The Golden State Warriors set up a training camp battle amongst some guards for the 15th and final roster spot on the team: Gary Payton II, Mychal Mulder, Avery Bradley and Langston Galloway were in contention for that spot. Early last week, that became three when Galloway was released.
In the end, the Warriors decided to keep that 15th roster spot open for a potential move down the line and waived everybody, reports Monte Poole at NBC Sports Bay Area.
Warriors waived tonight: Jordan Bell, Avery Bradley, Mychal Mulder and Gary Payton II. 15th roster spot open for now.
— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) October 16, 2021
The Warriors might eventually fill that spot — and bring back one of those late cuts like Bradley — but Golden State has the highest payroll in the NBA ($174.2 million), which will lead to an additional nearly $160 in luxury tax payments. Every dollar saved now helps some against that crazy tax number.
Poole notes that rookie Moses Moody has shown enough that he might get those deep bench guard minutes. Bradley was seriously considered because of his defense, but veteran Andre Iguodala is on the roster and can be the “break glass in case of defense” player on the bench. However they view it, any player in the 15th roster spot would not see the court much, so the Warriors will stick with the 14 players they have.
