The Golden State Warriors signed Kevin Durant, but they added some supplementary pieces that really will help them.
If you’ve been living under a rock, you probably still heard that Kevin Durant has chosen the Golden State Warriors as his next employer.
Immediately after that news, Warriors’ General Manager Bob Myers got to work. He traded away Andrew Bogut and renounced the rights to both Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. While the core of what he hopes is a championship team is in place, the supporting cast still needs to be built.
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The Warriors made two relatively small (compared to the Durant acquisition) moves, but they were both really solid pickups.
Golden State doesn’t have a lot of room to operate financially with the Durant signing and Stephen Curry‘s impending free agency. It seems that the Warriors’ two pickups–Zaza Pachulia and David West–are great values for their price.
It’s been a while since the state of Georgia voted one of their own Atlanta Hawks in the All-Star game. The country of Georgia–with less than half of the estimated population of the state–almost voted in Zaza Pachulia into last year’s All-Star game.
He finished fourth in the front court voting, less than twenty thousand votes behind Kawhi Leonard and over forty thousand votes ahead of Draymond Green. If Kobe Bryant had been listed at shooting guard, his primary position for the better part of twenty years, then Pachulia would have represented the West in the All-Star Game.
Now, Pachulia isn’t actually an All-Star talent. But at just $2.9 million, the Warriors got themselves a really good deal. He averaged 8.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game. The 6’11 center started a nice 69 games for the surprising Dallas Mavericks, totaling 26 double-doubles over the course of the year.
The Warriors don’t need Pachulia to do much. He’s there to eat minutes until they can roll out their Super Death Lineup. He’s there to grab rebounds, and finish off alley-oops. In a perfect world, he’d also protect the rim. He’s no Bogut, who was one of the best defenders at the hoop and big men passers, but he’s a big body that came really cheap.
The Warriors’ other signing, West, is also another bargain.
Golden State tried to sign him last offseason after he opted out of his contract with the Indiana Pacers, trading $12 million for a chance at a ring. He was deciding between the Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs and eventually chose to take his talents to Texas for less money than what Golden State was offering.
Now armed with Durant, the Warriors got their guy. West looks to be replacing fan-favorite Marreese Speights and he could be an upgrade. He averaged 7.1 points and just 4 rebounds in only 18 minutes per game. He doesn’t quite space the floor like Speights (who added a three-pointer) does, but he’s a lot more judicious with his attempts.
Despite being a below average defender, West brings toughness. A former All-Star, he is still very skilled and for the veteran minimum, is a great addition for Golden State. The Warriors won’t ask him to do much outside of setting screens and taking the shots that are created for him. Occasionally, we’ll probably see a few West post ups in an attempt to establish something down low. But with Durant, the Warriors already have a back-to-basket presence.
The Warriors have four All-NBA players that will carry the load, but you do need a bench. Golden State won’t rely on their bench to build leads, but rather maintain them. They want the bench to eat minutes to allow the stars to rest.
With West and Pachulia, they’ve gotten off to a good start.