Former Badger Nick Boyd’s run with the Golden State Warriors took a sharp turn in the NBA Summer League Championship, where he didn’t see the floor at all.
Boyd entered Vegas on an Exhibit 10 contract, trying to turn a short-term shot into something bigger. Over the past two weeks, he showed enough to suggest NBA upside, flashing as both a scorer and a facilitator.
But when the title game arrived, Golden State went with a nine-man rotation and left Boyd on the sideline. He was one of eight players who never got into the game.
That kind of usage is hard to ignore. If a player isn’t part of a nine-man Summer League rotation in a game the Warriors were clearly trying to win, that usually says plenty about where things stand. In Boyd’s case, it points toward an uncertain finish with Golden State.
The most likely outcome is that the Warriors move on from his Exhibit 10 deal, which is a one-year contract and not a guarantee. Boyd could then look for another opportunity elsewhere. There is still a small wrinkle here: Golden State may keep him around for training camp simply because he’s already on a deal, but that would be about potential, not what happened late in Summer League.
A roster spot or a two-way contract with the Warriors looks like a long shot. Golden State doesn’t have much room, and Boyd’s absence from the championship-game rotation makes the situation even tougher.
Badger of Honor writer Owen Jury summed up the challenge earlier this week: "Boyd will likely have to scavenge the open market in hopes of locking down a spot. With that said, being a 25-year-old rookie and looking to lock down a spot on a team that isn't familiar with Boyd and hasn't had him in-house is nearly impossible. In all reality, Boyd’s best course of action would be to head overseas to a league like the NBL, where he could star in a higher-usage role and make more money than he would on a G League deal stateside."
That’s the reality Boyd is staring at now. If the NBA door is already closing, the NBL becomes the cleanest path, especially for a guard who could handle a bigger role and earn more than he would in the G League.
Whether that’s the route Boyd wants is another matter. He’s the kind of player with a chip on his shoulder, the sort who wants to prove people wrong.
But if Golden State has already made its decision, the next step gets messy fast. A training camp invite is still possible.
Beyond that, the picture is a lot less clear.
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