The Golden State Warriors made a move at the G League level that could pay center dividends down the road.
Their affiliate in Santa Cruz announced a trade to acquire Marques Bolden from the Osceola Magic.
Bolden was a high-ranking recruit who spent three college seasons at Duke. He never quite lived up to the hype there, but he did make 24 starts for the Blue Devils and won two ACC titles.
The 6-foot-10, 249-pound center went undrafted in the 2019 draft.
He has started two NBA games and played in 18 total across three NBA seasons, appearing for the Cavaliers, Bucks and Hornets.
At the NBA level, the 27-year old Bolden has averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while making 64.3% of his shots from the floor.
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Bolden has shown well at the G League level in his career, putting up 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He has appeared in the G League for the Canton Chrage, Salt Lake City Stars, Wisconsin Herd and Greensboro Swarm.
The last two Summer League sessions, Bolden has played for the Warriors.
This summer, the big fella put up 4.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 14.8 minutes per contest.
The Warriors are still waiting for their NBA center situation to play out, particularly with Al Horford, who remains a free agent.
It can’t hurt to add a bruising center like Bolden into the lower rungs of the organization to keep nearby just in case he’s needed down the road.
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