Marquese Chriss had a thunderous training camp stint with the Golden State Warriors, one that ultimately earned him the respect of the veterans in the locker room and eventually a spot in the 14-man roster. The former No. 8 overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft bounced around the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers last season after a failed stint with the Phoenix Suns for his first two years, finally landing a training camp opportunity after turning down several two-way offers from inquiring teams.

“I’m just trying to make it, man,” Chriss told Wes Goldberg of the San Jose Mercury News. “Whatever opportunity I’m given, I’m gonna try to make the most out of it and show what I’m capable of doing. It just happens to be at an NBA level now, and before it was at a high school level.”

Chriss' first two years in the league were maligned with a poor fit and a lack of a clear pathway to minutes, especially with the presence of Tyson Chandler as the starting center and the staff's insistence in getting Dragan Bender minutes at power forward.

His change to the Rockets yielded little progress, buried in the bench with others like P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela getting major run as frontcourt starters. The stint with the Cavs further compounded a narrative of a conflictive personality after trading blows with Toronto Raptors big man Serge Ibaka, which ultimately caused him to look for a job over the summer.

Following various two-way offers, the Warriors came calling — making no promises other than to give him a shot.

“They told me they would give me a fair shot to make the team. I think they’ve done that. They’ve put me in a position to succeed,” Chriss said. “I thought, coming here, they play the way I like to play.”

The Warriors had no money to sign a 15th man to the roster, forced to waive Alfonzo McKinnie's non-guaranteed contract and virtually transfer it to Chriss, who can help them at power forward and center — two positions of dire need throughout an injury-plagued preseason.