Jordan Poole, Nico Mannion and Alen Smailagic joining Santa Cruz Warriors at G League Orlando bubble
The Santa Cruz Warriors will soon welcome a trio of new players for the start of the G League Orlando Bubble.
According to Steve Kerr, rookie Nico Mannion will join Jordan Poole and Alen Smaiagic for the G League in Orlando. Teams are slated to arrive at Disney World for the G League’s edition of the bubble on Tuesday, Jan. 26, with games set to begin on Feb. 8. G League teams are expected to play 12-15 games in Orlando.
Before tip-off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, Kerr said the plan for Mannion, Poole and Smailagic is to play as much as possible during a stint with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The plans are to send Nico, Jordan and Smiley to Orlando to play as many games as possible. Hopefully, we stay healthy during that time, so those guys get as much experience as they can. They all need to play. We have met with all those guys. It’s something that I think could be very productive for all of them.
During his rookie season, Poole spent three games with Golden State’s G League affiliate. Through 11 NBA games in 2020-21, Golden State’s 2019 first-round pick is averaging 5.3 points on 39.1% shooting from the field with 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
After being drafted out of Arizona with the No. 48 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Mannion has played limited action, averaging three points on 33.3% shooting from the field in three games.
After dealing with a knee injury, Smailagic will likely make his 2021 debut in the Orlando Bubble. Kerr said Smailagic is getting “right to that point” where should be returning to practice. As a rookie, Smailgic appeared in 14 games for the Warriors, averaged 4.2 points on 50% shooting from the field with 1.9 rebounds per game.
