The Golden State Warriors took a flyer on 6-foot-8 sharpshooter Blake Hinson, who was recently waived by the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto, the Warriors signed Hinson to an Exhibit 10 contract.
The Lakers cut Hinson, who was on a two-way contract, to make room for 7-foot center Christian Koloko.
Hinson, who shot 42.1% on 7.9 3-point attempts in his final season with the Pittsburgh Panthers, showed plenty of promise in his brief stint with the Lakers.
The undrafted rookie averaged 10.9 points and 2.5 rebounds across 20.8 minutes in eight games in Las Vegas and at the California Classic.
Hinson ended his NBA Summer League campaign with the Lakers on a high note, exploding for a team-high 25 points with five 3-pointers. He added three rebounds and two assists to lead the Lakers’ 107-81 blowout win over the Chicago Bulls in their NBA Summer League finale.
Before his 25-point explosion, Hinson also dropped 17 points and four 3-pointers against the Atlanta Hawks on July 17.
Hinson also scored 17 points on 5 of 7 shooting from deep off the bench during the California Classic opener. He added three rebounds, two assists against one turnover, and a steal in a well-rounded performance.
Hinson’s signing puts the Warriors training camp roster to 21, one player over the limit.
The Warriors will have to cut someone before they fly to Hawaii for their training camp. From there, they would need to trim the roster to 15 or less before the NBA opening night.
Hinson joins point guard Yuri Collins, and forwards Javan Johnson, Donta Scott and Jackson Rowe as the Warriors players on training camp deals. Some, if not all of them, will likely play for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League.
Warriors Work Out Nassir Little
The Warriors have also worked out former Phoenix Suns forward Nassir Little, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.
Little, waived by the Suns in August, also had workouts with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings, Smith added.
The 25-year-old Little was the Portland Trail Blazers‘ 25th overall pick in 2019. He was traded to the Suns as part of the Damian Lillard multi-team trade.
Despite showing promising signs in his final season with the Trail Blazers when he shot a career-high 36.7% from the 3-point range, Little did little to impress the Suns last season.
The 6-foot-6 Little averaged just 3.4 points and shot 30% from the 3-point range in 10.2 minutes off the bench. Despite getting waived by the Suns, Little will still get paid the full $21.8 million remaining on his four-year, $28 million contract over seven years via the stretch-and-waive provision.
Injuries have kept Little from realizing his potential. The former North Carolina Tar Heel has not played more than 54 games in his first five seasons in the league.
Warriors Owner Joe Lacob Dreams of Dynamic Star Duo
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s longtime dream is to pair Stephen Curry with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“One that I think is just always going to be monitored around the NBA is if the wheels fall off the [Milwaukee] Bucks and we know that Joe Lacob has had kind of dreams of Giannis coming the Warriors’ way for a very long time,” Amick said on “The TK Show” podcast on September 12. “Again unlikely, but Khris Middleton is going to be a free agent next summer. He’s been hurt so much.
Damian Lillard — is he gonna have a bounceback year? Doc Rivers — how does that go in year number two? I think Giannis is kind of worth monitoring.”
Antetokounmpo signed a three-year extension with the Bucks last year that will run through the 2027-28 season when he’s 33.
