As the Golden State Warriors have been held stagnant by their lack of a resolution to their stand-off with Jonathan Kuminga this offseason, they have held strong to their intention to sign a number of veteran free agents once their books are finalized.
Yet, as Danny Emmerman of the San Francisco Standard pointed out on the recent episode of the Warriors Plus Minus podcast, the fact that their starters, including Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, will already miss time could indicate a fatal flaw in their plan to fill out their roster.
While veterans such as De'Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and Seth Curry present reliable and unique skill-sets to the team's rotation, none of these players has a remotely clean bill of health, and, as Emmerman posits, Golden State could be in for a disaster if things go sideways this season.
The Warriors' veteran free agent targets might not be healthy enough to keep the team afloat
While much of the attention over the past few weeks has gone toward any ongoing developments in the Kuminga saga, another, equally important, storyline still lingers. Who will the Warriors sign once the Kuminga situation is resolved?
With Malcolm Brogdon going to the New York Knicks, the likely targets remain Melton, Payton, Curry and veteran center Al Horford. However, Emmerman is highly skeptical of the viability of this plan: "If I'm looking at an aging team, that you're penciling in your best players for 60 [or] 70 games max... I would want the back of my bench to prioritize guys who are available and durable. Guys you can rely on to give you productive minutes. I think it's a pretty risky swing, honestly, to fill out the back of your bench with guys who are also injury-prone..."
With their presumed signing of Horford, the Warriors are highly likely to have four starters over the age of 35, meaning that four of their major pieces will need significant rest during the regular season in order to be in full form for a playoff run.
In assembling a bench unit for this team, it is clear that head coach Steve Kerr is seeking out talent that can be relied upon to conform to Golden State's Curry-centric system. However, is it a safe gamble to trust players like Melton and Payton to take on a larger minutes load when the team's stars need to rest?
Melton, despite his seemingly perfect fit with the team, has missed virtually the entirety of the last two seasons due to a pair of devastating injuries. Payton has played more than 60 games just twice in his entire 11-year career. Curry, despite his less physical style of play, has missed significant time in five of his past seven seasons.
Therefore, while it is easy to get excited about the impact these guys might have on the team when healthy, Emmerman makes a valid point in his criticism. How much can you truly expect from these veteran players when it is most needed?