SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors never should have gotten the kind of contributions they did last season from Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome, the two players who were on two-way contracts. They have exceeded expectations, for better and for the most part, for worse.
A year later, the Warriors wouldn’t be in the same situation. Their squad is more veteran-filled, with Jonathan Kuminga and Moody Moody expected to move seamlessly into the third year.
But if the Warriors find themselves in a similar problem to last season, they could have the perfect candidate in 26-year-old Jerome Robinson, who signed a two-way contract in late September, benefiting from a change the NBA made this offseason had undertaken.
NBA teams now have three two-way contracts to work with, giving the Warriors an additional roster spot to evaluate unproven talent.
Two-way contracts were new to the CBA in 2017 to help younger players develop between the NBA and a team’s G League affiliate. The Warriors signed two players to two-way contracts less than a week before the regular season opener, consistent with the original intent.
Lester Quinones, 22, has hit every building block a franchise could ask of an undrafted player. After losing his two-way title last year before the opener, Quinones shined in Santa Cruz and was named the G League’s Most Improved Player. Quinones signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors on March 2 and was converted to a two-way contract on March 17 for the final 12 games of the regular season and the playoffs on the team’s sideline. Players on two-way contracts are ineligible to participate in the playoffs.
Usman Garuba, 21, is a former first-round draft pick who became a roster loss in the offseason when he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder and waived six weeks later. Garuba played 75 games for the Houston Rockets last season and is a project the Warriors are eager to invest in. He and Quinones both are, but the NBA switched to two-way contracts in the latest CBA this year.
Robinson could fill that third spot on the two-way roster, and he has a chance to contribute in multiple areas if given the opportunity.
“He’s got a lot of experience at his age,” Steve Kerr said of Robinson winning games Sunday at the Golden 1 Center before the Warriors’ overtime win over the Sacramento Kings. If he is there for us this year he will help us win some games. He really is a solid professional.
“And it is also important for us because it helps young people. He showed great leadership skills last year in Santa Cruz. One of the reasons we wanted him in the secondary is his ability to influence our younger players with his leadership, but also help the team win when he’s out there.”
Robinson has already seen all sides of the NBA landscape in his young career. The Los Angeles Clippers selected him 13th overall in the 2018 draft, but less than two years later he was traded to the Washington Wizards. He last played in the NBA on April 1, 2021 as a member of the Wizards.
This time last year, Robinson was released by the Warriors to make room for Jerome. No former first-round draft pick wants to enter a spot in the G League, especially not after the first or second season of their pro career, but that’s where Robinson has been found the last two seasons as part of the Warriors organization.
And the value he demonstrated beyond the box in Santa Cruz could have Robinson knocking on the door for an NBA return with the Warriors’ third two-way contract.
“Santa Cruz is great,” Robinson said after a recent Warriors practice. “Obviously as a basketball player you don’t want to be in the G League in your career, but it’s an opportunity. I think taking advantage of every opportunity you get is the most important thing. To go down there, be a professional, behave the way I want to behave and help everyone in any way I can, I think is the biggest thing.”
Robinson demonstrated that every day last year while playing under Seth Cooper, who has become one of the main faces of the Warriors’ player development program. Between the G League regular season and the showcase circuit, Robinson averaged 14.6 points, 4.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in Santa Cruz last season while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 35. 3 percent on 3-pointers and 90.9 percent on free throws. Robinson primarily served as a mentor to his teammates, and Quinones remembers always handing out tips during games and practices.
Quinones recognizes how outstanding Robinson’s experience is. He reads proactively and can see things on the court that other younger players might not notice. The best advice Robinson gave Quinones also underscores his value as a veteran.
“First of all, the referees,” Quinones told NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday in Sacramento. “He’s good at getting fouls, talking to them, he’s coachable. But above all the referees. He knows how to talk to them in a certain way.”, side with them a little. That’s something I think I can learn from him. I can’t say I have it figured out yet, but this is certainly something he helped me with throughout Santa Cruz and is helping me with now.
“And just being a leader out there. Managing a team, bringing people here and there and giving them tips in the right situations. It’s just the little things like this that he helps me with.”
Coaches haven’t asked Robinson to do anything he hasn’t done in the past. They want him to continue to be a leader, to continue to be a glue guy, and for his hustle to make even the slightest contribution on both ends of the floor. The biggest difference for him personally is how he prepared in the offseason.
Robinson’s offseason was spent at Proactive Sports Performance in Westlake Village, the same facility where he had trained in the past for the draft and treatment of an Achilles tendon problem. Robinson believes he hasn’t lacked training in recent summers, but at Proactive his wishes were always met and his consistency was at a different level than before.
The biggest change he made? Sleep.
“For me, it was seven days a week between training, taking care of my body and sleeping,” Robinson said. “I think sleep is so important. If you regularly go to bed at midnight or at 9:30 or 10, those two hours, two and a half hours will do a lot for your body for months.
“I think really finding those details and figuring them out, one and then two, implementing them were the biggest things.”
Robinson refuses to get stuck in the past. Scoring over 20 points per game at Boston College is done. This also applies to the draft, his tenure with the Clippers and his time with the Wizards. Robinson is making sure that regrets are not a part of his basketball life, and the added leash of a third two-way contract comes at the perfect time for him and the Warriors.
“He knows the respect he has in the locker room from all of us for how hard he works, how he approaches things and who he is as a person,” Steph Curry said Tuesday. “There is definitely a chance for him. It will happen at some point in the season.
“Just be prepared and go. That’s how you got here, and that’s what we expect from him.”
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