Report: Warriors Give Two-Way Contract to Imposing Center

The Golden State Warriors have signed center Graham Ike to a two-year, two-way contract, per ClutchPoints' Kenzo Fukuda.

The Warriors already had LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons on two-way contracts. Ike fills the final two-way spot.

Ike was given an Exhibit-10 contract shortly after the NBA draft as one of the most coveted undrafted free agents. In his final season at Gonzaga, he averaged 19.9 points and 8.0 rebounds, earning third-team All-American honors.

He earned the two-way contract by excelling in summer league.

In nine games, Ike averaged 10.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Ike showed great touch on floaters and push shots in the lane. He also displayed some range, making face-up jumpers from about 18 feet.

Those offensive skills combined with his size (6'9" and 250 lbs) and strength made him clearly worthy of an NBA roster spot somewhere.

Instead of not giving Ike and two-way and risking having another team give him one, the Warriors gave him the coveted contract, which will allow him to play for Golden State and Santa Cruz this season.

Warriors Choose Center Depth over Wing Depth

The Warriors' three centers on standard contracts have injury histories, so it makes sense that they'd value having Ike. It feels inevitable that Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Charles Bassey will miss time at some point.

But one could argue they needed wing depth more with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody out indefinitely with knee injuries.

Leons has the size and versatility to play some wing minutes, but his struggles from the three-point line could leave him out of the rotation.

The Warriors had other options for more traditional wings with their final two-way spot.

They could have given it to Lajae Jones, who will presumably be an overseas stash now that the Dubs don't have any roster spots left to hand out. If they felt Jones wasn't ready, they could have given to two-way spot to Chance McMillian, who at 6'3" is a bit shorter than a traditional wing, but his combination of three-point shooting and defense could have helped Golden State.

Ike just turned 24 years old, which could have some speculate about how much more potential he has. But if and when the Warriors need to call him up, they'll appreciate how experienced and well-built he is.

Expect Ike to get several call-ups to Golden State.

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