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Former Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Ulis is officially a member of the Golden State Warriors. The team announced Monday that Ulis had signed his free agent contract. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
Ulis, now 22 years old, averaged 7.8 points 4.4 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 1.00 steals and 23.4 minutes in 71 games (43 starts) last season with the Phoenix Suns. The 5’10” guard owns career averages of 7.6 points, 4.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 21.1 minutes in 132 games (58 starts) over two seasons in Phoenix.
Following a standout two-year career at Kentucky, Ulis was selected by Phoenix in the second round (34th overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft.
Ulis reportedly picked the Warriors over an offer from the Houston Rockets. The only reported workout he got was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s great to see the former Wildcat gets to play with DeMarcus Cousins for a team that’s just won back-to-back NBA championships.
Speaking of, the Warriors just held their media day, where Cousins spoke with the media and updated his recovery from a torn Achilles, which is expected to sideline him for a good chunk of the 2018-19 regular season.
DeMarcus Cousins: "It's been hard. I would be lying if I told you anything different. It's been an absolute grind. It's taken a lot of dedication, a lot of commitment. ... It's probably one of the hardest things physically and mentally I've been through in my career so far."
— Janie McCauley (@JanieMcCAP) September 24, 2018
DeMarcus Cousins said he hasn’t had any setbacks with his recovery. Still no timetable on his return, he says he’ll sit down with Warriors brass when he feels good and go from there.
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) September 24, 2018
DeMarcus Cousins on the biggest thing he’s learned during his recovery process:
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) September 24, 2018
“I’m stubborn as hell.”
There had been some thought the Warriors could hold Cousins out until it was almost time for the playoffs, but owner Bob Myers shot that down.
Bob Myers said the narrative that the Warriors are saving DeMarcus Cousins for the playoffs is inaccurate: "When he can play he’ll play. We won’t rush him, but we also won’t hold him back." pic.twitter.com/HasWYSmPFg
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 24, 2018
It’s great to hear Cousins is actually doing some work on the court, even if it’s not full speed just yet. It’s a long road to recovery for this type of injury, but it sounds like Cousins has made great progress.
Let’s hope we get to see Cousins and Ulis on the same court sooner rather than later.
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