The Warriors have claimed Jeff Dowtin and converted his Exhibit 10 deal to a two-way contract, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
The Magic waived Dowtin on Saturday.
Dowtin, a 6’3” shooting guard, played for G League’s Lakeland Magic last season and was also a member of Orlando’s Summer League team. Dowtin, who went undrafted out of Rhode Island in 2020, averaged 6.5 PPG and 2.5 APG in 15 games (19.7 MPG) for Lakeland last season and 7.2 PPG in five games at Las Vegas.
He also saw action in three preseason games this month. Golden State’s other two-way deal is held by another guard, Chris Chiozza.
Why couldn’t the Warriors invest the other 2-Way Contract on a Big Man?
Why sign another small Guard in Jeff Dowtin, when we already have Chris Chiozza as a Point Guard on a 2-Way contract?
I don’t get it.
Meanwhile, this team has no Rim protectors or Shot Blockers. Who is going to defend the Pick-n-Roll at our Rim ?
How about Claiming Harry Giles instead, or Siging anyone taller than 6-foot-8 ( Bismack Biyambo ).??
This team has developed an Allergy to having players taller than 6-9 on its Roster.
Better pray Looney can remain healthy while Wiseman is out.
And no, I don’t think of Bjelica as being a ” Center “. He hangs out too much around the 3-Point line to be considered a Center. He plays the high post on Offense, like Bogut did, the difference is on defense, where Bogut played near the rim and was a presence rebounding and blocking shots.
While I’ll agree that the Game has changed much since Don Nelson’s Warriors’ playoff teams of 30 years ago, the fact remains the best playoff teams, even from a year ago, still have the Best big men. Its true today as much as 30 years ago.
Starting either Looney or JTA at Center in a Playoff series will be putting the team at a severe disadvantage. They do not match up with Ayton, Jokic, Gobert, Valancuinas, etc. In the NBA Finals, we’ll have to match up with 6-11 Giannis, 7-1 Brook Lopez, 6-11 Durant, etc.
Good luck getting past those teams if Wiseman is not healthy or developed. Looney had no impact on our 2 Play-in Tournement games, which is part of the reason why we lost.
You’re right about Bjelica. Just because he’s 6′ 10″, 234 doesn’t mean he can be an effective defender near the rim. I also doubt that Kuminga can really help them in the middle until Wiseman comes back either. They will have to rely heavily on Looney and Green to soak up most of the minutes at the five.
Exactly. Get a freaking big, that can bound and rim protect. Doesn’t have to score a single point
I totally agree with you GangGreen. The missing piece on the Warriors roster is a veteran big body center that can play defense and rebound. Wiseman is probably two years away from being a contributor on a playoff team. I am not optimistic the Warriors can get by playing Looney, JTA, Green, or Bjelica at the center position. I wonder if they are waiting for Kevin Love to be bought out by the Cavs, but that still doesn’t address the need of a quality center defender. They did have some nice wins towards the end of last season against Denver, Utah, Phoenix, and Philly but could they win a seven games playoff series against that type of team without a quality center defender?
Wait a minute. I hope you are not saying Nelson had any decent Centers. Wiseman is clearly the best they have had since Parish.
Giles is only 23 and has been cut by 3 teams. It is safe to say he is not going to make much of an impact. The Warriors have had to many rejects to continually sign guys like Giles.
You need to pay more attention to the moves the Warriors made in the off season before you start complaining about their centers.
Because they play best with Draymond at the 5, they have Bjelicia(6’10), JTA(6’6), Wiseman(7ft, who should be back before the end of November) and Kuminga, who’s 6’8/230. Kuminga is super raw as a wing/forward, however his athleticism is nothing to laugh at. I wouldn’t be surprised if the plan(like Steve Kerr stated a few weeks back) is to utilize Kuminga as a rim running center this season, as pairing him with other bigs on the roster hurts his effectiveness due to his shaky outside shot, but if you make him the C alongside Steph/Klay/Wigs and Otto Porter or Bjelicia, he’s the ONLY non-shooter, therefore providing enough spacing for him to have open drives/cuts to the basket.
