Warriors: Omari Spellman needs to let the three pointers fly

One of the bright spots through the Golden State Warriors’ abysmal 10-win season has been the three-point shot of Omari Spellman.

In an injury-plagued season for the Golden State Warriors, where dreams of making the playoffs went out the window months ago, Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr has been tinkering with his lineups to search for talent that will be useful when the Dubs come back to full strength next year.

One of the rays of hope in this search for role players to complement the stars has come from one of the more low key acquisitions of the offseason: Omari Spellman has shown he can efficiently shoot the three.

Surprisingly enough, Spellman shoots from beyond the arc more effectively than any other player on the Warriors’ roster, making an impressive 40.4% of his 94 three-point attempts on the season.

Considering that the Spellman trade for Damion Jones was almost strictly a money move to create cap space, the Warriors front office should be quite pleased with what they’ve got out of Omari.

Through the Steph Curry era, the Warriors have never had the luxury of a stretch five who can space the floor and keep defenders honest while extended from the basket. If Spellman can continue to shoot at the 40% clip and provide high-energy play, he will become an extremely valuable piece to bring an offensive punch off the bench next year, or he could add another 3-point threat to play alongside the Splash Bros and D’Lo.

However, in order to really understand if his 40% shooting is for real, we need to see more volume. Despite his success from three, Spellman has averaged only 2.2 attempts per game.

Spellman relies on others to create his shots through pick and rolls or spotting up, but still, with such an efficient percentage, especially for a big man, he needs to look for his shot more often. If Omari can maintain that percentage with increased usage, he’ll be found gold. But, we will never know if he doesn’t start to shoot more.

The Warriors have Spellman under contract for next year, with a team option for 2021, so he could become a key cog of the rotation for the foreseeable future. A stretch five has become increasingly important in the modern NBA, and the Warriors may just have one ready to blossom.

So, in a season that means nothing, my message to Omari: Don’t be afraid to let it fly.