Image via WikipediaFirst off, let’s be clear where the Warriors are roster-wise. They have Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, David Lee, Dorell Wright, Ekpe Udoh, Charlie Bell, Reggie Williams, Brandan Wright, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Dan Gadzuric under contract. That’s eleven players- every NBA team must carry between 13 and 15 players on roster at the start of the season (and at all times the rest of the year).Leaving Udoh out because he will not be suiting up to start the season, the ten players Golden State has already includes one PG (Curry), four swingmen (Ellis, Wright, Bell, Williams), and five big men (Biedrins, Lee, Wright, Gadzuric, and Radmanovic). As such, the base 12-man has two spots to fill, one of which needs to be a PG.
Point Guards
The biggest challenge with the PG market this summer has been that the relatively few good options have been overpaid, particularly considering what the Warriors need. While some can argue effectively that Monta should get the PG minutes that Stephen does not play, I would rather see Monta focus on making the full transition to off-guard, especially since there is not a guy who can play lead guard in a SG’s body (so Monta could play off the ball and guard PG’s) in the free agent pool after Shaun Livingston signed with Charlotte.
Swingmen
With Ellis, Wright, Williams, and Bell likely to take up most of the minutes at SG and SF, this is more of a depth signing than anything else. Players like Antoine Wright and Keith Bogans would work fine yet are probably looking for either more money or more minutes than what the Warriors have to offer. Rasual Butler could play well next to Dorell Wright and Reggie Williams when Monta is on the bench, though he might be looking for more PT. Beyond him, I’d love to see a defensive-minded wing like Ime Udoka or a high-character veteran like Devean George to act as a mentor to the young group Golden State has.
Big Men
The most difficult obstacle when it comes to adding a big is the issue of fit. With Biedrins and David Lee clearly taking the lion’s share of the available minutes when healthy, the Warriors should look for big men through the lens of how they fit with those two guys. Brandan Wright and Ekpe Udoh are both worthy of minutes when healthy, but I worry about Radmanovic and Gadzuric getting any substantial playing time, particularly if Nelson is the coach (and he likely will be, though I hope Brian Shaw gets a big pitch sooner rather than later).
If Josh Boone is willing to come along, he would work. Anthony Tolliver was a solid pick-up for the Warriors and embraced a role which would be remarkably similar to this coming season. While I would rather see the Dubs pick up a C (since David Lee is a PF in the NBA), the Center crop is bad enough that the PF’s like Tolliver or Shavlik Randolph are worthy of consideration.
http://warriors.realgm.com/articles/185/20100720/filling_out_golden_states_roster/
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