For most of this offseason, the Warriors were the NBA's outlier — the only team that hadn't added a single outside player via trade or free agency. That changed when Brandon Williams agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million contract to join Golden State, per Shams Charania.
Free agent guard Brandon Williams has agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million deal to sign with the Golden State Warriors, agents Derek Lafayette and Curtis Lawrence tell ESPN. Williams averaged 13 points, 3.9 assists and 22.2 minutes per night across 66 games for Dallas last season.
Williams isn't walking into an unfamiliar role. He spent last season averaging 13 points, 3.9 assists and 22.2 minutes across 66 games for Dallas, working mostly as a change-of-pace scorer off the bench. Over a 4-year career that started in Portland and ran through 3 seasons with the Mavericks, he's put up 10.7 points in 19.3 minutes across 140 appearances — a guy who's carved out a real NBA niche without ever being a headline name.
That's exactly the kind of player Golden State has been missing. The Warriors' bench lacked perimeter juice and speed last season, and this deal fills the 14th roster spot with a guard built to provide both. It's a low-cost, low-risk add for a front office that's otherwise stood pat all summer.
Brandon Williams is signing a 1-year, $2.6 million deal with the Warriors, per @ShamsCharania. Golden State was the only team in the NBA that had not yet added a new player via trade or free agency.
The move also confirms reporting that's been floating since early August. Marc Stein noted he'd flagged Golden State's interest in Williams — alongside forward Georges Niang — nearly 2 weeks before either deal came together.
Reported Aug. 11 that Golden State had firm interest in free agents Brandon Williams and Georges Niang. Now Williams has a deal with the Warriors and one roster spot remains open for Niang … with clear roles available for both. More NBA Intel from me: t.co/9iqyBH78dz
That leaves the Warriors with one open roster spot, and Niang appears to be next in line to fill it. Golden State still needs to round out its final slot, a task that carries extra urgency with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody both facing months of rehab from knee injuries. Williams gives them a body who can play right away — Niang would give them a shooter who can stretch the floor once he's added, too.
None of this moves the needle on Golden State's championship math by itself. But after an entire offseason of silence on the transaction wire, simply making a move — any move — is news for a team that's been conspicuously quiet while the rest of the league reshuffled around it.