Warriors roster situation makes franchise unappealing to prospective free agents

The Golden State Warriors have reportedly worked out a number of players so far this offseason, yet in a couple of cases it's already proven largely a waste of time.

Bruno Caboclo worked out for the Warriors after an impressive Olympic campaign with Brazil, but shortly after signed a deal with Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel for next season. More recently, veteran forward Davis Bertans was offered to audition for Golden State leading up to training camp, but he too has headed overseas with NBA Insider Marc Stein reporting that the 6'10" sharpshooter is signing in Dubai.

The Golden State Warriors current roster situation means free agents are likely to seek guaranteed deals elsewhere

Over the last few seasons the Warriors have often left roster spots open to incentivize prospective free agents who, if they're good enough, could win a place on the team.

The most famous recent situation was 2021 when the final roster spot came down to a battle between Avery Bradley and Gary Payton II. Bradley was the more proven veteran NBA player, yet the front office landed on Payton in what proved a masterstroke as he went on to be a crucial part of the 2022 championship team.

Following that triumphant title, Golden State waited until September 26 to sign Andre Iguodala to the 14th roster spot, then didn't utilize the 15th until they converted Anthony Lamb's contract from a two-way to a standard deal in March.

It wasn't until two weeks into last season that they signed Gui Santos, something they had to do given the CBA's requirements. This time around though it's a little different for players hoping to win a roster spot with the Warriors.

Golden State already have 14 contracted players, and while that means there is technically a vacant 15th spot, they do not currently have the financial capacity to sign someone. They can waive Santos' non-guaranteed contract to make room, but having to do that is far different than the roster spot already being vacant.

Can we really blame the likes of Caboclo and Bertans for taking the international path? Why risk trying to win an unlikely spot with the Warriors when you can head overseas, still earn millions, and have a far greater on-court role?

It's for this reason that the Warriors are likely to enter the season with their current roster, making training camp and preseason slightly less interesting albeit still with plenty of question marks on Steve Kerr's rotation.