The Golden State Warriors biggest offseason need is frontcourt depth

The Golden State Warriors will have an interesting road ahead as they look to improve their roster yet, at the same time, make moves that will not put them further into the red in terms of cap space.

Moving forward, they will have the positions available to add talent, but that talent will more than likely have to come on a minimum-value contract as Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green all have max deals.

Even at full strength, the Golden State Warriors frontcourt, composed of James Wiseman and Kevon Looney, weren’t enough to keep them afloat.

The Warriors had three big men coming into the season. After Marquese Chriss went down early with a season-ending injury, the Dubs were left with Looney and Wiseman. Chriss was actually traded to San Antonio prior to the trade deadline.

As for Looney, he has one year left on his 3-year, $15 million contract that he signed after a solid showing in the 2019 playoffs. Looney hasn’t been overly impressive and played in under 25 minutes in both the team’s two play-in tournament games.

While he’s capable as a center, he’s not a long-term option, and he may not be preferred moving forward, especially if the Warriors can add an undervalued veteran this offseason. Nonetheless, Looney will be competing for his minutes next season.

At the same time, there are some that view the team should trade former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman this offseason. General manager Bob Myers, via Drew Shiller, recently reiterated that they don’t want to deal Wiseman.

Even if Wiseman is on the roster, adding a player to both coach him and compete with him is important. There will be players on the market that will be able to do both, and that’s where the Warriors should be targeting.

For Golden State, they have no need at shooting guard or power forward. You could claim that finding a floor general behind Stephen Curry is important, and adding a solid, veteran backup behind Andrew Wiggins may also be a priority.

With the ascension of Jordan Poole, there’s no denying the need for a player behind Curry has waned. Also, it’s hopeful that the team’s lottery pick is used to bring in a multi-dimensional forward.

As for the big men, JaVale McGee or Cody Zeller are both names that may interest the Warriors. The first may be more desirable as the Warriors could use the length and wouldn’t necessarily need much in terms of playmaking.

Regardless of who they sign, adding another big man needs to be on the mind of Myers this offseason. Looney and Wiseman, both of which are injury prone and were out most of February, aren’t going to cut it moving forward.