Who's the Odd Man Out on Warriors' Playoff Roster? There's No Easy Choice

After proving himself a capable fill-in for Stephen Curry, Quinn Cook is in the process of signing a deal with the Warriors that will allow him to be on the roster for the playoffs. Cook is more than deserving of this full-time deal, and the Warriors will need him to keep producing the way he has been. But in order to bring Cook aboard, they'll need to make a roster cut to create space. But who?

Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are obvious locks. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston are too integral to what the franchise does and too expensive to outright cut. At his price, David West's veteran leadership and bench production are far too important to remove. Despite his flaws, the Warriors' shooting depth is too thin to cut Nick Young. Jordan Bell is the big man of the future, and it's unlikely they cut Patrick McCaw despite a shaky season and scary injury.

That narrows the group down to Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, Omri Casspi, Kevon Looney and Damian Jones. Each has their own strength that might make cutting them a tough pill to swallow. Who will have to go to make space for Cook on the playoff roster?

Zaza's not going anywhere

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Pachulia has started 55 of the 67 games in which he's played, and for that reason alone, he's the least likely to be cut. He's the starter, and he's trusted.

In 14.1 minutes per game, Pachulia has put up 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in his age-33 season, and he's on the books for $3.5 million in the final year of his deal. He likely won't be around long-term, but as a fixture of the rotation during his tenure in the Bay Area, it's unlikely that he's the one to go.

Pachulia doesn't do any one thing at an elite level, but he's a quality contributor in a few important facets that make him worth keeping around. Namely, his physicality, which can often walk a fine line with recklessness, is welcome in the Warriors' starting lineup. He's also grabbing the second-most rebounds per 36 minutes of his career.

Pachulia's 59 percent finishing around the rim is poor for a big man, but he finds other ways to chip in offensively. He sets solid screens and throws some nice passes to cutters, and the Warriors won't be hack-a-Zaza'd with his 80.2 free-throw percentage.

JaVale more valuable than you think?

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McGee has started 17 games and played in 63, averaging 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game. A free agent after this year, McGee's $2.1 million contract only carries a $1.5 million hit against the cap, but what he provides on the court would be missed.

Where Pachulia can fling passes to cutters from the elbow, McGee's biggest offensive threat is his ability to strike from the air. The Warriors are mostly recognized by their three-point ability and how that spaces the floor, but vertical spacing is also important. The ability to put pressure on the defense by being able to roll to the basket and slide over from the dunker position to catch lobs bends the defense in a different but important way.

Defensively, McGee has a reputation for getting lost, and that can become a bench-worthy offense in the playoffs. But he does possess a shot-blocking ability that can't be overlooked. Of the players who have contributed at least as many minutes as McGee, only two have a higher block percentage this year.

Too late for Looney?

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It's taken him some time, but in his third season, Looney is starting to put things together. His jump shot has stretched out to three-point land, as he's taken four attempts over his last 10 games and shoots 47 percent from the deep mid-range—among the top 25 percent in the league at his position.

Looney is also a solid defender, with the ability to move his feet enough to step out and challenge guards on switches.

The problem with Looney is that it might be too little, too late. He's in the last year of his rookie-scale deal, making $1.5 million, but the Warriors declined his option for next year to avoid tax issues, which means he'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. This doesn't bode well for them keeping him this season since they've already risked losing him.

Despite being one of the younger, toolsier players, Looney could be the most likely to be cut because he's the fourth or fifth big man off the bench, cheap and not on the roster next season anyway.

Damian Jones is a project worth seeing through

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Jones is raw. He's athletic. He runs, he jumps, he moves his feet. But Jones hasn't made much of an impact with the Warriors this season, only showing up in 12 games this season, averaging 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds. But, he's rostered through 2021 on a rookie minimum contract, which makes him a cheap piece worth developing.

His G-League numbers this year are encouraging. Jones has put up 15.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for the Santa Cruz Warriors over 45 contests. He's a modern rim-roller type that the Warriors need to keep around for the future.

The center position is a timeshare for the Warriors, and Pachulia is the most reliable among the group. McGee may go entire games without playing, but he also has value on both ends when he does get playing time. With David West and Jordan Bell keyed in for some minutes at the five, it might not make sense for the Warriors to keep that many bigs around when they like to go a little smaller in the playoffs, playing Durant and Green in the frontcourt.

Casspi isn't the easy answer—but he may be the best answer

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The Warriors traveled without Casspi on their road trip, giving him more time to recover from an ankle tweak that's held him out since he sprained it on March 16 against the Kings. Between the bevy of injuries and the cold shooting since December, Casspi figures to be the odd man out.

Like McGee, he's only on the books for $1.5 million through the rest of this season. If the injury prevents him from contributing on the floor and he doesn't figure to be a big part of the team's future, Casspi may seem like the obvious answer.

In an ideal world, Casspi's ankle injury never became so problematic; he's a career 36.9 three-point shooter and is hitting 45.5 percent of his long balls this year. He's also a smart cutter, which makes him a great fit with what the Warriors want to do on offense.

The decision to waive Casspi might come down to a combination of money and health, but it's not quite as easy as it might appear because he could be one of the most useful playoff contributors of the bunch if he can stay healthy.