Lester Quiñones won’t be bouncing between Santa Cruz and San Francisco anymore.
The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a two-way deal with guard Lester Quiñones, according to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Quiñones has spent the past few years with the Golden State Warriors organization, bouncing between their G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz and the NBA roster. However, with the Warriors roster (and two-way contract slots) already full, Quiñones will be heading to a new organization in hopes of earning a long-term role with the team.
Quiñones was an undrafted free agent signing by the Warriors out of Memphis back in 2022. After three years in college, Quiñones quickly proved he was ready to take on G-League competition. During his first professional campaign, Quiñones excelled, highlighted by a 42-point performance. He won the G League Most Improved Player Award and received a pair of late-season 10-day contracts. He appeared in four games, recording his first NBA stats.
Following that campaign, Quiñones returned to the Warriors on a two-way contract. With more significant opportunities against NBA competition, the Brentwood, New York native had plenty of promising flashes. Quiñones appeared in 37 games with the Warriors, averaging 4.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 10.6 minutes per game. He showed promise as an outside threat, making 36.4% of his three-point attempts. However, he did struggle inside the arc, making just 45.3% of his two-point attempts.
Despite Klay Thompson and Chris Paul’s departures this offseason, the emergence of Brandin Podziemski alongside the acquisitions of De’Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield gave the Warriors front office enough confidence in their backcourt depth to prioritize other positions with the rest of their roster. While they could have brought Quiñones back on a two-way deal, they opted to prioritize Pat Spencer instead.