The Warriors are completing a three-year contract with forward Gui Santos to be given the 14th spot on the roster, multiple sources confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Kendra Andrews were first to report the news.
Golden State had a Nov. 7 deadline to add a 14th player to its 15-man roster. Instead of signing a veteran like Rudy Gay or Rodney McGruder, two players who were with the team throughout training camp, the Warriors stayed in-house and decided to sign the 21-year-old Brazilian. Santos had to be signed to the Warriors’ 15-man roster, not a two-way deal, in order for him to be bought out from his Brazilian club Minas.
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Santos is the lone player left from the Warriors’ 2022 NBA Draft class after Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins were both traded to the Washington Wizards over the summer. Since being selected No. 55 overall last year, Santos’ development has continued to impress those within the Warriors.
He played 43 games for the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz last season and averaged 10.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent on 3-point attempts. But Santos, 6-foot-8, added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason and went into summer league at 220 pounds. The difference was noticeable, too.
In six summer league games, Santos averaged 17.7 points. Plus, he played for Brazil this summer in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where he averaged 7.4 points on 50-percent shooting in 17.9 minutes per game.
“That’s my goal. I really, really want to be there,” Santos said when asked about his Warriors future on Oct. 21 at the Santa Cruz Warriors’ Fan Fest.
Golden State Warriors
A little over two weeks later, Santos soon will be a Warrior in the NBA faster than even he might have expected.