The Golden State Warriors haven't had the most active offseason.
The only player they've added to this point who wasn't on last year's roster is 11th overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg. Thankfully, Lendeborg projects to be a major addition. But outside of that, they've simple re-signed Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, De'Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Charles Bassey.
But there's certainly room for many of these returning players to grow and expand into new roles. Bassey, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $2.85 million this offseason, will function as Golden State's third center behind Horford and Porzingis.
He played an energetic five games for Golden State last season. But now we're looking at an entirely different world for the sixth-year pro.
On the optimistic side, Horford and Porzingis will play about 60 games each. But if either needs to miss significant time, we're suddenly looking at a massively increased workload for Bassey. With his rebounding skillset and interior physicality, that could quickly make him Golden State's most intriguing bench contributor.
Charles Bassey has a path to being one of the Warriors' most important rotational pieces in 2026-27
There's a reason that Bassey hasn't been able to find permanent footing with an NBA organization to this point in his career. His offensive package is limited, and players that can rebound and have size on the interior aren't necessarily a rare resource in the NBA.
They were this offseason, though, for Golden State given their financial restrictions and the departure of Quinten Post in restricted free agency, and Bassey presents exactly what they need alongside their top pair of centers.
Bassey stepped in for the Warriors last season when they desperately needed an injection of energy, averaging 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and one assist off the bench across the five games he played with the organization. Don't expect him to match that sort of efficiency off the glass in 2026.
But even if both Porzingis and Horford are fully healthy, their minutes will need to be limited in order to keep them available for the duration of the regular season. There's also a chance that the Warriors are forced to split back-to-backs between those two pieces. That, at the very least, likely gives Bassey a bona fide backup center role for anywhere between 15 and 25 games out of the season.
Bassey, moreover, is fighting for more than just a role in the Warriors' rotation. He's already played for six separate organizations over his five-year career (including four last season). Only $1.4 million of his current deal is guaranteed. This season, for Bassey, is an audition for the whole league— he'll be fighting to prove he has long-term upside as a rotational center somewhere around the NBA.
With all of these factors taken into account, Bassey's development could be one of the most intriguing storylines to follow in Golden State this season.
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