The Warriors' star-studded backcourt has NBA bloodlines. Now they've added a center with Hall of Fame pedigree.
Golden State has signed Scottie Pippen's nephew, Kavion Pippen, the team announced Monday without releasing terms of the agreement. Unlike his famous uncle, Kavion Pippen will have a much tougher road to make a regular season roster, particulary since he's mostly an emergency addition for the Warriors.
Pippen was signed to help the Warriors' depleted frontcourt, where they're already without starter Willie Cauley-Stein (foot), Kevon Looney (hamstring) and Alen Smailagic (ankle).
The Warriors waived 27-year-old free-agent guard Devyn Marble to make room for Pippen. Marble played eight minutes in the Warriors' loss Saturday to the Lakers in their preseason opener, missing both of his shots.
Kavion Pippen is a native of Hamburg, Arkansas _ Scottie's hometown _ and went undrafted out of Southern Illinois this spring.
Though he has NBA family ties, Pippen didn't take a traditional route to professional basketball. He never played AAU ball, according to the Chicago Tribune, and he began his collegiate career at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri before transferring to Southern Illinois.
Once he became a Saluki, the 6-foot-10 Pippen averaged 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.66 blocks per game. He was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference Third Team and All-MVC Defensive Team as a senior.
With the Warriors, Pippen could see some backup minutes during the preseason, especially with Cauley-Stein out for the entire preseason and Smailagic also expected to be sidelined for a while. Until Looney returns at some point, Golden State's frontcourt options in the preseason are limited to temporary starter Omari Spellman, former lottery pick Marquese Chriss, rookie Eric Paschall and Pippen.
