The Warriors waived forward Juan Toscano-Anderson on Saturday, paving the way for Mychal Mulder to snag the final spot on the 15-man regular season roster.
The team made the roster move shortly before Steve Kerr spoke to the media, and when the Warriors coach was asked about cutting Toscano-Anderson, he said it wasn't easy.
"Very, very difficult decision for us," Kerr said. "Juan is a favorite of mine because he knows how to play basketball and he's a winner. He just makes plays and competes."
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Kerr did mention that if Toscano-Anderson clears waivers, the Warriors would be open to signing him to a two-way contract. Currently, 2020 second-round draft pick Nico Mannion is the only player signed to a two-way contract.
Toscano-Anderson appeared in 13 games for the Warriors last season, and averaged 5.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.9 minutes.
Mulder earned his way on to the roster with impressive shooting in the Warriors' preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets a week ago. In 10 minutes off the bench, the 26-year-old went 3-of-4 from 3-point range and finished with 10 points. He only scored three points in 14 minutes over the Warriors' two games against the Kings in Sacramento, but clearly, he showed enough to make himself valuable to the team.
"He's here, so he's on the roster for a reason," Kerr said Saturday "We love Mike. He's gonna be on the roster."
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With Klay Thompson expected to miss a second straight season due to injury, the Warriors are lacking reliable shooters after Steph Curry. So keeping Mulder around makes sense for Golden State.
Mulder signed a three-year non-guaranteed contract with the Warriors in March and is in line to have $200,000 guaranteed to him if he's on the Opening Night roster, according to Spotrac.com.
In seven games with the Warriors last season, Mulder averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 29.1 minutes.
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Here's where the Warriors roster stands heading into Opening Night on Tuesday (Alphabetical Order):
- Kent Bazemore
- Marquese Chriss
- Steph Curry
- Draymond Green
- Damion Lee
- Kevon Looney
- Mychal Mulder
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
- Eric Paschall
- Jordan Poole
- Alen Smailagic
- Klay Thompson (Injured)
- Brad Wanamaker
- Andrew Wiggins
- James Wiseman
Two-way contract:
- Nico Mannion