The Golden State Warriors proceed to make strikes as coaching camp approaches, with their newest signing arriving in type of 6’6″ sharpshooter Blake Hinson.
After going undrafted in June, Hinson instantly signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and performed for the workforce throughout this yr’s Summer season League. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old grew to become a casualty of the Lakers’ signing of Christian Koloko earlier this week, with Hinson being launched to make room for the previous Toronto Raptors large man.
The Warriors shortly signed Hinson just a few days later, signing him to a 10-game exhibition contract that ought to give the ahead the chance to impress in coaching camp and additional develop with the workforce’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Lakers followers are already nervous about how issues are going, with many criticizing the franchise for being too fast to half methods with Hinson after simply eight video games in purple and gold throughout Summer season League.
Maxwell Ogden of Lake Present Life detailed Hinson’s expertise in a current article explaining why the Lakers gave up on him too early, suggesting that his abilities will permit him to win a “potential function on an NBA-level workforce.”
“It is comprehensible that the Lakers prioritized signing Koloko when middle depth is a weak spot, however shedding Hinson to the Warriors may backfire,” Ogden wrote.
Ogden additionally referred to as the transfer a “laborious tablet to swallow” Which may solely be compounded by the truth that Hinson landed with a direct Pacific rival. In any case, the Lakers have a historical past of giving up a younger participant only for a neighboring workforce to benefit from him.
The Lakers gave up then-21-year-old Ivica Zubac on the 2019 commerce deadline, buying and selling the Croatian together with Michael Beasley to the cross-town rival Clippers in alternate for Mike Muscala.
Muscala averaged simply 15.6 minutes in 17 appearances with the Lakers earlier than leaving this offseason, whereas Zubac has remained with the Clippers since and began in all 220 video games over the previous three seasons.
That is to not say Hinson will make the Lakers pay on the similar degree as Zubac, however there may be expertise for the Warriors to discover over the following few months and hopefully past. Hinson averaged 18.5 factors and 4.4 rebounds in his ultimate collegiate season with the Pittsburgh Panthers, taking pictures 42.1 p.c from three-point vary on practically eight makes an attempt per recreation.
