The Golden State Warriors had a rough NBA Summer League as they went 1-6 overall throughout the tournament, including the California Classic in Sacramento. They failed to even notch a win throughout the Las Vegas leg of the games, going 0-5. Though the Dubs had a brutal two-week run of summer hoops, Golden State still found a bright spot in Lester Quinones, who could potentially earn a spot on the Warriors' 15-man roster.
The Warriors had a busy offseason that kickstarted with the departure of Bob Myers as president and general manager. Mike Dunleavy then made his first splash as the new GM by trading for long-time nemesis Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards in exchange for rising star Jordan Poole. They also signed a couple of solid veteran pieces in Cory Joseph and Dario Saric in free agency.
Despite their activity this summer, the Warriors still have one roster spot remaining to round out the Stephen Curry-led team. There is a lot of buzz about Golden State going after Dwight Howard. But the Summer League also provided them the chance to consider an undrafted player like Quinones to make the cut. Here is the case for Lester Quinones to make the 2023-24 Golden State Warriors roster.
Undrafted Warriors Summer League who could make 2023-24 roster: Lester Quinones
Despite their dismal NBA Summer League, the Warriors should be intrigued about what they saw from Lester Quinones. In seven games this summer, Quinones averaged 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three.
His most impressive outings did come during the California Classic, where he shot a blistering 56.3 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from beyond the arc en route to scoring 47 points in two games. Quinones did cool off in Las Vegas, as he shot just 37.3 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three. Nonetheless, he still turned in 21.2 points per contest.
Despite the massive drop off in efficiency and consistency in Las Vegas, the 6-foot-4 guard's scoring prowess is hard to ignore. The kid is very gifted offensively and certainly has the savvy skill set to show for it. In fact, NBA Twitter was already noticing the similarities between Quinones and the recently-traded Jordan Poole.
Despite a couple of stinkers along the way, Quinones had a trio of explosive scoring outings throughout Vegas. These included a 26-point game against the New Orleans Pelicans and 29-point outing versus the Dallas Mavericks. Quinones closed his Summer League stint with a 32-point eruption against the Toronto Raptors.
One encouraging aspect about Quinones' game that surfaced in Las Vegas is his ability to get to the line. In those trio of games mentioned above, Quinones made 80.6 percent from the foul line on a significant volume of 36 freethrow attempts.
Quinones went undrafted in 2022 after playing three seasons with the Memphis Tigers. The Dominican-American later signed a two-way contract with the Warriors and made his debut for their Summer League team in 2022.
Shortly after Golden State waived him in October, he signed a deal with their G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. He exploded for 42 points in a loss to the Salt Lake City Stars in late February, then avenged the loss by scoring a career-high 46 points against the same team about three weeks later.
Quinones finished the season with averages of 21.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three. Those numbers earned him the G-League's Most Improved Player award and All-Rookie honors.
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