Golden State Warriors’ Kent Bazemore has earned a long-term deal

The Golden State Warriors were without starting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. for the bulk of the last month of the season and also saw him miss both play-in tournament games. Oubre Jr. missed the team’s last 12 games.

Shooting guard Kent Bazemore stepped up in his absence, starting most of the games the team was without Oubre Jr., and proved that he can play alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. That’s a huge part of any successful role player for the Warriors.

With several shooting guards hitting free agency, the Golden State Warriors will be at a crossroads, and Kent Bazemore is one they should plan on bringing back.

With Oubre Jr. up for a new contract, there’s speculation that he may be looking for at least $20 million annually, something the Warriors would struggle to get to. That would leave the Warriors looking to the free agency market for additional backcourt depth.

Bazemore, who is also entering free agency, could return, but he implied to Mercury News’ Wes Goldberg via NBC Sports that he’s looking for a long-term deal as both he and his family are growing tired of changing cities consistently.

"“I want some stability, man. Tired of bouncing around. Wife is definitely sick of it. She’s human, man. Every time she gets goin’, it’s time to go again. She’s been great. Obviously it’s been hard for her — she let me off the hook a couple time. I’m really thinking hard about that, what she wants,” Bazemore told Goldberg."

Bazemore would be a much cheaper option for the Warriors, but even he doesn’t necessarily have to return. The Warriors also have Damion Lee and Mychal Mulder on non-guaranteed deals, and they may consider just solidifying those two for the future.

However, Bazemore brings that veteran savvy, and he’s a much bigger guard than either Lee or Mulder. His shooting, while does drop off compared to both of them, still allows for the floor to be spaced.

Bazemore averaged 7.2 points per game this past season and shot over 40 percent from deep for the first time in his career. Down an important stretch of games, from early April to the end of the season, Bazemore notched double figures while hitting over 45 percent of his triples.

It was Curry who helped the team find success down the stretch, but Bazemore certainly contributed to many of those wins.

For that, the 31-year-old has earned a multi-year contract, and with a few seasons left at which he can play at a high level, Bazemore should be able to age with the Big 3 much as Andre Iguodala did.

For both parties, a long-term deal seems to be a win-win situation.