Although he started a game in the preseason, the Golden State Warriors are waiving forward Juan Toscano-Anderson before the start of the 2020-21 regular season.
After playing for Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz since 2018, the Bay Area native joined the Warriors’ NBA rotation in February on a non-guaranteed deal.
Toscano-Anderson played 13 games for the Warriors, averaging 5.3 points on 46% shooting from the field with four rebounds, two assists in 20.9 minutes per game. Against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Marquette product scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with three triples, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 28 minutes.
Growing up in Castro Valley, Toscano-Anderson quickly became a fan favorite during his stint with the Warriors in 2020. After practice on Saturday, Steve Kerr called it “a very, very difficult decision” to waive the 27-year-old forward.
A very, very difficult decision for us. Juan [Toscano-Anderson] is a favorite of mine because he knows how to play basketball and he’s a winner — he makes plays. He’s not a guy that fills up the stat sheet, but he just makes plays and competes and makes the team better. Unfortunately, we don’t have a total number of roster spots that would allow keeping everybody. So this is the direction we’re going in.
Listen to Kerr’s full post-practice presser via Warriors SoundCloud.
Despite being waived, there’s still a chance Toscano-Anderson could rejoin the Warriors on a two-way contract. If Toscano-Anderson goes unclaimed on waivers, the Warriors will have the opportunity to bring him back on a two-way deal.
With Toscano-Anderson hitting the waiver wire, one of the Warriors’ final roster spots will likely go to Mychal Mulder. With Klay Thompson injured, the Warriors rotation desperately needs a shooter of Mulder’s caliber. During the preseason, the Kentucky product shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Golden State will tipoff the regular season on Tuesday, Dec. 22, in New York against the Brooklyn Nets.
