Would help at times - Jordan Poole
Jordan Poole's season has been poor -- there's no other way around that. Having been traded by the Warriors in the offseason, there was optimism among Wizards and general NBA fans that Poole could emerge out of the shadow of Stephen Curry and into an All-Star calibre player.
The opposite has proven true. The extra offensive responsibility without Curry and Klay Thompson has often been a burden, leading to horrible shooting numbers and turnover issues. Poole was demoted back to the bench since the All-Star break in a notable but actually positive move for the 24-year-old.
The added element to Poole is his contract, with three years and nearly $100 million remaining on an extension he signed with the Warriors in 2022. Golden State will be thankful to have shed what's been described as one of the worst contracts in the league, in doing so opening up some more flexibility going forward.
For all the disappointing play and the issue of his contract, there have been moments where the Warriors could do with Poole's offensive capacity. Take Wednesday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks for example, with Golden State incapable of finding enough scoring in the absence of Curry. Poole could have helped in a situation like that, having still flashed high-level shot-making potential.
Regretful - Donte DiVincenzo
This one comes with a caveat. How regretful can you be about a player you had no chance of re-signing? The Warriors' cap situation, and Donte DiVincenzo's impressive play last season, meant player and franchise were a one-year marriage almost from the outset.
DiVincenzo unsurprisingly opted out of his second-year player option to enter free agency, before signing a four-year, $46.9 million contract with the New York Knicks. It was disappointing but inevitable and a loss Golden State would have hoped to cover.
No one saw this three-point explosion coming though, with DiVincenzo ranking third in the league for made threes behind Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic. The 27-year-old is taking over eight attempts per game, is hitting 40% of them, and is subsequently averaging a career-high 14.3 points.
The irony of this Warrior roster is that they could actually do with more shooting beyond Curry and Thompson, something DiVincenzo helped with last season though not nearly at the same volume. While they didn't have the capacity to hold on the 2021 NBA champion, Golden State are most certainly missing this version that DiVincenzo is providing for the Knicks.