As the Golden State Warriors have sat stagnant this offseason, their lingering stand-off with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga has made it impossible for them to finalize deals with the veteran free agents they desperately need in order to solidify their roster.
Yet, as NBA insider Jake Fischer remarked on the recent edition of The Stein Line newsletter, there are numerous teams with an open roster spot remaining. Although many of these teams will keep this spot open for flexibility heading into the season, any one of these teams could swoop in and make a disaster of the Warriors' offseason by poaching one of their prime veteran targets.
Therefore, as training camp approaches, Kuminga has left Golden State in as vulnerable a position as ever as they are left without the ability to secure effective players or fill out their rotation for next season.
Multiple teams have the opportunity to absolutely screw the Warriors this offseason
Fischer lists the team with one open roster spot as follows: the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers.
Although some of these teams already have plans to fill these roster spots (the Bulls' is reserved for Josh Giddey) and many are planning on leaving them open, the sheer number of teams that could be on the hunt for veterans as we near training camp should be highly concerning for the Warriors.
Moreover, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks all also have multiple open roster spots and will likely look to bring in players on veteran minimum deals in order to shore up their rotations.
Golden State, who currently has six open roster spots, is likely reserving three of them for veterans Al Horford, Gary Payton II and De'Anthony Melton, whom they have reportedly negotiated handshake agreements with to be finalized after the conclusion of the Kuminga saga.
Yet, assuming Kuminga is retained, this still leaves two roster spots to be filled. While recent draft picks Will Richard and Alex Toohey could conceivably make the roster, the team would likely be better serviced in bringing in at least one additional veteran with one of those spots.
Throughout the offseason, the team has been linked to players like Seth Curry, Malcolm Brogdon and Cody Martin, all three of whom would provide major boons to the Warriors' rotation. Yet, any of these teams with an open roster spot could easily poach any of these players that Golden State has shown interest in, leaving the team high and dry and perhaps without the necessary depth to contend.