Could Darren Collison be a hidden jewel for the Warriors bench situation?

Chris Haynes reports that the veteran guard is coming back from a two season hiatus to work out for Golden State.

Wellp, it’s the end of August and if you’re reading this that means you’re surviving just fine without basketball season. Or you’re losing your mind without watching some of the greatest athletes in the world bounce the orange ball for your enjoyment. Either way, we’ve got about a month until training camp starts when the Golden State Warriors will activate their process for bringing another championship to the Bay.

In the meantime, the Dubs are taking a flier on a veteran point guard who has been out of the league for a couple years: Darren Collison.

Collison was the New Orleans Hornets’ first round pick in 2009 and has spent 10 years in the NBA. He’s averaged 12.5 points and 5 assists for his career and has averaged double-digit scoring every season as a pro. He was also a legit threat beyond the arc, shooting 39% for his career with a league leading .468 3PT% in the 2017-2018 season. That year he became the second player in NBA history to lead the league in both 3PT% and assist-to-turnover ratio; he also narrowly missed the 50-40-90 shooting efficiency club.

But two years after that he left the game in order to pursue his religious beliefs. Here are Collison’s words on that per The Undefeated:

While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith. I am one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me. I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.

Joy, eh? Well if Mr. Collison looking for more joy out of his life, there’s no doubt playing with Stephen Curry’s Warriors will add much joy to his life. Some might say even it’s a great opportunity to Weaponize Joy™. Besides, he owes the Warriors after helping the Clippers become the last Western Conference team to eliminate the Dubs from the playoffs.

Looking at the Golden State roster now, it would be interesting to see where Collison would fit behind Curry on the depth chart. Currently the Warriors have Jordan Poole, Gary Payton II, and Chris Chiozza as point guard options. In recent years the backup PG spot behind Curry has been filled by the likes of Shaun Livingston, Brad Wanamaker, Quinn Cook, Ian Clark, and Steve Blake. Outside of Livingston, I’d venture that Collison would be the biggest name out of Curry’s bench relief over that time span.

Here he is balling against LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in a 2018 Eastern Conference Game 7. I hella forgot that those Pacers pushed King James that far in the first round, and Collison was a major reason why. Can you believe this was LeBron’s last season in the East? Sheesh, time flies.