6 Free Agents The Warriors Should Consider Signing

Mar 14, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center

(16) is defended by San Antonio Spurs forward

(left) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol was reportedly linked with meeting up with Warriors’ representatives at the start of free agency. Gasol has also been linked with other contenders – Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat.

Gasol has struggled in the two years under D’Antoni, as he was misused in the team’s offense. Still, he managed to put up 17.4 points per game, while shooting 48%. He scores 1.11 points per possession as the roll player on the pick-and-roll, and is still regarded as one of the better passers out of the post. Most of Gasol’s offensive plays generated out of the post, with 322 field goals attempted.

Gasol has experience playing under a triangle system and with reports claiming Steve Kerr intends to implement a variant of the triangle offense for the Warriors, Gasol would fit in easily to Kerr’s plans. The triangle requires all players to be adept passers of the ball, and Gasol is perhaps one of the league’s best passing big men. His offensive skills would be great asset to have coming off the bench, and his ability to run pick and rolls with Stephen Curry or Shaun Livingston should be able to put points quickly on the board.

However, Gasol has declined in the past seasons as a defender. His post-up defense numbers ranked him 55^th in the league, with opponents shooting 41% against him. He fared much better as a defender on the roll man, with opponents only scoring 32% on him.

The Warriors’ need a quality backup big man who can also provide starting minutes when Andrew Bogut is out injured. Currently, they have Festus Ezeli (whom Zach Lowe of Grantland referred to as “a man without hands” and Ognjen Kuzmic (a second year player who has barely played any minutes) as Bogut’s backups. Acquiring Gasol would be a great catch for the Warriors’, as Gasol has proven that he is still able to contribute as a starter. Allowing him to come off the bench to terrorize second units will only inflate his stats more.

The big stumbling block that remains is whether Gasol would be willing to sign for significantly less money. I’ve always believed that the Warriors’ should use their mid-level exception on him, but since they used it all on the Livingston signing, there’s no use crying over spilt milk.

Their only options left are offering him the $2 million biannual exception or a sign-and-trade with the Lakers, both of which are looking very unlikely.