Golden State Warriors’ Lester Quinones (25) huddles up with his teammates before the start of their game during the 2023 California Classic at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, July 3, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
SACRAMENTO — Lester Quinones has been getting plenty of praise from Warriors’ coaches for his growth since last year. His newfound confidence was on full display in the Warriors’ Summer League opener at the California Classic at Golden 1 Center on Monday night.
Quinones scored 10 of the Warriors’ first 18 points in their 100-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings. He scored and moved with conviction. In the first quarter, Quinones hit a pair of 3 pointers and used his 6-foot-5 frame to work his way through contact to get to the rim. He finished the game with 26 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3 and, on the flip side, was called for two technical fouls and seven personal fouls.
The Warriors signed an un-drafted Quinones last year to a two-way contract out of Memphis — he was roommates with since-traded No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman — and grew his game as a versatile backcourt player last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors. With since-traded Ryan Rollins injured, the combo guard also got some time as a decision-making point guard with the G-League team.
Quinones’ confidence skyrocketed last season, and coaches noticed. He signed a 10-day contract to play with the Warriors last March, in part, as a crafty roster maneuver to preserve eligibility for two-way guy Anthony Lamb. But he’d earned the call-up, later being named the G-League’s Most Improved Player.
“He has something to his game,” Summer League head coach Jacob Rubin said last week. “I think a big thing with him is just continuing to be consistent with it. That’s kind of what separates like the people in the league who are great from those levels is how consistent can he be.
“But his work ethic is right up there with anyone. You can tell he’s more confident. He’s more quick in his decisions.
I think the game has started to slow down a little bit for him.”
It’s unclear what Quinones’ role will be with Golden State this season, but the Warriors have never shied from integrating their two-way players into the regular rotation. Damion Lee, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Lamb and Ty Jerome are among the players Golden State transformed from fringe G-League players to regular contributors — Lee, Toscano-Anderson and Jerome later earned free agent contracts with other teams.
Trayce Jackson-Davis, the Warriors’ second-round pick, sat out with a right hamstring injury. Jackson-Davis hurt it during a team scrimmage in Sacramento the day before the opener. Golden State swung a trade with the Washington Wizards for the 57th overall pick to select Jackson-Davis, a big out of the University of Indiana.
Nineteenth overall pick Brandin Podziemski started Monday’s game and had a mixed game in his first action in a Warriors uniform. The guard flaunted some quick decision-making as a passer with six assists and aggression on the boards with six rebounds — the guard stood out at Santa Clara for his rebounding knack — but looked a little lost on defense and couldn’t get into a scoring rhythm. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, going 1-for-3 from 3.
Originally published at Shayna Rubin