Warriors: Shawn Livingston's "Overall Journey Is What Is Most Remarkable"
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- The Golden State Warriors bid farewell to veteran guard Shaun Livingston on Wednesday, thanking him for helping the team reach five straight NBA finals and winning three league titles.
The Warriors, crunched for money after signing multiple free agents after Kevin Durant's departure (which resulted in trading away Andre Iguodala, an undoubted Warriors star and fan favorite), waived Livingston in attempt to clear cap space and further fill out their roster. The team must remain under the tax apron of $138.9 million.
Warriors Co-Chairman & CEO Joe Lacob called Livingston "a tremendous credit to the Warriors organization."
"Shaun was a huge part of three NBA championship teams with the Warriors, but his overall journey is what is most remarkable," Lacob said. "He overcame incredible odds following a devastating injury, wore nine different NBA uniforms during his comeback, had a stint in the D-League and, fittingly, ended up being a major contributor on one of the best teams in NBA history."
"Now, his resume indicates that he's one of only a handful of players in league history to win at least three NBA championships," he added.
Livingston was the latest to fall victim to a wide NBA off-season where rosters have been rebuilt at a pace never see before. Joining Durant and Iguodala in departing the team, several others on the 2019-2020 roster will be playing elsewhere next year.
Quinn Cook and DeMarcus Cousins have signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan Bell has signed with Minnesota, Damian Jones has been traded to Atlanta, Jonas Jerebko remains unsigned and Andrew Bogut has returned to Australia.
Lacob has announced the team would be retiring Iguodala's number and a special ceremony would also be held to honor Livingston.
"We thank Shaun for his immense contributions, wish him well in his next chapter and look forward to honoring him at some point in the future," he said.
Livingston is just the second player in NBA history to complete a tenure of at least five seasons with a team having made an NBA Finals appearance in each season, joining Tom Heinsohn, who did so in all nine of his seasons with the Boston Celtics from 1956-57 to 1964-65.
In 367 regular season games (15 starts) with Golden State, Livingston averaged 5.4 points, 2.4 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes. He appeared in an additional 102 postseason games, fifth-most in franchise history.
Originally selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Livingston owns career averages of 6.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 20.6 minutes in 833 games (191 starts) over 14 NBA seasons with the Clippers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets and the Warriors.
Livingston originally signed with the Warriors as a free agent on July 11, 2014.