The Golden State Warriors finally made a pair of external signings this week, adding Brandon Williams and Georges Niang on minimum deals to fill out their 14th and 15th roster spots.
Niang will represent a worthy frontcourt addition, and he'll provide some additional rebounding and offensive juice with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined. But he's been out of the league for a year, and it's unclear how much he still has left in the tank.
Williams, though, still likely has something to be unlocked as a lead ball-handler and a bench scoring battery. He averaged 13 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while shooting 47.2% from the field over 66 games with the Dallas Mavericks last season, and he has a clear role to take on as a floor general behind Stephen Curry.
He's not someone you'd want starting in any capacity, but he has the capabilities to elevate the overall offensive flow of Golden State's bench unit almost immediately.
For a player like Will Richard, who's best maximized in an off-ball, 3-and-D capacity, that could be a majorly important addition to the rotation.
Will Richard will benefit from a limited role and a cleaner offensive structure on the bench for the Warriors
Richard, who was selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, was one of the silver linings of last season for the Warriors. He wasn't the most efficient or the most confident scorer, but he played viable rotational minutes on the wing, averaging 6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 33.5% from beyond the arc. He even started 21 games for Golden State, many of which came early in the season.
But Richard isn't an on-ball threat in the long-term. His ideal development path likely projects him as a capable 3-point shooter and a formidable perimeter defender, leveraging his size and strength to carve out a complementary role with the Warriors over the years to come. He was likely shouldered with too much offensive responsibility during his rookie campaign, and that's something that can stunt a role player's development over the course of multiple seasons.
If everyone's healthy, though, Richard is almost certainly slated for a bench role in 2026-27. Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green will take over the starting frontcourt spots, and one of Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton will start in the backcourt next to Curry. That leaves the primary bench unit with Williams, Melton/Podziemski, Richard, Gui Santos, and Al Horford.
That's not a championship-winning bench battery, but there's clearly a cleaner offensive structure there than whatever Golden State was able to throw together last season. Williams can operate as a primary ball-handler within a more traditional pick-and-roll scheme, and he's more than capable of kicking out to shooters like Melton and Richard when he's able to compromise the defense.
Richard looked more confident in Summer League, and the hope is that he'll be able to carry that momentum into his sophomore campaign, getting more comfortable with his catch-and-shoot opportunities and continuing to evolve his offensive game. Williams is the type of signing that can solidify the Warriors' bench unit, and he's the type of point guard that can make that possible for Richard.
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