The Golden State Warriors have had a very interesting offseason and 2023 NBA free agency to say the least. It got off to a rocky start after Bob Myers announced he was leaving the organization, although Mike Dunleavy Jr did not waste any time replacing him. Dunleavy Jr made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by trading Jordan Poole as part of a package to the Washington Wizards in order to acquire Chris Paul in return. Many are still skeptical if Paul will be a good fit with the Warriors, although a Jordan Poole trade was in the making for awhile. Ever since his incident with Draymond Green before the season last year, it was clear that the Warriors had to choose between one or the other. The Warriors opted to side with Green, giving him a massive contract extension while dealing Poole to the Wizards. The Warriors are now deep into 2023 NBA free agency with a very intriguing roster that leaves one major concern ahead of the season: where is the big man?

The Warriors dynasty has found success without having a dominant big man before, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them do it again. However, this year's case is a little different given the Warriors were bounced in the second round of the postseason in 2023 and their most glaring weakness was lack of production outside of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. They simply had no true offensive production down low, and there aren't very many options left for them to consider throughout the rest of 2023 NBA free agency. It is not a question that the Warriors will be competitive as long as they have their big three, but their standards are the NBA Finals. As of right now, this roster isn't good enough to compete for a championship, and the primary reason why is the lack of a productive big man.

*Roster via ESPN

No Big Man

Kevon Looney is currently the primary option to start at center for the Warriors. Outside of Looney, the Warriors bigs are made up of Green, Dario Saric, Trayce Jackson-Davis, JaMychal Green, and Jonathan Kuminga. Simply put, none of those guys inspire much confidence in competing with the best bigs in the league, and none of them in general are taller than 6'10. It is not like the Warriors are going to be looking to change their style of play and move away from an up-tempo offense that includes a lot of three-point shots. Nevertheless, they still don't have a true center on the roster, which will just not be reliable in the Western Conference.

The best teams in the Western Conference right now are the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. In the same order, these teams have Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, Jaren Jackson Jr, DeAndre Ayton, and Domantas Sabonis. It is clear that in order to compete in the current West, a dominant big is needed. Not to mention, the number one priority for the NBA next year will be dethroning the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic, the best big man in the NBA. The Warriors would be lying to themselves if they believe their current roster would have an answer to Jokic.

All indications point to the Warriors trying to revert the status quo and somehow get through the West next year with extreme small ball. Acquiring Chris Paul suggests that they have a plan to run a constantly flowing offense that is predicated on ball movement and player movement. This might be able to win them their fair share of games in the regular season and Paul with Curry will be a fun duo to watch. However, the Warriors will find themselves really struggling in the postseason when they face a team with a dominant big and they have no answers. Although 2023 NBA free agency has yet to finish, the Warriors don't have any options to try and find this type of player.

At one point James Wiseman was supposed to be the future of the center position for the Warriors. Unfortunately, he was a failed experiment in Golden State, and the new front office looks to be going in a completely different direction. It won't be known until next season if trading for Chris Paul will work, but knowing the success that Stephen Curry and this Warriors dynasty have had, they will most likely find ways to win games. In the end though, this roster won't be good enough to compete against the best teams in the NBA because they will not have a dominant enough of a big man.