Big deal in hand, Bowman to start in crucial stretch

Ky Bowman can finally move out of his teamprovided hotel room. In the wake of a chaotic trade deadline that saw the Warriors deal away six players, Bowman’s twoway contract was converted to a guaranteed threeyear NBA deal.

The roughly $3.5 million he’s set to earn on that contract should be enough for him to afford a nice apartment in San Francisco, a luxury he didn’t have a couple of days ago. After spending the past three weeks with Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Bowman, 22, will not only be in the NBA — he’ll be the Warriors’ starting point guard.

With D’Angelo Russell now on the Timberwolves and Stephen Curry still sidelined by a broken bone in his left hand, Bowman is Golden State’s only available point guard. The next few weeks until Curry returns should be a key opportunity for Bowman to solidify his spot in the 202021 rotation. A scorefirst point guard at Boston College, he has made strides as a facilitator, using his time in Santa Cruz to study defenses and master kicking out to open shooters.

In 12 G League games, Bowman averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals. His ability to guard fullcourt should help him against some of the NBA’s better scorers over the season’s final twoplus months.

“This has been a really good season for him,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said of Bowman, who went to the G

League only because he was nearing the 45day limit with Golden State allotted under his twoway contract. “I’m excited to have him up for the remainder of the season. This will be a good 30game stretch for Ky.

“He’s going to get plenty of action and a chance to further his development.”

How Bowman looks in coming weeks should help the front office determine its offseason plans. If Bowman can continue to look like he belongs at the NBA level, the Warriors might decide to enter next season with Bowman as Curry’s primary backup at point guard.

That would free up Golden State to use the midlevel exception and minimum contracts on more pressing areas, such as center and backup small forward.

“The thing I like most about Ky is just his competitive desire,” Kerr said. “I think we have to prepare for next year. This year has been really rough in so many ways. We have a chance to make it really productive.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle. com. Twitter: @Con_Chron