Seeking to provide depth and youth to their backcourt, the Golden State Warriors decided to shake things up Friday, signing D-League star Briante Weber to a 10-day contract, making room by electing to part ways with veteran big man Anderson Varejao.
With Varajao firmly established as the last man off the bench on a roster with seven centers, his departure has been expected for some time, even if it likely pained head coach Steve Kerr (Varajao’s strongest supporter) to say goodbye. The question now is, what exactly did the Warriors get in return?
Weber, 24, has been considered a defensive-minded point guard since his college days at VCU. During his time there, Weber was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive seasons (2013-15), and lead all of the NCAA in steals in 2014, finishing just 12 shy of the NCAA record before tearing his ACL. At just 6′ 2″, Weber has been compared stylistically to Rockets defensive specialist Patrick Beverly.
Still recovering from the injury after his senior season, Weber went undrafted in 2015, and has spent much of his time in the D-League since then. Weber appeared in his first seven NBA games last season, including six with the Memphis Grizzlies and one with the Miami Heat. Weber actually started four games on that heavily depleted Grizzlies team, posting an impressive line of 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds in his debut.
While he’s only scored a grand total of 31 NBA points, Weber has been one of the rising stars in the D-League this season averaging 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists per game, while shooting 36% from deep. He was named the D-League Player of the Month for January, and according to the Sun-Sentinel, also had offers from the Heat and Hornets before electing to sign with Golden State.
Weber’s numbers this season would seem to indicate that he is developing into far more than simply a defensive specialist. His highlights from last month tell that story as well, as does this monster put-back dunk that shows Weber’s athletic potential.
Briante Weber has some hops pic.twitter.com/sBP4cY1wsx
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 3, 2017
Weber also had a near quadruple-double in a D-League game last month, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, 9 steals.
There is little doubt that the Warriors are hitting on Weber during a spell where he’s playing some of the best basketball of his career. Weber’s contract will begin tomorrow when the Warriors face the Kings in Sacramento, and if Shaun Livingston is out once again with a mid-back strain, it’s not out of the question that he could get some run.