Bold Warriors Predictions for Top 2024 NBA Offseason Signings, Trades
The 2024 NBA offseason has been an interesting one for the Golden State Warriors.
No, they didn't make any sizable splashes despite making multiple attempts at adding an elite, but they did make some notable changes.
Klay Thompson exited, as did Chris Paul after a successful stint as the long-awaited competent backup behind Stephen Curry. The Warriors worked to strengthen their supporting cast in free agency, ultimately walking away with a trio of plug-and-play veterans in De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson.
It's too early to tell how much these changes helped the club, but it's not too early to let the bold predictions fly regarding the Warriors' most notable newcomers.
De'Anthony Melton Leads the Newcomers in Minutes
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This prediction is somehow simultaneously not as bold as it sounds and way more bold than it appears. Allow us to explain.
What makes it maybe not super bold is that Melton possesses multiple skills that the Warriors could need right away. He is a dogged point-of-attack defender, but also an offensive weapon in the open court, a grab-and-go contributor on the glass and a reliable outside shooter (38.3 percent over the past four seasons).
He is someone who can enhance the club's best players when lining up alongside them or make sure good things happen when they need a breather. Regardless if he's operating as a sixth man or a spot starter, he shouldn't have trouble finding his way to major minutes—so long as the bold portion of this prediction comes true.
Why this might be recklessly bold is that Melton has often had trouble staying on the court. He made just 38 appearances this past season and was limited to 52 outings in 2020-21. He'll have to do a better job of ducking the injury bug if he's going to make this prediction look prescient in hindsight.
Buddy Hield Posts a New Personal-Best Three-Point Percentage
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If Warriors want to enjoy the Buddy Buckets experience, then they need to acknowledge one thing right away: Hield isn't Thompson—not even the diminished version of Thompson seen since major leg injuries erased his 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns.
Hield's offensive bag has never been as big as Thompson's, and the defensive gap between them was cavernous before injuries limited Thompson's impact there. Even now, though, you'd rather have Thompson on the game's less glamorous end.
The one place where Hield can mimic his predecessor is outside shooting. And since Thompson's ability to space the floor was so critical in giving Curry the requisite room to work his magic, the Warriors will presumably deploy Hield much the same on the offensive end.
That means Hield should be heavily involved in the offensive action when he's on the court—in a system that should generate better looks than any he's seen so far. If he's consistently finding clean looks at the basket, then he should be consistently converting them, too. Don't be surprised if the Warriors squeeze the best three-point percentage out of him yet, which would be quite the feat when his current career-high clip sits all the way up at 43.1 percent.
Kyle Anderson Averages 10+ Points, 5+ Assists
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Golden State's read-and-react play style isn't for everyone, but it sure seems like a perfect match for a cerebral player like Anderson.
Add his defensive versatility to the mix, and he's someone who coach Steve Kerr could have a hard time keeping off the floor.
The Warriors can deploy Anderson as anything from a small-ball center to a jumbo playmaker, which should only help his floor time. He'll read the game at a rapid enough rate to make his minutes count, too. He's the kind of player who won't have many (if any) plays called for him but will still make his mark with timely cuts, hit-ahead passes and all the kinds of high-IQ plays that make this system seem magical when it's really humming.
If he has the kind of campaign we're envisioning, he'll not only average double-digit points for only the second time in his career, he'll also set a new personal-best in assists per game, which currently stands at 4.9.
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