{"id":868879,"date":"2026-10-03T01:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/868879\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T01:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:40:15","slug":"why-brandon-williams-lj-cryer-could-play-big-roles-for-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/868879\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Brandon Williams, LJ Cryer could play big roles for Warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAIE, Hawaii \u2013 LJ Cryer\u2019s right foot<\/a> was encased in a layer of ice following a training camp session<\/a> at BYU-Hawaii, but the second-year Warriors guard had a serene, even-keeled look across his face.<\/p>\n

It was a stark contrast to the wide-eyed awe he felt a year ago as an undrafted rookie out of Houston. Back when he was trying to make a team that employed his childhood heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely less starstruck,\u201d Cryer told the Bay Area News Group. \u201cFirst time around, being with Steph, Jimmy and Draymond, I grew up watching those guys, so I was like \u2018Dang, I\u2019m really up here with them.\u2019 But this time, it\u2019s normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a veteran who has endured the grind of an NBA season, Cryer has a better understanding of what he needs to do in order to get minutes on the team.<\/p>\n

The stocky 6-foot-1 guard has saw the offseason as an opportunity to allow his aching right ankle to heal. Cryer said that after being hampered by it to end the regular season, he further battled the injury through Summer League.<\/p>\n

He spent much of the rest of the summer in San Francisco and worked with the performance staff, but was limited in what he could do.<\/p>\n

Cryer was able to lift weights and to continue the strict diet that helped him cut weight prior to summer league, it was not until recently that he was capable of doing the kind of cardio an NBA player needs to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been sitting out for a while, just letting my body recover,\u201d Cryer said. \u201cSo it\u2019s like my second week back on the court since summer league. I\u2019m just trying to get my legs underneath me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he is still working to get his wind back, Cryer has already laid out what his plans are for this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be a spark for the team, and this year I want to be available as much as possible,\u201d Cryer said.<\/p>\n

When he was not battling ankle injuries last season, Cryer did flash the ability to be a microwave scorer for the Warriors, earning a two-way contract after being a training camp invite.<\/p>\n

He made 39.4% of his 3-pointers on 5.2 attempts per game. Considering the Warriors want to play a five-out system predicated on players being a threat to shoot, it is a system that suits Cryer. He shot 43% from behind the arc as a collegiate standout, and led the Big 12 in 3-point percentage in each of his final three seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put in a lot of reps to continue to try to get better and expand my range, and get more comfortable on different types of shots,\u201d Cryer said. \u201cSo, I mean, if I\u2019m not a better shooter this year, I\u2019ll be like what was I doing this summer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cryer flashed the ability to make shots off the bounce, making 14 of 33 (42%) of his off the dribble 3-point attempts, and those kinds of shots could be the kind of attempts the team will ask him to take more often in year two.<\/p>\n

The other benefit of the system is that quick ballhandlers will now have space to operate, which is where Brandon Williams<\/a> enters the fray.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old is also only 6-foot-1, just like Cryer. But in lieu of an accurate shot \u2013 Williams shot a ghastly 23% from behind the arc in 2025-26 \u2013 he averaged 13.0 points per game last season almost exclusively as a slasher.<\/p>\n

Williams, who attended Arizona, brings a speed element that the Warriors have lacked for years. His burst landed him in rare air with the coaching staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrandon is the fastest guy we\u2019ve ever had here,\u201d coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cLeandro Barbosa was lightning, but Brandon is more on-ball, where LB was a lot more off ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams attempted almost 60% of his shots within 10 feet of the rim, and looked like an absolute blur during the team\u2019s open practice on Thursday.<\/p>\n

His 4.6 free throw attempts per game in just 22 minutes a night, if it translates to the Warriors system, would give them a foul-drawing dimension that evaporated once Jimmy Butler was lost for the season.<\/p>\n

He is not a perfect player, and his 1.9 turnovers per game will likely drive Kerr mad at times. But Williams knows what he is, and has a clear vision for how he can help the Warriors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me just getting into the paint and letting my ability just dictate what to do, if that\u2019s to score, to set up my teammates or just being a pest just by getting to the paint, I feel like I can help the team out in any regard,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Though Williams and the healing Cryer are stark opposites as players, and each are on minimum contracts, both could enjoy roles that far outpace their compensation.<\/p>\n

Steph Curry is expected to miss games this season as the team manages his aging knee that cost him almost 30 games last season. Asking two unheralded and undersized guards to occasionally replace his production in the aggregate?<\/p>\n

That could be the play for a Warriors team in search of a fresh identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt like we needed some speed, quickness to break down the defense, particularly in the games that Steph misses,\u201d Kerr said recently. \u201cI think LJ Cryer is also making big strides and has a chance to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Practice notes<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kerr did not have any further update on Kristaps Porzingis, who is not with the team as he deals with what the team is calling a \u201chealth issue.\u201d Porzingis played in only 15 games with the Warriors last season, and has publicly spoken about his battle with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).<\/p>\n

\u2014 Georges Niang has played forward for his entire career, but got minutes as a smallball center during Thursday\u2019s scrimmage. On Friday, he said, \u201cIf you want playing time, you figure out where and how to be comfortable, and make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAIE, Hawaii \u2013 LJ Cryer\u2019s right foot was encased in a layer of ice following a training camp…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[2356,2243,355,99],"class_list":["post-868879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-california","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}