The Golden State Warriors announced the signing of free agent forward forward Al Thornton via an official press release today. The 6’8" Florida State alumni has spent three years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards. Thornton was released by the Wizards at the trade deadline last week after Washington bought out the rest of his contract. Thronton is looking to add some depth at the forward position for the W’s as well as help shore up the bench and become more productive offensively.
I think the addition of Thornton can’t really hurt the Warriors at this point in the season, but is this the deal that will send the Warriors into the playoffs? Highly unlikely. He currently sits at # 232 out of 333 in ESPN’s John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Ratings (PER), averaging 8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1 assist per game in the 49 games he’s played in the 2010-2011 season. But one team’s trash is another team’s third option at small forward right?
Thornton will wear jersey # 23 for Golden State, and should be suited up on Friday for the W’s game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.