Ranking Every Golden State Warriors Offseason Move so Far
They say there's no rest for the weary, but the 2017 NBA offseason is proving there's also no rest for the world champs.
The Golden State Warriors, fresh off their second championship run in three seasons, transitioned straight from playoff action to roster management. With 10 different players reaching free agency, it's not like they had a choice.
Their heaviest lifting happened in-house. Among players on expiring contracts, they re-signed their five biggest, plus another regular reserve. They also added three players externally, plucking one on draft night and the other two from free agency.
With 14 players under contract, they're either done for the summer or have one move left to make. Either way, this is the perfect time to assess their offseason investments.
Each of their nine moves has been analyzed and ranked based on impact, financial value, risk (with regard to age, injury, track record) and whether it was the best option available.
9. Bringing Zaza Pachulia Back
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There are exceptions to this—like shimmying after a jumper or staring down an All-Star point guard—but usually Zaza Pachulia brings all the excitement of a free throw.
Which is fine.
While the rest of the roster performs roundball wizardry around him, the veteran big man takes a blue-collar approach inside the lines. He's the muscle of the operation and most often shines brightest as a rugged rebounder (11.6 per 36 minutes) and bulldozing screen-setter (6.9 screen assists per 36 minutes, third overall).
"We're so happy to have him," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in November, per Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He could've gone elsewhere and made more money, but he's smart, he's tough. ... He's exactly what we've needed."
Pachulia will comfortably fit back into the same grunt-work niche on his new one-year, $3.5 million deal. Another offseason in Oakland should also add more potency to his passing.
The dollar amount is OK but not quite the theft last year's $2.8 million was, and age (33) isn't a huge concern since he's not reliant on athleticism. But given the glut of serviceable-or-better bigs in free agency, the potential of better options leaves Pachulia last on the rankings.
Someone with more shooting range, rim protection and/or superior point-blank finishing could've given the center spot an extra lift.
8. David West's Swan Song
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Two years ago, David West walked away from a $12 million player option to chase championships on minimum contracts. That the strategy paid off with his first world title last month helped convince the 36-year-old not to walk away quite yet.
He's back for another round in the Bay, but Turner Sports' David Aldridge reported West's 15th NBA season will be his last.
The former All-Star shined in a part-time reserve role by supplying both brains and brawn to Golden State's three-headed monster in the middle. His penchant for passing proved an immediate asset, and he wound up shattering his previous best with 6.4 assists per 36 minutes. He narrowly missed a career-low in points (4.6 per game), but he also almost set a new high in field-goal shooting (53.6 percent).
The Dubs didn't need to keep him. He's a helpful playmaker, but that's not exactly a weakness on this roster. The steps he lost to aging were noticeable at times, and his upcoming 37th birthday won't reverse that trend. His potentially decreasing role keeps him near the bottom, although this is minimal cost for continuity and locker room leadership.
7. Adding Jordan Bell on Draft Night
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The Warriors entered the draft without a pick and left it having purchased the 38th selection from the Chicago Bulls—for a cool $3.5 million. And still, the night may have been a roaring success.
The Dubs wound up with 6'8" forward Jordan Bell, perhaps the draft's most NBA-ready defender. Explosive and relentless, he was college basketball's only player with a 22-plus defensive rebound percentage, an eight-plus block percentage and a steal percentage of at least 2.5. His scoring arsenal isn't diverse, but he already passes like a seasoned Warrior.
"Bell's combination of athleticism and high basketball IQ makes him a perfect fit for the way Golden State plays," The Ringer's Jonathan Tjarks wrote. "... Don't be surprised if Bell is playing important minutes in next season's playoffs."
The question is whether those will be regular rotation minutes or the random runs previously given to James Michael McAdoo. Based on the short leashes applied to recent first-rounders Kevon Looney and Damian Jones, Bell could face an uphill battle for floor time.
As much as the Warriors needed his youth, rookie salary and frontcourt explosiveness, Bell's immediate impact looks murky enough to keep him from climbing any higher.
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6. Signing Swaggy P
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Get any lingering Swaggy P-related chuckles out while you can—Nick Young might be scary-good with Golden State.
"I've never been on a team where I get so many open shots," Young said, per Bay Area News Group's Anthony Slater. "I've always had to create for myself. But they're not [going to be] paying attention to me, they'll be paying attention to those guys."
Much like the Dubs did with Young's former teammate, JaVale McGee, last season, they can carve out the ideal role for his talents. By controlling Young's touches and spacing, they might harness his fiery shot-making without ever being burned by head-scratching shot selection. And that'd give them the role-playing sniper they lacked last season.
Young has a lethal long-range shot, and he's never featured it more. He was one of only seven players to average at least 2.5 triples while hitting at a 40 percent clip last season. He was even better on catch-and-shoot threes—tying Stephen Curry for fifth most (2.1 per game) and drilling them at a higher rate than Klay Thompson (44.2 percent to 43.8)—and that was without the passing and spacing he'll have now.
The Dubs needed a spark-plug scorer, and if last season wasn't a mirage, they snagged one of the better ones available. But Young's track record is rocky—he was a waive-and-stretch candidate just last summer—and giving him the full taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.2 million tied the team's hands with other deals (the ability to ink Bell longer than two seasons, for instance).
5. Bolstering Bench with Omri Casspi
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Omri Casspi has worn five different jerseys across eight seasons. What he hasn't done is log a second of playoff action, a fact that seemed to spur his desire to join the Dubs.
"He...wanted to play for a ring," ESPN.com's Zach Lowe wrote. "Casspi turned down a one-year, $4.5 million offer from a likely lottery team, according to a league source."
Casspi instead took the veteran minimum rate of $2.1 million to help strengthen Golden State's second team.
