramento in January 2017, when Draymond Green and Stephen Curry were stretching near midcourt and told him the Warriors wanted to acquire him.

“Shoot,” said Cauley-Stein, who at the time was out of the Kings’ rotation. “I’ll put on a jersey right now.”

Now, let's provide some context.

In the Warriors' 117-106 win in Sacramento on Jan. 8, 2017, Cauley-Stein didn't get off the bench for the second straight game.

And the former top draft pick only played 11 combined minutes over the Kings' prior three contests.

So yes, he definitely was out of the Kings' rotation. But things turned around in a major way for Cauley-Stein in mid-February after Sacramento traded DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans.

He started 21 of the Kings' final 25 games, averaging 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in 30.9 minutes a night.

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The Kansas native spent two additional seasons in Sacramento before ultimately teaming up with Curry and Green in a Warriors uniform this year.

Cauley-Stein's first crack against his former team is Dec. 15 at Chase Center, and his return to Sacramento is slated for Jan. 6 -- almost exactly three years removed from when Curry and Draymond told him they wanted him.

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