Brandon Williams Contract Quirk Could Lead to Warriors Roster Change

When it was announced that Brandon Williams signed a one-year, $2.6 million contract, it was assumed that it was at least partially guaranteed if not fully guaranteed.

It's actually neither.

HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that Williams' contract has no guarantees yet. Williams will be guaranteed $1.4 million if he's on the opening night roster.

This means the Warriors can cut him at any point in the next month-and-a-half without a cap penalty.

Let's go over what this means for training camp and preseason.

How Someone Else Could Steal a Roster Spot

Williams is likely to be on the roster on opening night. I gave the signing a good grade because he was the most talented point guard left on the market.

But the Warriors could cut Williams if someone else has an amazing training camp and preseason.

It's not clear if Dalen Terry will spend training camp with the Warriors, but if he does, he'll be looking to take the roster spot from Williams. Terry isn't two-way eligible, so for him it's all about landing a standard contract.

The Warriors also have a number of players hoping to receive one of three two-way contracts each team gets.

Among them are LJ Cryer, Malevy Leons, Lajae Jones, Graham Ike and Deivon Smith.

In theory, any of these players could be so impressive in training camp and preseason that the Warriors feel obligated to release Williams to give them a standard contract.

That probably won't happen, of course. But if, say, Cryer and Smith are much more impressive than Williams, the Warriors might feel like giving Williams' standard contract to Cryer and giving Cryer's two-way contract to Smith is the best way forward.

Williams, Niang and Bassey All in Danger of a Midseason Cut

Williams has the worst contract structure on the Warriors in that even if he makes the opening night roster, he could still be cut midseason before the last $1.2 million of his salary becomes guaranteed.

Georges Niang and Charles Bassey have partial guarantees, which means the Warriors have no reason to cut them now. But Williams, Niang or Bassey can be cut midseason for the Warriors to save some money and create a roster spot.

Their contracts become fully guaranteed on January 10. At that point, their roster spots would be much safer.

If, say, Cryer is having a big impact with Golden State, the Warriors might want to get him a standard contract for the rest of the season.

If so, they'd likely cut one of Williams, Niang or Bassey to make it happen.

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