For the folks that say “kuminga is a 3” or “kuminga is a SF!” Kuminga is bigger than Jordan Bell. Usuong him in a way they used Jordan Bell in HIS rookie year would be a fantastic idea, as it limits his responsibilities but allows him to showcase his hands, dunks, blocks and athleticism, thus building his confidence and allowing him to build up to the speed of the NBA.
For a small ball center, he’s a great fit, and has some of the best handle in the league, if only because he grew up playing on the wing.
Don’t be surprised if he’s used like rookie Jordan Bell/rookie Xavier Tillman. Remember: he’s supposed to be a freshman in college RIGHT NOW.
Plus, given how Paschall, Dray and JTA got so much time at the 5 last year, I’m more surprised they don’t plan to use Moses Moody at center as opposed to Kuminga.
Think of Kuminga right now as a bigger/more athletic Eric Paschall/Jordan Bell hybrid. He will not be given the opportunity to have 6+ turnovers a game with this team, and putting him in Santa Cruz to do that doesn’t help the Warriors or Kuminga, as Steph/Klay/Dray aren’t going anywhere for the next 4-5 years, so he has to learn how to play WITH them, and be a good role player. He seems up for the challenge, he’s a good kid and a hard worker, but anyone taller than 6’6 and heavier than 220 is a possible fit at center for Golden state.
They’re deeper with Loon/Bjelicia/Draymond/JTA/Kuminga and Wiseman than they were last year with Loon/Wiseman/Dray/JTA and Eric Paschall.
They were always going to use this spot on an emergency PG/SG.
The real question now is; CAN THEY CUT THIS GUY AND GIVE TYRELL TERRY THEIR 2-WAY SPOT?!?!(Terry IS eligible, as is any player that’s played fewer than 3 seasons in the NBA, hence why GP2, Bradley and Galloway weren’t but Mulder is.)
I think Tyrell Terry would be a good addition to the Warriors G League roster, but probably not on a two-way contract. The Warriors have a very deep roster and it would be pretty unlikely either of the current two-way players (Chiozza and Dowtin) sees much playing with the Dubs barring injuries. If he plays well for G League then maybe replace one of the current two-way players.
I think Kuminga is a interesting option as a center for the Dubs and maybe a path to playing time for Kuminga. However, they biggest roster need is really a big body veteran center defender, NOT another small ball center. Lakers exposed and exploited their lack of size.
Why did we Lose our 2 Play-in Tournament games? Was it because Looney provided nothing and got played off the court by AD and Valancuinas?
Do you want that to happen again? Well, it will happen again if Wiseman is injured or not developed by next April.
I lived through those Nellie RUN TMC era playoff teams that fizzled out in the 1st or 2nd Round because the Lakers, Sonics and Suns had better Big Men than Tyrone Hill, Chris Gatling, et al.
If you think this year’s Current roster can compete with last year’s Playoffs teams l listed above you are being overly Optimistic. We did not improve enough on the periphery to overcome our disadvantage in the paint.
But sure, go ahead and put JTA and Looney on Giannis and Brook Lopez in a potential NBA Finals series. And who is guarding Durant if we match up with them? We have no one.
We won 2 of our Rings playing Small Ball because we had Durant. He is not around anymore.
Also – Wiseman has the potential to be our Best center since Robert Parish. JB Carroll put up some pretty good, albeit, hollow stats in the 1980s.
Ok, you said it. JB was weak. If they had kept Parrish along side Smith, they might have won a few rings…At least you didn’t bring up Bol, he blocked a lot of shots.
Parrish, who played alongside Bird & McHale… GSW probably had it right in avoiding (and Webber wrong).
English please. In what way is JB Carroll better than Parrish. The Warriors basically traded Parrish and McHale for Carroll. How was that a good trade?
Don’t even get me started on Bob Cousy
Who would you rather…a G Leager
Who didn’t have good numbers in the G League or Avery Bradley?