Report: Lakers sign former Warriors guard ahead of opening night vs. Nuggets

Published by

Jesse Cinquini

October 19, 2023 3:31 pm

The Los Angeles Lakers signed former Golden State Warriors guard Quinndary Weatherspoon on Thursday with the team’s regular-season opener against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24 on the horizon.

Before being drafted back in the 2019 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-3 guard played four seasons of college basketball at Mississippi State University. He was a consistent scorer and rebounder throughout his time as a member of the Bulldogs, seeing as how he averaged 12-plus points and 4.5-plus rebounds per game in all four of his seasons playing for the school.

Weatherspoon enjoyed his most productive season of college basketball during his senior season, the 2018-19 season. The 27-year-old averaged 18.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 34 games played with the Bulldogs (all starts). Also, Weatherspoon converted 50.8 percent of his field-goal attempts, 39.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and 80.9 percent of his free-throw attempts as a senior.

The San Antonio Spurs drafted Weatherspoon with the No. 49 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. He averaged 1.9 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game across two seasons and 31 regular-season appearances with the Spurs franchise (zero starts).

After his two-season stint in San Antonio, Weatherspoon joined Stephen Curry and the Warriors during the 2021-22 season. He played in 11 games for the team in the regular season and averaged 2.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Weatherspoon didn’t log a single minute of playing time during the Warriors’ title run in the 2022 playoffs. The Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and finally Boston Celtics in their four playoff series to win the championship that year.

The guard hasn’t been on an NBA roster since the Warriors waived him in October of 2022.

Weatherspoon’s chances of seeing the floor consistently for the Lakers during the 2023-24 regular season are slim to none. Los Angeles already boasts plenty of depth at the guard spots with Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and 2023 first-round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino.

The Lakers will hope to finish the preseason with a respectable 3-3 record when they take on star wing Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Jesse Cinquini

Jesse is a sports journalist with extensive experience covering the NBA. He has worked as a staff writer covering the Lakers’ dreaded rivals, the Boston Celtics, for SB Nation. He has also covered the New York Knicks for The Knicks Wall.