Golden State Warriors: Why Signing Brandon Roy Solves Nothing

No matter how well the Golden State Warriors may have done in last Thursday's 2012 NBA Draft, the truth of the matter is this: The 2012-13 playoff hopefuls may be giving significant minutes to six rookie or second-year players.

The team made their "win now" intentions clear at the last trade deadline.

They packaged one of the league's best scorers, 26-year-old Monta Ellis, a rising big man, 25-year-old Ekpe Udoh and the $7 million expiring contract of Kwame Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks in a trade that eventually netted them 27-year-old Andrew Bogut, 32-year-old Richard Jefferson and the 30th overall pick in Thursday's draft (Festus Ezeli).

So no matter how talented they think their young players are, the Warriors have been noticeably interested in finding a veteran free agent or two to bolster their depth. Brandon Roy's name has emerged as a top target for the club, and the interest is reportedly mutual, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Roy, just one year removed from his sudden, injury-driven retirement, has emerged near the top of a lackluster free agent crop of shooting guards.

The former three-time All-Star has not been short on suitors lining up with hopes of signing a discounted star in a league that gave Rashard Lewis and Joe Johnson nine-figure contracts. When healthy, Roy was considered nothing short of the potential heir to Kobe Bryant's throne as the best shooting guard in the NBA (he averaged 19.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds during his abbreviated five-year career).

But Roy is three seasons removed from his last All-Star Game (2010), two seasons removed from career lows of 12.2 points on 40.0 percent shooting in just 47 games, and a full season removed from playing professional basketball.

The Warriors could use another veteran piece if they hope to make a postseason push next year, but they are severely handicapped by limited cap space and may only have one shot to find the missing piece. Warriors general manager Bob Myers told reporters on Monday (h/t Contra Costa Times) that the team lacks the resources to be a player on the free agent market.

The Warriors are not expected to be able to add more than one veteran free agent from outside the organization (which, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, appears will be former Trail Blazers big man, J.J. Hickson).

Roy makes sense on plenty of rosters, specifically teams with either the cap space or the depth to be able to withstand the mistake if he is not healthy. His fourth-quarter, 18-point outburst in the 2011 postseason showed that some nights, he can still be the Brandon Roy of yesterday.

But the question remains, how often will fans see that Roy? The Warriors simply don't have the time, the resources or the margin of error to find out.