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Golden State Warriors desperately need more front court help

By Nathan Beighle

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 20: James Wiseman #33 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball up court against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 20, 2021 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 20: James Wiseman #33 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball up court against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 20, 2021 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Rookie center James Wiseman is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus. According to ESPN, there’s a chance that he could miss the remainder of the season. That’s absolutely debilitating for the Golden State Warriors.

However, if we’re being honest, this was a problem that they should’ve solved at the trade deadline. Golden State had both Kevin Looney and James Wiseman active for just a handful of games throughout the entire month of February.

The Golden State Warriors needed more frontcourt help before James Wiseman’s injury, but now they’ll desperately need to add another big man.

The Dubs lack of frontcourt help in February clearly wasn’t alarming enough for them to add another center. It should’ve been, and now they’re going to have to survive with just Looney down low. Juan Toscano-Anderson will likely play a larger role now as well.

This is a problem that could’ve been avoided.

Coming into the season, especially considering what happened last season as Looney played just 20 games, the Warriors knew not to rely on their former first-round pick.

With Marquese Chriss having broken his foot early on in the season as well, the Warriors had plenty of time to prepare for a potentially catastrophic problem. That may soon be coming in like a tsunami as Looney will be the team’s lone frontcourt option.

Looney isn’t horrible, but he’s not the offensive player that Wiseman is. Now, there is reason to believe given his different skillset that he’s a better overall fit in the starting lineup. However, that’s not the point.

The point is that the Warriors are going to need to address their need in the frontcourt sooner rather than later. With the trade deadline already having passed, they really only have two options. They could try to give Alen Smailagić, who had played five games this season, more time.

Another, more favorable, option is the buyout market. Thon Maker or Jordan Bell are both free agents that could use a team. While it’s obviously not ideal, they would both provide length and size for the Warriors.

As the season progresses, two things will be interesting to see.

First, we’ll see how big of a problem this is. Even at 6-foot-9, Looney is undersized, so rebounding will be an issue. Secondly, it’ll be interesting to see if the Warriors actually move to fix this issue or force small-ball lineups to work.

Golden State may be in contention for a play-in game, but it doesn’t feel like they’d go further than that.

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If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be too crazy to think Bob Myers and his staff may neglect the issue at hand and move forward to next season already in terms of preparing future personnel and getting younger players more minutes.

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