© Kyle Terada | 2018 Nov 24
On Monday the Warriors inked their starting center to a new deal. On Tuesday, they secured his backup. Willie Cauley-Stein is heading to San Francisco, according to reports by Marcus Thompson and Chris Haynes.
I’m told Willie Cauley-Stein coming to the Warriors. Was Damian Jones that bad in the Summer League debut? Does that mean no DeMarcus Cousins?
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) July 2, 2019
Free agent center Willie Cauley-Stein has reached an agreement with the Golden State Warriors, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. @ThompsonScribe first.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 2, 2019
With cap space at a premium for Golden State, Cauley-Stein will sign for “something slightly above” the minimum salary according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.
I’m told Willie Cauley-Stein coming to the Warriors. Was Damian Jones that bad in the Summer League debut? Does that mean no DeMarcus Cousins?
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) July 2, 2019
Cauley-Stein, 25, was selected by the Kings with the sixth overall pick in 2015 and has been the team’s starting center the past two seasons. A solid defensive player, Cauley-Stein averaged 12.8 points and 7 rebounds in 2017-18, and 11.9 points and 8.4 rebounds last season, while shooting 55 percent from the field. Cauley-Stein is especially adept as a screener in the pick-and-roll, something the Warriors are expected to utilize more this season following the arrival of PNR specialist D’Angelo Russell.
Cauley-Stein hasn’t developed into the All-Star the Kings were expecting he would when they drafted him in 2015, but he’s a starting caliber big who improves the Warriors’ depth at the five drastically. The only other true center on Golden State’s roster is 2016 first-round pick Damian Jones, who looked very suspect in the team’s first Summer League game on Monday.
With Cauley-Stein in the fold, eight of the 12 players on the Warriors roster are 25 years old or younger as pointed out by Anthony Slater of The Athletic.