Warriors should take gamble on high upside player as opposed to proven veteran

Intrigue on the Golden State Warriors roster rose on Sunday when the franchise waived forward Donta Scott according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Scott joins Javan Johnson and Yuri Collins as players on exhibition 10 contracts to be waived over recent days, reducing the Warriors training camp roster back to 19 for the moment. That leaves the possibility of another player or two being added, with the potential of a veteran player who could push for a main roster spot with an impressive training camp and preseason.

The Warriors should take a gamble on a high upside prospect rather than a more proven veteran player

There's no real indication on who the Warriors could add (if at all), outside those they've already been linked to in recent weeks. Anthony Slater of The Athletic confirmed last week that Golden State have held workouts with free agents Justin Holiday and Nassir Little, while he also mentioned Kevin Knox II after the former top 10 pick played for the franchise in Summer League.

You could make the argument for either of those three players over the other two if that's what it came down to. Holiday is the proven veteran player who's 35-years-old and 11 years into his career, while he also has the most recent playoff experience after producing some solid performances for the Denver Nuggets in their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In contrast, Little and Knox are both talented forwards in their mid 20's looking to revive fledgling careers.

Given the depth on the Warriors roster, the franchise should be looking at a risk vs. reward, high upside player rather than someone who's steady but highly unlikely to usurp Gui Santos or Lindy Waters III on the final roster. That eliminates Holiday from the discussion.

Knox may have played in more games than Little across his career, but he's also just six months older and has missed out on one distinct opportunity over six seasons. The 25-year-old has never played on a good team -- perhaps there's a reason for that, yet it doesn't dismiss the fact that he's never won more than 26 games in a season and has a career win rate of just 31.4 percent.

While Golden State will be battling just to make the playoffs themselves, even being at a recently successful franchise could be the making of Knox whose been around nothing but a losing culture previously. In contrast, Little got his opportunity at a playoff team in the Phoenix Suns last season, failing to make an impact to the point of being waived in August with three years still left on his deal.

Knox could be a complete waste of time, but that might be worth the risk if there's even a slight possibility of unearthing the evident talent that saw him taken with the ninth overall pick. Even if it's not him, the Warriors have enough depth to take a risk on someone who could become a real difference-maker under the right circumstances.