ToscanoAnderson, Bell to sign deals
The Warriors plan to convert forward Juan ToscanoAnderson’s twoway contract into a standard NBA deal next week, a league source confirmed to The Chronicle on Friday.
Center Jordan Bell, who spent his first two NBA seasons with Golden State (201719), will return to the Warriors and fill ToscanoAnderson’s old twoway contract. This comes after months of speculation about whether Golden State would give ToscanoAnderson a guaranteed deal.
Since signing a twoway contract with his hometown NBA team the day of the season opener in late December, ToscanoAnderson — an East Oakland native — has emerged as a valued rotation piece. His court vision, defensive versatility, shooting efficiency and allout energy recently prompted head coach Steve Kerr to say of ToscanoAnderson, “He’s really one of the players on the team who I really trust.”
Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff stopped thinking of ToscanoAnderson as a twowaycontract player long ago, but the NBA’s decision to change the conditions of twoway deals this season allowed the team to be patient with converting his contract to a standard deal. Twowaycontract players can now be active for more than 50 games and be eligible for the playoffs.
Though ToscanoAnderson’s pergame stats of 5.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 19.9 minutes won’t wow, Golden State has outscored opponents by 2.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor — compared to the 1.1 points per 100 possessions it has been outscored by when he’s on the bench.
On offense, ToscanoAnderson excels at finding open shooters, ramping up the tempo and taking quality shots. In addition to shooting a teambest 58.4% from the field, he boasts the Warriors’ thirdbest 3point clip (40.8%) behind only Stephen Curry (42.6%) and Kent Bazemore (41.3%).
ToscanoAnderson plays bigger than his size (6foot6, 209 pounds), thriving this season as a power forward and center. His defensive rating of 105.1 is second on the Warriors behind Bazemore’s 103.9.
The details of ToscanoAnderson’s new contract are being worked out, but a league source told The Chronicle that Golden State sees him as “an important part” of the franchise’s future. By putting him on a standard deal in coming days, the Warriors will avoid letting him become a restricted free agent this summer.
This marks the culmination of a sixyear professional journey that has taken ToscanoAnderson to Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and the G League. Before he emerged as a possibility for Golden State, he had to beat out two dozen players in October 2018 at an open tryout for a trainingcamp spot for the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
ToscanoAnderson will fill the Warriors’ 14th spot on their 15man roster. According to a league source, the team expects to fill that 15th and final spot soon.
After surveying the landscape for freeagent big men, Golden State decided that Bell would be its best option to bolster an injurythinned frontcourt. Bell, who must clear league protocols before signing a twoway deal with the Warriors, has played with the Timberwolves, Grizzlies and Wizards since leaving Golden State in summer 2019.
In seven games for the Erie BayHawks in the recent G League bubble near Orlando, he averaged 17.6 points on 80.6% shooting, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and two blocks. Bell, 26, is a highenergy big man who crashes the boards, protects the interior, and scores mostly off dunks and putbacks.
He figures to back up Kevon Looney, who has played big minutes since rookie James Wiseman suffered a seasonending knee injury last month.