The Golden State Warriors have suddenly become an entirely different team of sorts now that Klay Thompson is in Dallas with the defending Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks.
The Warriors won't have the traditional Splash Brothers duo of Stephen Curry and Thompson to rely on this season, but they will likely have a more versatile and exciting lineup that will spark hopes of another playoff run, for the first month or two of the season at least. The Warriors brought Buddy Hield into the fold, giving them another A+ caliber three-point shooter. Thompson's ten greatest moments as a Warrior were also revealed.
The Warriors' free agent odyssey is still far from over and now the question is whether Kerr's team will get the chance to fix its numerous roster holes heading into the fall season.
Warriors' Biggest Free Agent Need: Size
The Warriors seem content to roll with Trayce Jackson-Davis at the five position along with Kevon Looney and other undersized options, which could work in the short term but will also come back to bite the Warriors come playoff time.
Steve Kerr and the Warriors' fascination with playing undersized centers and glorified power forwards at the five spot doesn't make a whole lot of sense to many NBA analysts and now the Warriors appear to have painted themselves into a corner.
Resigning power forward/center Dario Saric seems like a smart choice for the Warriors' front office but it will come at a relatively high price tag that could lead Golden State to have an even more incomplete roster in the coming years.
Some of the names among available big men include Precious Achiuwa of the Knicks, Saric, Markieff Morris, Chuma Okeke, a 6-foot-7 power forward who received a qualifying offer from the Orlando Magic, and a host of journeymen centers like Daniel Theis, Cody Zeller, JaVale McGee, and Tristan Thompson.
McGee is familiar with Kerr's system but appears entrenched in the Sacramento community with the Kings.
Kerr and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. must act fast and make a decision on this matter because the free agency pool is likely to shrink even further in the coming days and weeks.
Sign And Trade An Option?
The Warriors' free agency situation could net very little else in return which might cause Dunleavy Jr. and Kerr to look for sign and trade options. The good news is that Golden State has a mixture of intriguing young and veteran players on its roster who could be dealt for a post player.
The bad news is that they all fit together well and complement each other well at this time, and many of them are unproven, leaving the Warriors' front office with some difficult decisions to make. Ultimately, the Warriors are playing with the house's money.
They have a talented roster with minimal expectations other than to stay competitive and put butts in seats to watch Stephen Curry in the twilight of his career.
Perhaps Kerr and Dunleavy have bigger plans, but for now, they appear one or two cards short of a full house and time is running out to find the missing piece.
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