![\"Lajae](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1920x1080-2026-09-21T215006.195.png\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 09: Lajae Jones #25 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket against Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu #42 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first half of a 2026 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 09, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Golden State Warriors<\/a> selected Lajae Jones<\/a> with the 54th overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft.<\/p>\n Jones had an interesting path to the draft, playing for four different colleges. He had his best season as a senior for the Florida State Seminoles<\/a>. He averaged<\/a> 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in 33 games.<\/p>\n But before he could begin his NBA<\/a> career, Jones took his talents overseas and won\u2019t be playing for the Warriors this season.<\/p>\n Lajae Jones Signs With Italian Club After playing for the Golden State Warriors\u2019 Summer League team, Lajae Jones faced a tough challenge of earning a roster spot at training camp.<\/p>\n The Warriors have already signed Malevy Leons<\/a> and L.J. Cryer<\/a> for two of their three two-way contract spots. They gave the third to Graham Ike<\/a> over the weekend, making Jones the odd man out.<\/p>\n According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando<\/a>, Jones has officially signed with Pallacanestro Trieste of the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a bad move by Jones, who will earn money as a professional and gain valuable experience playing overseas. He could also return to the Warriors to start his NBA career in the future since the franchise still owns his draft rights.<\/p>\n Pallacanestro Trieste GM Releases Statement In an official press release<\/a>, Pallacanestro Trieste general manager Michael Arcieri issued a statement on the signing of Lajae Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cLajae possesses a combination of pure basketball talent, physical strength, power and explosiveness, and positional versatility that is rarely found in a single player,\u201d Arcieri said. \u201cHe is the prototype of what has become known as \u2018basketball without roles\u2019: a player who impacts the game in every single second of the game \u2014 on both ends of the court, under both backboards, in the open court in transition and at the basket in traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n Arcieri also revealed that the Golden State Warriors staff will work with the club to monitor and aid the development of Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cOur collaboration, throughout the season, with the Golden State Warriors staff regarding Lajae\u2019s development represents an incredibly inspiring opportunity for our staff and our organization,\u201d Arcieri said. \u201cIt gives me great satisfaction to see the talent and dedication of our staff being recognized in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones joins NBA veteran Langston Galloway<\/a> on the roster. Former Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson<\/a> played for Trieste last season.<\/p>\n Trieste are five-time Italian league winners. They haven\u2019t won a championship since 1940-41, so it\u2019s a big task for Jones to help the club attain glory.<\/p>\n The Biancorossi finished seventh in the league last season, reaching the quarterfinals of the playoffs. They pushed the second-seeded Pallacanestro Brescia to the limit in five games.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJuan Paolo David<\/a> Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He’s currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 09: Lajae Jones #25 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-900555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Lajae](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1920x1080-2026-09-21T223954.403.png\")
<\/a>GettyLajae Jones #25 of the Golden State Warriors looks on against the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> during the second half in the California Classic a NBA Summer League game at Chase Center on July 03, 2026 in San Francisco, California.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Lajae](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1920x1080-2026-09-21T224027.611.png\")
<\/a>GettyLajae Jones #25 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball up court against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half in the California Classic a NBA Summer League game at Chase Center on July 03, 2026 in San Francisco, California.<\/p>\n