The Golden State Warriors don’t have much cap space to work with this offseason, but even Stephen Curry knows this team will need size.
As we saw with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, sometimes have size can win. For the Golden State Warriors, they’re a team that’s always thrived off having size but necessarily being forced to use it.
Over the last few seasons, the Warriors have had Andrew Bogut or DeMarcus Cousins anchoring down their frontcourt. For the most part, it’s worked, and they’ve been about to use their small-ball lineup when applicable to switch things up.
This season, without a single player above 6-foot-11, the Warriors tallest player on their roster is Alen Smailagic, a second-round draft from a year ago. He didn’t play much after injuries forced him to the sidelined for most of last season.
They’ll need more than just Smiley to get through the season this time, and they have the assets to bring in another center. It’s not just us that believe that; even Stephen Curry thinks the team may need more size on their roster.
“Probably need some size. But at the end of the day, it’s different when you have a pick like that trying to integrate him into the team we’re bringing back and the excitement we have coming off the long, long layover, so yeah, stay tuned,” Curry said.
https://twitter.com/gswchris/status/1324894217848631298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1324894217848631298%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fnba-draft-2020-steph-curry-050542187.html
Curry mentioned the pick in there as well, and they’ll have their options when it comes to that. The most notable will be James Wiseman.
The center from Memphis has been a polarizing prospect since his days in high school. Wiseman is 7-foot-1 and has a 7-foot-6 wingspan. That’s the type of size that would make a difference in the team’s frontcourt.
On top of Wiseman, Onyeka Okongwu is also an option, but he also stands only 6-foot-9. He’s ultra-athletic, so they could view that makes up for it. Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka with the team’s mid-level exception would also make sense.
Either way, everyone knows they need size, so expect that to be a priority at some point this offseason.