Con: He has a player option
The fact that he has a $4.25 million player option left on his contract can turn out to be either a blessing or a curse in the long run.
King James Gospel
First off, it’s important to note that the Warriors would end up receiving O’Quinn’s Bird rights in a potential trade.
This would afford them a prime opportunity to re-sign him, thereby making him a long term replacement for either Pachulia or West.
On the other hand, this may not be the best course of action considering the Warriors still have Boucher and Looney to consider signing in the offseason, as well as Bell and Jones signed on long term.
It’s most definitely in Golden State’s best interest to make the development of the latter two a priority.
A potential trade for O’Quinn would only hinder the development of Bell and Jones, both of whom I envisioned taking on more responsibility next season.
Then again, O’Quinn’s age would make him the perfect big man to partner along Golden State’s current core. It all becomes a question of whether the Warriors want to focus on building for the near-future or for somewhere further down the road.