3 minimum-salary free agents the Golden State Warriors should’ve signed

Hassan Whiteside

Despite drafting 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman, the Warriors still only have one traditional center on their roster.

Wiseman will be a raw prospect to start and may not make too much of an impact for the first few months. Marquese Chriss and Kevon Looney are projected to be a few of the team’s centers, and both started their careers as power forwards.

Hassan Whiteside, from a defensive perspective, may not be the most attractive option, but he’d give them rim protection and size. We already saw him manhandle Looney in the preseason as Whiteside signed with the Kings, a team the Warriors played in two of their three games.

In 67 games and 61 starts, Whiteside averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game. While he’s a liability in the pick-and-roll, Whiteside is among the more dominant bigs in terms of rebounding on both ends of the floor.

He’s worth far more than $2.3 million, and having signed with the Kings, he could be a perfect buyout target. The Warriors, given their lack of size and rim protection, should’ve given Whiteside a look.