No one can begrudge Quinten Post taking the money this summer, having signed an incentive-based, far from guaranteed three-year, $30 million offer sheet from the Memphis Grizzlies that the Golden State refused to match.
Post now has a chance to build his career within a completely different environment than what he was in at the Warriors, but it’s also that very aspect that presents a problem for the Dutchman and could see him struggle to permanently gain a footing in the league.
Quinten Post faces Grizzlies problem he never had with Warriors
Let’s assume for a second that the Warriors had matched the offer sheet, re-signed Post on a different deal, or had just given him more than a two-rookie rookie contract initially. He’d enter the season as the third-string center at Golden State, but behind veteran duo Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.
Even if he saw some DNPs when the Porzingis and Horford combination were healthy, Post would have played significantly through the course of the regular season as the Warriors look to manage the former Celtics championship teammates. He would have likely started a bunch of games, offering legitimate opportunity on a team still looking to contend for a playoff spot.
Now at the Grizzlies, Post still appears like the third-string big behind Zach Edey and Isaiah Stewart. As much as Edey -- and to a lesser extent Stewart -- have struggled with injuries throughout their career, they’re far younger than Porzingis and Horford and are therefore likely to be much more available going forward.
Assuming they’re both healthy, Edey and Stewart won’t necessarily be resting back-to-backs or be on a 20-22 minutes restriction like a 40-year/old Horford will be. In other words, Post faces the prospect of getting even less opportunity on the Grizzlies who are in the stage of evaluating who exactly is a long-term part of their future.
Quinten Post needs to impress in Memphis from year one
Memphis cleverly structured the contract to ensure Golden State wouldn’t match -- they weren’t going into the second apron for a team that’s likely to be in the Play-In Tournament again. However, by only guaranteeing the first year, the Grizzlies have not only reduced the risk on themselves, but put pressure on Post to perform from day one.
If the Grizzlies don’t like what they see through the first year of the deal, they can simply move on from Post without paying him an additional cent, forcing the 26-year-old back into free agency where it’s unlikely he gets a lucrative deal again.
There’s been very few young players who leave the Warriors and thrive over recent years — Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Patrick Baldwin Jr etc. Post is now looking to buck that trend, albeit his role at the Grizzlies is still up in the air entering training camp and opening night.
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