The Warriors are expected to turn over much of their bench this offseason, and that will include moving on from a few veterans.
Many of the Warriors’ bench players, and one of their superstars, were in the last year of their contract during the 2017-18 season.
Kevin Durant, JaVale McGee, Kevon Looney, Nick Young, Zaza Pachulia, and David West are all set to be unrestricted free agents come July 1st, and Patrick McCaw will become a restricted free agent.
KD is expected to sign some sort of contract extension to stay in Golden State, but outside of Durant all of these players’ futures with the Warriors are up in the air.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater analyzed Golden State’s upcoming offseason and said it’s nearly certain that the Warriors will move on from Nick Young, Zaza Pachulia and David West this offseason.
David West came to Golden State two years ago in search of his first career championship ring. He was an integral piece of the Warriors’ bench over the past two seasons, and he was rewarded for his efforts with two championships.
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The 37-year-old center is undecided on whether he will retire this offseason, but it seems pretty clear that he will not be in Golden State next year.
Zaza Pachulia is another aging center that won the first two championship rings of his career with Golden State, but will probably not be with the Warriors next season.
Pachulia’s only minutes during this year’s postseason came in garbage time as he was totally out of the center rotation. Golden State will look to replace his playing time with one of their young big men.
Nick Young became an NBA champion with the Warriors, but he ultimately didn’t live up to the $5.2 million contract Golden State gave him last offseason.
Swaggy P only played about 10 minutes per game in this year’s playoffs, and the Warriors will be looking for an upgrade at the wing position this offseason.
Next: Should the Warriors Pursue Trevor Ariza in Free Agency?
Golden State’s bench will definitely look much different next season. We’ll see if they trend towards a youth movement or if the front office continues to bring in multiple championship-chasing veterans on short-term contracts.