Golden State Warriors are again planning another center signing

After trading Willie Cauley-Stein to the Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors will again be in the market for another center this summer.

This continues the Golden State Warriors’ trend of struggling to find a long-term center in the Steve Kerr era.

Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, Cauley-Stein, DeMarcus Cousins, Damian Jones, Jordan Bell and Andrew Bogut have all featured at the position after Bogut’s first departure in 2016.

With Cauley-Stein gone the Dubs have a mere two players available at the position:  Kevon Looney and Marquese Chriss. However, Looney has struggled for fitness this season, forcing Omari Spellman to play as a floor-spacing five more often than Coach Kerr would’ve preferred.

Kerr admitted himself: “Even if we have both (Looney and Marquese Chriss) next year, we’d probably be looking to sign another center this summer,” Kerr said Thursday afternoon to Wes Goldberg at Mercury News.

While Alen Smailgacic, despite playing most of the season in G-League factors into the long-term plans of Steve Kerr, he projects to be a power forward at the NBA level. In addition, aside from the playoffs, Draymond Green plays very few minutes these days as a small-ball five, leaving the Dubs cupboard borderline thin.

Without a proper big man, the Warriors have struggled against natural centers recently. The Grizzlies’ Jonas Valanciunas logged 31 points and 19 rebounds, Portland’s Hassan Whiteside logged 17 points and 21 rebounds, Utah’s new All-Star Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid went for 24 points and 10 rebounds.

DubNation was already aware of the likelihood of potentially three new acquisitions in 2020-21 with the draft pick, the $17m trade exception and mid-level exception signing, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see rumors linking the Warriors with James Wiseman, should they have the chance to draft the former Memphis man.

Even without drafting Wiseman, Bob Myers and Kerr will have plenty of options on the open market with the likes of Marc Gasol, Aron Baynes and Tristan Thompson will all hit the open market in the 2020 offseason.

Should the Warriors manage to acquire Gasol as an example, the Dubs could double down at the position and draft Wiseman, thus giving Golden State a long-term solution at the position and also giving the young big a great mentor.

However, at the end of the day getting the right fit will be pivotal if the Warriors are to remain in Championship contention in 2020-21.