Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors, Alex Toohey, Malevy Leons, Jonathan Kuminga, roster moves, Warriors waive Alex Toohey, Warriors sign Malevy Leons
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The Golden State Warriors have made more midseason roster changes by waiving Alex Toohey for Malevy Leons, a player with six total NBA appearances.
The Golden State Warriors have made multiple roster changes this season in hopes of fixing their middling record, andthey’ve once again shaken up their roster to reenergize the team.
Most recently, itwas reported that the Warriors are waiving 2025 draft pick Alex Toohey and, in his place, signing Malevy Leons to a two-way deal.
Anthony Slater
The Warriors are adding 6-foot-9 wing Malevy Leons on a two-way contract and waiving recent second round pick Alex Toohey, per source. It’s injury related. Toohey needs knee surgery and is out for the season. Leons is averaging 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds for the OKC Blue.
This comes after the Warriors signed Seth Curry, brother of the franchise star, as well as former college standout LJ Cryer, to deals in November.Those changeswere on the heels of theWarriors’ busy late offseason, asafter they negotiated a deal with Jonathan Kuminga,they added Al Horford andDe’Anthony Melton.
So far, this seasonhasn’t been kind to Golden State.They’ve hadmajor injury, roster, and chemistry concerns, whilecurrently, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Horfordare listed as day-to-day on the injury report.
Warriors Waive Alex Toohey, Sign Malevy Leons
At 13-12 through 25 games, it is fair to say all the recent roster changes arein hopes of finding somesort of spark for the Warriors.Jimmy Butler and Green have both expressed frustrations throughout the early season, but with everything surrounding the team, adding Leons for the injured Tooheyisn’t that surprising.
Golden State drafted for Toohey after he was drafted 52nd overall over the summer. Hewasn’t expected to have abig role on the team, but therewere some hopes that he could come in sparingly and develop into a meaningful role player.
However, that all came to a crashing haltas the Australian suffered a season-ending knee injury after appearing in just two games for theG-League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors.
Now, in his place, Golden State has signed Leons to a two-way deal.He was previously with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where heappeared in just six gamesfor them last season. The Dutch forward was averaging 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds fortheirG-League OKC Bluein 12 games this year, buthe’ll now join Golden State, likelyset to spend time with both the first team andin Santa Cruz.
Though Leons played in multiple games for the Thunder last year, he was waived before the season ended, and thereforewas not given a championship ring.
Kerr OnKuminga’s DNP
As the Warriors have been busy reworking their personnel, the future of Kuminga with the franchise remains in question.After a strongbeginning to the season in a starting role, he wasthen injured and has had troubleearning back thatsame role.
Following a few disappointing performances, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr most recentlydidn’t play Kuminga in their blowout win over the Chicago Bulls. Speaking after the game, Kerr said hedidn’t feel as though the forward made sense ‘because of the way our team works,‘which has since reignited trade rumors.
“Just because of the way our team looks,”Kerr told reporters. “And Jimmy came back tonight, JK started last night, they play the same position.I like the group the last couple of nights, the bench group. Gui (Santos), Pat (Spencer), (De’Anthony Melton) in Philly. We got a lot of bodies. And so with Jimmy (Butler) coming back tonight, it made sense to play the other guys’cause they complement him really well.”
Kuminga can officiallybe traded on December 15th, and for some, that datecan’t come soon enough. The Warriors are expected to target defense and shooting in the trade market, or could even use Kuminga as a piece in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, if he ever becomes available from the Milwaukee Bucks.
With a middling record, the Warriors have made multiple roster moves so far this year, so itwouldn’t be a stretch to say Kerr will continue to experiment with lineups and find what works, especially when Curry is out with an injury.