Which undrafted rookie should make the Warriors opening night roster?

The Warriors’ roster has more or less reached its capacity.

The starting five will consist of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala/Harrison Barnes, David Lee and Andrew Bogut.  Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush, Shaun Livingston, Draymond Green, Marreese Speights and hopefully Festus Ezeli will be providing valuable support off the bench. Ognjen Kuzmic and Nemanja Nedovic may get more minutes this year in order to develop. That leaves just one more spot on the active roster. Aaron Craft, Justin Holiday, Mitchell Watt, and James Michael McAdoo will all be competing for the chance to make the squad.

Each player has unique strengths, but the deciding factor will be whether or not that player will be able to address the team’s needs and make an impact. Craft, McAdoo and Holiday have all shown some flashes of great abilities they bring to the table. Steve Kerr recognizes the potential of each player, making it tough to decide who to keep on the roster.

“Don’t hold me to this, but I think we’ll keep everybody as long as we can — partly because these guys are awesome,” Kerr said, via the San Francisco Chronicle.

While Holiday put on some great performances in the summer league and Craft showed some promising signs with his defensive intensity and leadership roles, they may not be the ideal prospect that will benefit the Warriors at the moment.

Holiday is a great scoring guard at 6-feet, 6-inches, averaging 14.8 points per game during this year’s summer league. He has a fairly efficient three-point stroke at 41% with the Idaho Stampede in 2013 and 33% in the summer league. Holiday could bring some firepower off the bench, but with Livingston, Rush, and Barbosa already bound to play significant minutes, Holiday’s scoring impact might not be necessary. He also has displayed the tendency to shoot at a high volume, which will be ill-advised and next impossible when Curry and Thompson are on the floor.

The notorious Aaron Craft from Ohio State is a defensive specialist. He is a two-time Big Ten All-Defensive Player of the Year, showing the ability to lock down opposing point guards. His offensive skill set, however, leaves much to be desired. Craft still needs to develop a more consistent jump shot as well as polish his handles since he struggles to beat defenders off the dribble. Ball-handing and shooting are essential for today’s NBA point guards so because Craft currently lacks these skills, he would be an offensive liability.

Although McAdoo’s ability to perform at an NBA level comes from a small sample size, he has shown some potential of developing into a more reliable forward. McAdoo was originally deemed to be an upcoming star and was to shoulder many responsibilities after his freshman year at North Carolina. However, he failed to make the huge leap in his sophomore and junior years albeit scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds per game. McAdoo stands at 6-feet, 9-inches with a wingspan of over seven feet, and and has demonstrated some raw athleticism. While he isn’t an exceptionally large power forward, McAdoo’s wingspan, quickness, and explosiveness could give him an advantage over larger, slower defenders. McAdoo is still a very raw basketball player. He isn’t a great rebounder, only grabbing 5.2 boards last season at UNC and doesn’t possess a post game nor a jump shot. He also shot a dismal 53.7 from the line.

Despite all this, the Warriors could find some use in a project like McAdoo. He has all the physical tools; he just needs to learn how to put it all together, much like Aaron Gordon. McAdoo led a fourth quarter comeback in a preseason game against the Nuggets, scoring 16 of his 20 points (mainly from hustle plays or put backs) in the fourth and helping to erase a 17-point deficit. Since Bogut and Ezeli have a history of injuries, it wouldn’t hurt to have another big but relatively green player in McAdoo.

There’s a good chance that McAdoo, Holiday, Craft, and Watt will all be sent to the D-league to develop their game. Out of all these players, McAdoo shows the most upside. A player with his length and physical tools may be harder to find than guards like Holiday and Craft. McAdoo will also benefit from playing under Kerr and his coaching staff. The Warriors’ offense has looked rejuvenated during this preseason, and McAdoo might be able to flourish with ball movement.

Which rookie will join the roster is anyone’s call at this point, but McAdoo seems to have a decent chance at landing the coveted spot.