Last season was a frustrating, injury-riddled one for the 29-year-old, as he was traded and waived in the span of a week. But it was also his third consecutive campaign with a 47-plus field-goal percentage.
He plays with great energy, can fill either forward spot and becomes another agile, lanky asset for the Warriors' defense and transition attack. And although his three-point resume lacks consistency, he did convert more than 40 percent of his long-range looks in both 2014-15 and 2015-16.
He won't get major minutes—he averaged just 17.9 on lesser squads last season—so he comes up a bit short in the impact department.
4. Rewarding Shaun Livingston with $24 Million
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Leading up to free agency, Shaun Livingston looked like the biggest flight risk among the core players. But the 31-year-old quickly inked a three-year, $24 million agreement shortly after free agency opened.
There's so much to like about the signing, starting with the fact only $2 million is guaranteed for the final season. If Father Time advances on Livingston quicker than expected or a perimeter youngster proves to be a better option, Golden State can sneak out of the deal a year early—potentially just in time for Klay Thompson's next contract.
On the court, Livingston is a super-reliable second-teamer. He compensates for his lack of range with discerning shot selection (52.6 percent shooting during three seasons with the Dubs), and he consistently makes quick, correct decisions with the ball. His 6'7" frame can be a critical component of the Warriors' frenetic defense.
He possesses the skills and smarts to age gracefully, and his patience helps keep the high-powered offense on the right side of chaos. He's not always an integral piece—he only averaged 17.7 minutes last season—but he's ready when needed and supportive when not.
He's the most important piece seen so far, but not being a late-game finisher keeps him ranked behind three players who will be.
3. Ponying Up for Andre Iguodala
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It's hard to tell how seriously Andre Iguodala considered playing elsewhere, but his deft handling of that possibility showed masterful leverage skills. Golden State's first offer featured a partial guarantee for the third season and salaries of $12 million to $14 million, per USA Today's Sam Amick. The deal Iguodala signed to stay was a fully guaranteed three-year, $48 million deal.
"I think Andre might have had something more lucrative," Warriors general manager Bob Myers told reporters. "He told me he did [laughing]. I fell for it."
Good for Iggy. If he's harbored any aspirations of becoming an agent after the curtains drop on his playing career, this was quite an impressive audition.
The risk factor here is large enough to nearly knock him down the rankings. He'll be 36 in the final season of his deal, and the Dubs could be crunched for disposable dollars when Thompson reaches the open market in 2019. Guaranteeing that final season couldn't have been the easiest pill for Golden State to swallow.
But with the Warriors waist-deep in a dynasty, Iguodala's present value outweighs any future concerns. He plays almost mistake-free basketball—career-high 52.8 percent shooting, league-best 4.5 assists per turnover—and showed last month he's still an ideal defensive option in postseason matchups with otherworldly wings.
There is no greater goal than pursuing a title, and Iguodala means more to that effort than the six players ranked behind him. His stopping skills are integral parts of the championship puzzle, and he completes the league's deadliest quintet.
The "Hamptons Five" lineup of him, Curry, Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green had a plus-23.9 net rating in the regular season and pushed it to plus-32.9 in the playoffs.
2. Stephen Curry's Historic Supermax
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Stephen Curry didn't hold the honor of receiving the richest contract in NBA history for long—thanks to James Harden's colossal extension with the Houston Rockets—but the distinction was justified. His five-year, $201 million pact perfectly captured the magnitude of his historic ascension with the Warriors.
"Curry is a max-worthy player and a max-worthy leader," Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver wrote. "Warriors management understands his value better than anyone, having enjoyed the fruits of his rise to superstardom, and they didn't hesitate to pay him the most money possible as quickly as possible."
It's hard to frame any $200 million investment in these terms, but maxing out Curry was a no-brainer. He has orchestrated Golden State's rise to sky-scraping heights—three straight 65-plus-win seasons, three straight Finals trips, two world titles.
Along the way, he's made four consecutive All-Star Games, won a pair of MVPs—including the Association's only unanimous selection—and redefined three-point proficiency. He owns the three-highest triples totals in league history, the best points-per-game average for a 50/40/90 shooter and two of the last three top plus/minus marks.
Oh, and he's missed fewer than five games each of the past five seasons, kept clear of any off-court trouble and seamlessly shared the spotlight with surrounding stars. But as close as this comes to defining money well-spent, it's not enough to overtake the bargain at No. 1.
1. Getting Kevin Durant Below Market Value
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It's quite possible the Warriors inked free agency's best player and best deal in the same transaction.
At the time, Durant was less than a month removed from capping his wildly successful Warriors debut with Finals MVP honors. While he came out of the box in his All-Star stride, he found another gear for the postseason. His 15-game stampede to the top was as convincing a max-contract argument as you'll ever see—28.5 points on 55.6 percent shooting (44.2 from three), 7.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 blocks.
But Durant, a former MVP at the height of his powers, didn't sign for the max or really anything close to it. He could have collected as much as $36 million next season, but he took $25 million instead so the Warriors could also afford their supporting cast.
"His gesture of taking less gave us the ability to be very aggressive in pursuing Shaun and Andre," Myers said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I can pretty much unequivocally say without it, we're not looking at the team we have right now. ... Without him doing that it would have been a different roster, and clearly to me, a roster that wasn't as good."
In case there was any question, this shows Durant is already 100 percent behind what the Warriors are doing and hope to keep doing. He'll still cash out next summer, but he didn't have to sacrifice anything in this one. That he did could haunt all the other championship hopefuls for the foreseeable future.
His impact is astronomical, the signing's value is incredible and any risks associated with injuries—20 games missed last season, 55 lost in 2014-15—are mitigated by both his talent and this roster's depth. If this wasn't the perfect move, it was at least the best orchestrated by the champs this summer.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference, NBA.com or ESPN.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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