Ranking the six free agents Golden State Warriors will hold workouts with
5. Dion Waiters
Much like Burke, Waiters is a score-first guard with an element of playmaking ability. He’s a more credentialed player though, having averaged double-digits in scoring on seven different occasions and having averaged over 28 minutes per game across the course of his career.
Inefficiency has always been the issue for Waiters on the floor — he shoots just 41.2% from the floor and 34.6% from three-point range on his career. Defense has never been a strong facet either, with Waiters having never recorded a positive defensive box plus/minus according to Basketball Reference.
There’s also concerns with Waiters as a cultural fit given his previous off-court misdemeanours, including multiple team suspensions during his time with the Miami Heat. The 31-year-old would probably be a better option than Burke as a spark plug off the bench, but he’s still not someone Golden State are likely to invest in.
4. Kent Bazemore
Bazemore has the added factor of having experience within the Warrior system, playing with the franchise on two separate occasions. The 34-year-old began his NBA career with Golden State in 2012, playing 105 games before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2014.
He returned as a free agent in the 2020 offseason, becoming a key rotation member for Steve Kerr across a year that had plenty of ups-and-downs. On the surface Bazemore was solid, shooting a career-high 40.8% from three-point range and averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in nearly 20 minutes per game.
He became a starter in the wake of a late season injury to Kelly Oubre Jr., helping the Warriors to a strong 15-5 record over the last 20 games before they were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament.
Yet in the midst of some good, there was also plenty of bad that led to constant frustration among Warrior fans. Bazemore was prone to ill-advised shots, dumb turnovers and low IQ defense, meaning Golden State weren’t overly concerned with losing him to the Lakers in free agency.
The Warriors have prioritized high IQ players in their offseason moves to date, so re-acquiring Bazemore would probably be a move back in the other direction. He’d theoretically be a better fit than Burke and Waiters, but it’s unlikely the Warriors revert back to having him on the roster.