The Golden State Warriors have made their two-way decisions, and that means Lajae Jones is headed overseas for now.
Golden State signed big man Graham Ike to one of those spots this week, a move that makes plenty of sense in the short term. Ike turned heads in Summer League, and even with an offensive game that still needs polish, he gives the Warriors another body at center. With questions hanging over the availability of Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, the need for depth in the middle was hard to ignore.
That choice pushes Jones, the Warriors’ second-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, into a different path. He signed a one-year deal with Pallacanestro Trieste of Lega Basket Serie A in Italy, where he’ll keep working while Golden State sorts out its two-way rotation.
The move may be the right one right now, but it doesn’t erase Jones from the Warriors’ future plans.
He’s still the kind of prospect who could matter down the line if the development keeps moving in the right direction. The Warriors have had success mining value in the second round, but not every pick in that range is ready to contribute right away. Will Richard, taken 56th overall, is the exception rather than the rule.
Jones still has real work to do before he can claim an NBA role. In his final season at Florida State, he averaged 12.7 points and shot 32.5% from three-point range. For him to become more than a long-term project, he has to become a steadier perimeter shooter and show more comfort creating off the dribble.
Italy gives him that runway. Golden State still holds his rights, which leaves the door open for a future trade or a contract down the road depending on how things shake out.
There was enough in Summer League to keep the Warriors interested. At 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds, Jones has the kind of build teams want on a wing defender, and he backed that up with noticeable toughness and lateral quickness. If he had reached training camp, even on an Exhibit-10 deal, he might have done enough to earn the staff’s attention.
Instead, the center need won out, especially after Quinten Post left in restricted free agency.
And with Leons on a two-way contract this season but not eligible for one next year, the Warriors may need to shuffle things around again before long. That could create an opening for Jones.
At the very least, Golden State can’t let the draft-and-stash idea fade into the background. As this era winds down, young talent matters, and Jones has shown enough to make a bigger leap abroad worth watching.
In Other News...
Steve Kerr Is Pushing Draymond Green Into A Different Warriors Role
Draymond Green says the Warriors are already thinking ahead to a different version of his game, one that would ask him to lean more into scoring than the playmaking-heavy role he has long held under Steve Kerr. Speaking on his podcast, Green said Kerr has signaled a shift for the 2026-27 season, with more of an emphasis on putting the ball in the basket and stretching the floor rather than functioning mostly as a connector for everyone else.
It is a notable wrinkle for a player whose value in Golden State has often come from reading the floor, making quick decisions and living with the occasional turnover because of how much the offense ran through him. If the plan really is to nudge Green toward a more aggressive scoring profile, it would mark a meaningful change in how Kerr imagines the late-career version of one of the Warriors most important voices and most unconventional weapons. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Finally Tighten One Standard Around Curry And Draymond
For years, the Warriors have built their identity around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green carrying an enormous share of the responsibility, and that has sometimes meant a little extra leeway when the game got messy. But Steve Kerrs approach has reportedly shifted, with the coach no longer treating turnovers from his biggest names as something to simply absorb as part of the deal. It fits a broader expectation inside the organization that accountability has to apply to everyone, even the players who helped define the franchises championship era.
The timing matters because Golden States issues go well beyond sloppy possessions, and the roster has not been meaningfully reshaped to ease the burden on Kerrs core. The front office has largely stood pat, leaving the team to make do with what it has while trying to squeeze cleaner play out of an imperfect group. In that sense, the turnover message is less a cure than a reminder of how little margin the Warriors have left when the supporting cast is thin and the standard around Curry and Green is finally getting stricter. [Read more 🡒]
Buddy Hields Latest Move Says A Lot About His Post-Warriors Slide
Buddy Hields latest stop underscores how quickly a veteran shooter can slide from a meaningful role into a much thinner lane. After a reduced stint with the Hawks following his time with Golden State, Hield has now been moved again, this time as part of a deal that sent him and Ryan Nembhard to Charlotte in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith.
The move leaves Hield heading into a situation that does not appear especially friendly for his playing time, with the Hornets already stocked on the wing. Charlotte is also reportedly waiving Nembhard, another sign that this trade was more about reshaping the roster than carving out a clear lane for everyone involved, and it puts Hield in a spot where he will have to fight just to find steady minutes. [Read more 🡒]