The Golden State Warriors made a roster move last Sunday that underlined a hard truth of NBA preseason life: one big night can still come up short when the cuts start.
Golden State waived guard Miles Kelly and signed forward Tyler Burton in a related move, the team announced in a press release. “The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Miles Kelly,” the franchise stated in a press release.
“In a related move, the Warriors have signed free agent forward Tyler Burton. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.”
Kelly, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, had just delivered his best showing of the preseason in Golden State’s third game against the Portland Trail Blazers. He put up 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists while turning it over only once in 28 minutes. The Auburn product looked sharp as an off-ball shooter, showed he could space the floor, and flashed some playmaking when he attacked defenders off the dribble.
That performance stood out even more because Kelly had logged only 13 total minutes across the Warriors’ first two preseason games and hadn’t made the same kind of offensive imprint. By the time he broke out against Portland, it looked like his moment had arrived with the seven-time NBA champions.
Instead, Golden State opted to move in another direction and give Burton a shot to compete for a roster spot in mid-October.
Burton spent last season with the Memphis Grizzlies on two 10-day contracts, then finished his second professional season by averaging 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 12 games. He shot 37.5% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range in that stretch.
Whether Burton sticks with Golden State for good is still to be determined.
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