Pat Spencer Coy About Future Warriors' Contract As Two-way Deal Games Run Out

Pat Spencer coy about future Warriors' contract as two-way deal games run out originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

If Pat Spencer‘s life is about to change, the Warriors guard isn’t counting his chickens before they hatch.

Moments after Spencer helped the Warriors pull off a stunning 101-97 comeback win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night at Mortgage Matchup Center, the 29-year-old brushed off any hint that a guaranteed NBA contract was imminent.

“There was no monkey off my back,” Spencer told Kerith Burke, Chris Mullin and Festus Ezeli on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live” after the win. “I didn’t sign anything yet. We’ll have some conversations and we’ll figure that out.”

Spencer, currently on a two-way contract, exhausted his allotment of active games (50). So now the Warriors must decide if they want to convert him to a standard NBA contract, and the sides can work out a long-term agreement.

The Warriors created two roster spots when they traded Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis at the NBA trade deadline, so if they want to reward Spencer, they have the room to do it.

And Spencer has more than earned a shot.

In 36 games this season, Spencer is averaging 5.8 points and 2.9 assists in 14.4 minutes, and on Thursday night, with Steph Curry out due to knee soreness, he poured in a career-high 20 points while going 6-of-10 from 3-point range.

But in typical fashion, Spencer just wanted to help the Warriors collect the win on a tough day for the locker room.

“It wasn’t about the career-high,” Spencer told Burke, Mullin and Ezeli. “Just coming out here to bring energy. We’re a little bit short-handed. Traded some guys, just lost a couple brothers today, as far as Buddy, JK, Trayce. And so, had to pick up the energy. Obviously, don’t have No. 30 out there and Steve gave me the confidence to let it rip from beyond the arc and got the job done.”

While the outside world can sense that Spencer is about to sign a contract for life-changing money, he’s not the type of player to relax.

“I don’t know if relief is the right word,” Spencer told reporters after the game. “We’ve got some phone calls to make here. Business is business. We’ll figure it out. But I’m beyond thankful for this organization and what we’ve been able to do together. I’m thankful they’ve given me an opportunity, so we’ll see where the chips fall.”

The Warriors are off Friday and traveling to Los Angeles ahead of Saturday’s game against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.

If the Warriors want Spencer to play Saturday night, they will need to resolve his contract situation soon.

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