Five Warriors buyout candidates who could help playoff push

Five Warriors buyout candidates who could help playoff push originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Glancing ahead to matchups they might see in the NBA playoffs, the Warriors finally seem willing to consider addressing an area they usually ignore.

They’re open to adding a veteran big man.

The last time they added such a player for the final two months of the regular season was in 2019, when they lured Andrew Bogut out of semi-retirement. He didn’t play big minutes, but there were times when he served a purpose.

With each of the top five teams in the Western Conference featuring at least one 7-footer, it behooves the Warriors to go shopping. They must, by Feb. 22, fill the roster spot created by trading point guard Cory Joseph last week and they seem satisfied with their current guards and wings.

As a second-apron team, Golden State can only sign someone whose original contract was less than $12.4 million.

Here are five big men – whose previous salaries could fit – who currently are NBA free agents or that could become free agents through buyouts:

Having spent the 2018-19 season with Golden State, Cousins knows the system. He’s 33, younger than Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. He’s 6-foot-10, 270 pounds and still has offensive skill, as he posted a 30-point game two weeks ago in Taiwan.

But Boogie’s left leg has endured surgeries to repair a ruptured Achilles’ tendon and a torn ACL, so his lack of mobility disallows effective defense in the paint. There is no chance of switching and not much rim protection. Then, too, Cousins, by most accounts, was not a seamless fit within the team’s culture.

Would the Warriors be interested? Not likely.

A two-time All-Star and four-time NBA rebounding champ, Drummond would have been an attractive candidate. Though not a great defender, he uses his 6-foot-11, 279-pound body well enough to avoid consistent exploitation.

There was discussion of trading Drummond a couple weeks ago, but the Bulls decided to make no significant move. Recent reports indicate Drummond, who at times shares the court with starting center Nikola Vucevic, likely will stay in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/five-warriors-buyout-candidates-could-223958940.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-02-12 22:39:58

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