Golden State Warriors to sign Jose Calderon from NBA buyout market

The Golden State Warriors (49-9) are expected to sign veteran point guard Jose Calderon, who is working towards a contract buyout from the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of Wednesday's deadline. The 12th year veteran has the Warriors atop of his list after his release from the Lakers, which is expected in the coming few days.

According to Mercury News, the Warriors released Briante Weber after Saturday's 112-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets to create a roster spot for Calderon. Steve Kerr, coach of the Warriors, confirmed that his team was close to bringing a veteran point guard on board, without going into specifics. “It’ll be a point guard. We think we have something in place, but it’s not finalised. Got to wait until it’s official," said Kerr.

The Chicago Bulls, in an effort to clear cap room for free agent acquisition Dwyane Wade, sent two future second-round picks to the Lakers last offseason for taking up the final year of Calderon's four-year, $US29 million ($AU37 million) contract. After becoming a Laker, Calderon appeared in just 24 games as a back-up to sophomore point guard D'Angelo Russell. The Spanish veteran doesn't feature in the Lakers' long-term plans and was expected to walk away upon becoming a free agent in July.

Jose Calderon wishes to sign with Golden State Warriors

According to ESPN's Mark Stein, Calderon isn't expected to negotiate with other teams. "Sources told ESPN.com ‎that Calderon has the Warriors at the top of his list provided he can negotiate his release from the Lakers by Wednesday, which is the last day this season that players can be released and retain playoff eligibility for their next team," Stein reported on Saturday.

Stein's reported noted that the Houston Rockets (42-18) are another team with strong interest in Calderon. Houston are in a position to out-bid Golden State after clearing an additional US$3.5 million (AU$4.5 million) in cap room through NBA Trade Deadline deals that sent K.J. McDaniels and Tyler Ennis to the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers respectively.

Meanwhile, Kerr thanked Weber for his 22-day stint with the team, while hoping that the young guard finds a new team and more playing time. “He’s going to be snapped up (by some team or the other). I’m hopeful he can go somewhere where he can get more playing time than here. As I mentioned when we signed him, I liked the roster balance, I liked to be able to finish games with a more natural line-up out there. That’s what we are going to continue to do with the guy who is going to come in next.”

Jose Calderon is averaging 3.3 points and 2.1 assists from 12.2 minutes per game this season. The Spaniard, a career 41 percent three-point shooter, would likely be used as a spot-up shooter in Golden State's second and third units. He could also prove to be a solid third-string point guard behind Stephen Curry and Shaun Livingston.