Warriors working out former Lakers wing feels like major waste of time

The Golden State Warriors continue to bring in a number of free agents for workouts this offseason, with that reportedly extending to former first-round pick Troy Brown Jr.

ESPN's Kendra Andrews reported on Wednesday that Brown will workout for the Warriors this week. It comes after confirmation of the team's interest in 6'10" sharpshooter Davis Bertans, while Brazilian Olympic standout Bruno Caboclo also worked out with Golden State recently before signing a contract overseas in Israel.

Troy Brown Jr. will have to do a lot to earn a contract with the Golden State Warriors given the spate of similar players on the roster

While Bertans (and previously Caboclo) makes some sense given the need for more offense in the front court, interest in Brown is a more perplexing given the depth the Warriors seemingly have at the wing positions.

The 6'6" Brown has six years and 356 games of NBA experience, having originally been taken by the Washington Wizards with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. His second year was perhaps his best to date, averaging 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.8 minutes per game.

Brown is also heavily known for his one-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23 where he made 45 starts and averaged 24.5 minutes. He posted 7.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, having shot 38.1% on 3.7 attempts from three-point range.

The 25-year-old played 59 combined games with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons last season, but had a far more limited role in averaging just 14 minutes per game. Brown has remained a free agent this offseason, with Golden State now presenting as the next possible destination.

However, adding Brown to the roster would just needlessly add to the abundance of players Steve Kerr has at the shooting guard/small forward positions. Between Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Lindy Waters III, Gui Santos and Daeqwon Plowden, the Warriors already have a plethora of options that will bring tough rotations questions for Kerr.

If the front office is going to look at adding another free agent this offseason, or by extension making a trade before training camp, it almost assuredly needs to be for someone at the four-five positions. If not, then perhaps they could also look at more point guard depth beyond Stephen Curry, Podziemski and two-way contracted guard Reece Beekman.

It's simply difficult to see the Warriors being overly serious in adding Brown to the roster, making these offseason workouts feel like a massive waste of time for both player and franchise.