12 Worst free agent signings in Golden State Warriors history

Every team makes mistakes in free agency. It’s hard not to, in fact. Even the Golden State Warriors have made them. The Warriors have to evaluate a player on another team and project how they will fit with the Warriors’ roster, scheme, and culture. Add in a ticking clock and negotiating with agents and outbidding opponents and it’s a wonder any team wins at free agency.

The Warriors have, though. They have been one of the most successful teams at using free agency to improve their roster, from massive stars to players on the margin. None of their four titles over the past decade would have been possible without free agency.

They have also managed to limit their mistakes. Some teams have a long list of terrible free-agent signings; the Warriors have a more nuanced list. It helps that during the summer of 2016 when half the teams in the league overpaid in free agency due to the cap spike, the Warriors were signing Kevin Durant. That worked out fairly well.

The Warriors have made some mistakes in free agency

Yet they have certainly made their share of mistakes over the years. Free agency has picked up in pace over the past quarter-century as teams have begun to meaningfully shape their roster by signing players. This list of the worst free agent signings in the history of the Golden State Warriors will focus on players newly signed in free agency, rather than the Warriors retaining free agents with new contracts. We begin with a signing that was heralded as a death knell to the rest of the league and ended up as anything but.