Report: Warriors waive Marquese Chriss to open spot for Damion Lee

In a surprise move, the Golden State Warriors have decided to waive 22-year-old center, Marquese Chriss, according to multiple reports. The Warriors brought Chriss in during training camp, but have decided to move on from the former Washington Husky 38-games into the 2019-20 season.

The 22-year-old’s center contract would have become fully-guaranteed the next day, but now Chriss will return to the waiver wire instead of Golden State.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Warriors moving on from Chriss is to open a roster spot up for two-way guard Damion Lee.

Warriors plan to complete a deal with G Damion Lee to keep him on 15-man roster, league source tells ESPN. He had run out of days on a two-way contract. Warriors waived Marquese Chriss to create a roster spot.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 7, 2020

With only limited days left on Lee’s 45-day contract, the Warriors had to make a decision to seal their two-way guard’s deal. Chriss was the only player on the Warriors roster with a non-guaranteed contract, making waiving him the most natural solution to open a roster spot for Lee.

This move may come as a surprise due to Chriss’s impressive play with Golden State, averaging 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Chriss was released shortly after the Warriors 111-98 loss against the Sacramento native’s hometown Kings.

The waiving of Marquese Chriss is not, according to NBA sources, a matter of the Warriors losing interest. They’re running out of time on two-way deals for Damion Lee and Ky Bowman. This is the first move. There will be more.

— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) January 7, 2020

The news of Chriss getting waived hurt the Warriors’ locker room because the now-former Golden State center, was well-liked amongst his teammates, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Chatted with Marquese Chriss a few minutes before the Warriors officially waived him. He had just learned of the news postgame in Sacramento. Had a few teammates coming up to him telling him to “stay up.” News had stung the locker room a bit. Chriss was well-liked.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 7, 2020

Chriss checked-in on his Instagram after being let go by Golden State. The power forward seemed in good spirits, with a caption that read, “God got me! #BeyondBlessed.”

View this post on Instagram

God got me!🙏🏾 #BeyondBlessed

A post shared by Marquese Chriss (@quese) on Jan 6, 2020 at 10:34pm PST

After playing well with Golden State, Chriss, who is only 22-years-old with four years of NBA experience, has a likely chance of getting picked up by another team quickly. If Chriss clears waivers, the Warriors could bring him back later in the season.

With another roster spot open, the Warriors can now sign Lee to a full-time contract with Golden State. Lee has started the last 11 games for the Warriors and played well throughout his time up in Golden State. Lee’s tallied 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 26.3 minutes per game this season.

Finding a roster spot for Lee was the only the first step for Golden State. The Warriors will now have to turn their attention to finding a place for their second two-way guard, Ky Bowman, whose 45-day contract is expiring by the minute.