Golden State Warriors offseason move: Signing Nemanja Bjelica
I think I’m a bit higher on the signing of Nemanja Bjelica than most, but his role in this offense could be highly necessary. Bjelica was originally a second-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft but didn’t make an appearance in the NBA until the 2015-2016 season.
Originally taken by the Wizards, Bjelica kicked off his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reason Bjelica has a career is because of his ability to shoot. Neither James Wiseman nor Kevon Looney can shoot from deep.
Bjelica can, and he stands 6-foot-11, so the Warriors really wouldn’t be giving up size with him on the court. In his career, Bjelica averages 1.2 threes per game and shoots around 39 percent from deep.
Per 36 minutes, that three-point average blossoms to 2.0. Given his lack of minutes throughout his career, Bjelica has been primarily a specialty weapon, and that’s how we can expect him to be used in Golden State.
The Warriors have been all about death lineups in the past few years, and Bjelica, more so than even Andre Iguodala, helps their spacing offensively. While it could prove to be an indifferent signing, it should help the team in many ways.