2012 NBA Free Agency: Golden State Warriors Still Bitten by Free-Agency Bug

The Golden State Warriors have four out of five starting spots locked down, but still want to make an impact before the start of the season. Free agency has begun and the Warriors are going to be a limited player as they are tied down with budget constraints. 

RFA Brandon Rush is one of the players they must re-sign along with Dominic McGuire.

It has been a busy last 24 hours with Steve Nash going to the Lakers, Kyle Lowry to the Raptors, Jamal Crawford to the Clippers, Jason Kidd to the Knicks and the Warriors' prime target, Brandon Roy, going to the Timberwolves.

According to The Oregonian's Jason Quick via Twitter, Roy and the Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly reached an agreement.

Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy offered the details of a two-year, $10 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Read the whole story.

The Warriors and Bob Myers, who used to represent Roy via his ex-agency, Wasserman Media Group, thought they might have the upper hand. Roy would have been a key addition to the Dubs, who need to find an affordable backup point guard.

As for the restricted free agents, Jeremy Lin has just signed an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets and Nicholas Batum has signed an offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves; both players will likely stay with their old teams (the Knicks and Blazers are expected to match their respected players' offers).

Now the list of available players is getting smaller and less talented. The Warriors also have to get rid of Dorell Wright sometime this summer to give them more flexibility on the court and in the pocketbook.

The talent pool within the mid-level exception range looks like this for the Dubs: Jordan Hill of the Lakers, JJ Hickson and Raymond Felton of the Trailblazers and Kirk Hinrich of the Hawks.

The Dubs looked to have solved their draft curse, but don’t look like they have gotten better in free agency.  They took a big swing and a miss on the DeAndre Jordan gamble last year, which had a ripple effect by losing their amnesty on Charlie Bell instead of the much maligned Andris Biedrins. 

Can the new management save the Dubs this offseason? Will there be any talent left around that wants to sign in the Bay?  Only time will tell.

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