The Golden State Warriors have re-signed guard Lester Quinones to a two-way contract, according to sources. Quinones, 22, went undrafted out of the University of Memphis in 2022.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard signed a two-way contract with the team last July. However, Golden State waived Quinones months later in October. The New York native went on to sign a pair of 10-day contracts with the Dubs in March.
Per a few NBA betting sites, the Golden State Warriors hold sixth-shortest odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Sportsbooks are giving the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, and Phoenix Suns better odds.
Guard Lester Quinones has agreed to return to the Golden State Warriors on a two-way NBA deal, per sources. Quinones will enter training camp with a strong opportunity for full roster spot. He averaged 21.9 PPG, 4.4 APG and 4.1 RPG in seven Summer League games for the Warriors.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 21, 2023
Lester Quinones appeared in four games off the bench with the Warriors in his rookie 2022-23 season. He averaged 2.5 points and 4.5 minutes per game while shooting 40% from the floor, 50% beyond the arc, and 66.7% at the foul line.
In Golden State’s 157-101 regular-season finale win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Apr. 9, the guard recorded a career-high nine points on 4-of-4 (100%) shooting overall and 3-of-4 (75%) at the free throw line.
Golden State Warriors re-sign guard Lester Quinones to a two-way contract; the Memphis product joins fellow two-way signee Ty Jerome
On Oct. 15, 2022, Lester Quinones signed with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s NBA G-League affiliate. The former Tiger averaged 21.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 31.9 minutes per game in 31 starts.
The rookie guard also shot 45.1% from the field and 35.4% from 3-point range. On Feb. 25, 2023, Quinones logged 42 points and eight rebounds in a 112-119 loss to the Salt Lake City Stars.
After finishing third in points (676), sixth in field goals (229), seventh in 3-pointers (97), and fifth in free throws (77), Quinones was selected to the NBA G League All-Rookie Team and was named NBA G League Most Improved Player.
Lester Quinones has been killing it at NBA Summer League! He’s averaging 23.4 PPG through 5 games 🔥 @Effort_les pic.twitter.com/LDCLHcXatK
— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) July 13, 2023
Furthermore, the undrafted guard is seeking trust from Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “I’ve just got to get in the gym more to solidify my spot on the roster I would say,” Quinones said during the opening hours of free agency at Chase Center.
“Getting the extra work in, watching more film, doing all the other little things to where I can get to a point where Steve can trust me out there on the court and he can trust putting me on and know that there wouldn’t be anything mentally that could just show that he can’t trust me.
“Like I said, just growing my mental part of the game, I feel like that’s just the next step for me because everything else will kind of just fall into itself with the work.”
The Warriors now have one two-way roster spot open. Guard Ty Jerome occupies one of the other two-way spots. Under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, the maximum number of two-way players per team increased from two to three.
