OAKLAND, Calif. – The Golden State Warriors and Marreese Speights have reached an agreement on a free agent contract, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because teams can't announce moves until the new league year begins Wednesday. Terms of the deal weren't immediately known.
Speights should help fill the void left by power forward Carl Landry, who agreed to a four-year, $26 million deal with the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Speights averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in the final 39 games with Cleveland after coming over in a trade from Memphis last season.
He will likely come off the bench for the Warriors at both power forward and center.
The 25-year-Speights was drafted 16th overall out of Florida by Philadelphia in 2008. He has averaged 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in his first five NBA seasons.
Speights gives the Warriors another option inside off the bench who can be used in pick-and-pop situations the way Landry was so effective last season. The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Speights also can play sparingly at center, which is the biggest need remaining for the Warriors in free agency.
With Andrew Bogut's ankle injuries last season, finding a reliable backup has become a more pressing need in recent weeks. Festus Ezeli will be sidelined a minimum of six to nine months after right knee surgery last month, and Andris Biedrins was traded to Utah as part of a salary-slashing move to make room for Andre Iguodala's acquisition.
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