Ranking 3 free agency steals proposed for the Golden State Warriors

2. Gordon Hayward

You could make the argument that signing a 29-year-old Osman makes greater sense than a 34-year-old Gordon Hayward, but perhaps the Warriors could talk themselves into the 14-year veteran's short stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder being an aberration, and that he's still got something left to give.

Hayward's time with the Thunder was a nightmare, particularly in the playoffs where he failed to score a single point in 46 minutes. Whatever the reasons -- of which Hayward (and his wife) place plenty of the blame on the franchise -- his time with the Thunder has unsurprisingly come to an end.

While he's no longer at his former All-Star best, largely thanks that severe broken leg/ankle in 2017, it's easy to forget that Hayward averaged 19.6, 15.9 and 14.7 points in his three full years for the Charlotte Hornets between 2020-2023.

Were those numbers inflated by playing for the Hornets? Probably. But somewhere between his Hornets and Thunder production is someone who is still a valuable rotation player. Hayward has a little more on-ball shot creation and playmaking than Osman, something that could be helpful in the Golden State offense.

He probably wouldn't be a game-changer by any means, but Hayward has some upside which is exactly what the Warriors should be targeting rather than someone who would likely be stapled to the bottom three or four players on the roster.