Warriors sign Australian standout to two-way deal

Golden State is adding Taran Armstrong, a 6-foot-6 point guard from Tasmanian, to their vacant two-way slot

Two weeks after promoting Dutch center Quinten Post to a standard NBA deal, the Golden State Warriors looked even further abroad to fill Post’s old two-way slot: Tasmania.

Taran Armstrong had a breakout year in his second season in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Cairns Taipans. Those assist numbers were good for 6th in the entire NBL, while averaging nearly one steal per game. A big part of Armstrong’s improvement was his greatly improved three-point shooting. Armstrong went from shooting 25.7% on 1.5 attempts per game to shooting 35.1% on 5.1 attempts.

He also has solid size for his position, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing just under 200 pounds. Former Warrior Andrew Bogut gave a brief scouting report on Armstrong for the latest “Rogue Bogues” podcast:

He’s a young up-and-coming player here in Australia. High-usage guy, really good out of the pick-and-roll. Shot’s starting to come together, but he’s a fighter, aggressive, really good at getting two feet in the paint and finishing. Gets to the free throw line a lot. Still improving defensively, but needs some work, like most young guys do...Really good pickup for Golden State.

Armstrong isn’t likely to play a lot of minutes this season, with even Bogut calling him an “insurance policy.” But he is getting into the Warriors’ development program, which has a track record of bringing players onto the NBA squad.

The Warriors’ roster already contains three players who went from two-way deals to NBA contracts in Post, Gui Santos, and Gary Payton II. In recent years, they’ve promoted players like Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee, Damion Lee, Marquese Chriss, Quinn Cook, and Lester Quinones from two-way deals.

That could be part of why Armstrong chose the Warriors, aside from the availability of their two-way slot. Armstrong likely had a lot of options after his big season, and having just turned 23 in January. The Warriors have proved that they’ll give their two-way guys a fair shake and a real chance at a well-paying NBA deal.

Especially when the Warriors are going into next season with three players — Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green — schedule to earn a combined $147 million next season. Add in Moses Moody’s $12.5M, Buddy Hield $9.6M, and Jonathan Kuminga’s next contract, and the Warriors will certainly be looking to fill out the back of their roster cheaply.

Armstrong is also making history as the NBA’s first Tasmanian player. There have been plenty of Aussies over the years, but none from Australia’s smallest state. He grew up in Burnie, Tasmania, then went to college at California Baptist, where he was the Western Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Year, and led the conference in assists in both of his seasons with the Lancers. Armstrong also played with Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels in the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in 2021.

Don’t expect to see much of Armstrong this season in San Francisco, but he has a real chance to be part of the Warriors in future seasons, where it will be very difficult for him to escape the nickname “Tasmanian Devil.” Best-case scenario for Armstrong? A multi-year deal with the Warriors, and a supporting role in “Space Jam 3,” which will probably be about Victor Wembanyama fighting an evil A.I. entity that lowers NBA ratings.