With the various frustrations the Golden State Warriors' offseason has held for fans, it's been relatively easy to brush past their loss of Quinten Post in restricted free agency.
In part, this is because of Post's own inconsistencies on the court. Although he looked like a truly promising floor spacer at the center position at the start of his career with Golden State, his lack of true rebounding or defensive abilities made him a liability. When his perimeter shooting took a dip in his sophomore campaign, he was essentially edged out of the rotation, and the foot injury he suffered in late March kept him out for the remainder of the season.
The Grizzlies' decision to work incentives into their offer-sheet swing on Post was a calculated one. They knew that, even if Golden State wanted to keep the big man, they wouldn't be able to match the deal without going over the first apron. Even if Post wasn't necessarily the best fit for this roster, that's a frustrating way to lose a player—especially now that the Warriors' center depth is being tested before the season even begins.
There's no guarantee it works out for Post, either. He will now enter a Grizzlies rotation in which he'll likely struggle to find consistent minutes behind Zach Edey and Isaiah Stewart at the center position, and his contract is structured in such a way that he'll be an immediate trade asset once the season kicks off.
All of these things are true. And yet given what we saw during his rookie season in Golden State, it's hard to give up on the idea of an NBA future for the 7-footer.
Quinten Post deserves his opportunity, even if it doesn't come with the Memphis Grizzlies
It's easy to get excited over Post. He measures in at an even 7'0", and he looks, at least on the surface, like he has a complete enough offensive game to serve as the sort of floor-spacing big man that many teams covet in a bench role. He shot 40.8% from beyond the arc in his rookie season with the Warriors, and he was actually pretty efficient across the 42 games he played that year.
He also took some encouraging strides in addressing the deficits in his game during his sophomore season. He looked more mobile on the defensive end of the court, and although his block and steal numbers remained largely the same over the course of his first two NBA seasons, there were clear improvements from him in terms of his positioning and ability to protect the rim.
If he can become at least a neutral, NBA-level defender and regress back to the mean with his perimeter shot, that's the type of rotational player most teams would be happy to have.
To some extent, Memphis' swing on Post might be a gamble on his ability to continue improving in those areas. But with their addition of Stewart, it seems as though they're aiming for a more defensively staunch and physical identity than Post can provide. As of now, it seems like he'll be moved at the first opportunity the Grizzlies get to retrieve some sort of value for his contract.
For a player that came into the league on a two-way deal, moving to a third team in three seasons seems like a somewhat disastrous outcome.
But no matter where Post ends up next, he showed enough improvement during his time in Golden State to leave room for optimism regarding his long-term development. He simply needs to find an organization that has the time, patience, and defensive infrastructure to give him the minutes he'll require to realize that. Even if that's not Golden State or Memphis, it's reasonable to think the opportunity will be there eventually.
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