Former Memphis basketball standout Lester Quinones remains on the Golden State Warriors roster, after the team extended him its qualifying offer Thursday.
Per NBA rules Quinones will be a restricted free agent July 1. The Warriors own the rights to Quinones and have the right to match any offer sheet should another team go after him.
Quinones appeared in five games for the Warriors last season and his best game came when the Warriors defeated Portland 157-101. In that game, Quinones scored nine points and hit two 3-pointers.
“Getting the extra work, watching more film and doing all the other little things, and just getting to the point where Steve (Kerr) could trust me out there on the court,” Quinones said.
Quinones, who played for the Tigers from 2019-22, had his best season in his junior year when he scored 22 points against UCF in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
He played on the Warriors G League team this season and posted averages of 20.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and four assists per game. He will lead the Warriors’ summer league team that features Tigers guard Kendric Davis.
Quinones said in a Warriors press conference Thursday that the qualifying offer demonstrates the team’s faith in him.
“It doesn’t stop here,” Quinones said. “I just gotta get in the gym more to solidify my spot on the roster.”
The objectives for Quinones during summer league are to work on the little things and mental aspect of the game.
As a two-way guard, Quinones said his value lies in coming off the bench and making an impact with his scoring. Locking down on the defensive end of the floor and becoming a two-way player is another emphasis.
“I feel like I’m the type of player to where once I sit down and understand where and what they (Warriors) want me to do. I could go 1,000% into that and be 100% invested into doing what the team needs me to do,” Quinones said.
Being on a two-way contract has taught Quiñones a lot about what the NBA is about.
“It’s 100% ‘what are you doing for me now’ type of business,” Quiñones said.
Reach sports writer Jerry Jiang at [email protected] or on Twitter @j_jiang30
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lester Quiñones gets qualifying offer from the Golden State Warriors