A second-rounder heading to Lega A
Golden State entered Monday with a full 21-player training camp roster and one loose end: Lajae Jones, the No. 54 pick in June’s draft, still had no contract. That resolved itself earlier today when Jones signed with Pallacanestro Trieste 2004 in Italy’s Lega A. The Warriors keep his draft rights.
Jones spent four years in college before landing at Florida State, and his summer told a familiar rookie story. He was quiet at the California Classic, then scored in double figures in his first four games in Las Vegas. Across nine Summer League outings he averaged 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds on splits of 41/25/60. The 25 percent from three is the number that sends a 22-year-old wing to Europe rather than to a two-way slot.
Trieste are not a parking lot. The club won the Serie A2 title in 2024, returned to the top flight, finished seventh last season and lost a five-game first-round series to Brescia. General manager Michael Arcieri told Sportando that the collaboration with Golden State’s staff on Jones’s development “represents an incredibly exciting opportunity” for the organisation.
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Graham Ike takes the last two-way slot
With Jones abroad, Golden State gave Graham Ike a two-way deal last night. Ike went undrafted out of Gonzaga despite a decorated four years there: three All-WCC selections, two WCC Tournament MVP awards and the conference Defensive Player of the Year honour in 2025-26.
He backed it up in July, averaging 10.0 points on 48.4 percent shooting and 7.2 rebounds across nine Summer League games, with four double-figure scoring nights and a double-double. At 6-9 with a 7-5 wingspan and a 9-2 standing reach, the 24-year-old can defend both frontcourt spots and operate as a short-roll passer.
Ike joins LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons on two-way contracts, filling all three slots. Obi Agbim, who signed an Exhibit 10 on Sunday out of Baylor, was the likely casualty.
The cap does the rest of the talking
Golden State have 18 players on standard and two-way deals. Georges Niang, Brandon Williams and Charles Bassey are on non-guaranteed money and should still make opening night. Dalen Terry holds an Exhibit 9, Alex Toohey and Nick Boyd Exhibit 10 deals.
The real constraint is a figure: $345,568. That is how far Golden State sit below the second apron, where they are hard-capped. Ike will spend most of the year in Santa Cruz, behind Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Yaxel Lendeborg, Niang, Leons and Bassey. With Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody still recovering from injuries, that queue could shorten quickly.
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