As the Golden State Warriors wait for a resolution to the restricted free agency of Jonathan Kuminga, which has effectively prevented them from making any moves so far, they have watched many of the teams in their conference improve before their eyes.
While their primary need this offseason, the acquiring of a stable and dependable center, is becoming increasingly likely to be filled by the signing of Al Horford, the Warriors still need another presence in their backcourt: a need that looks unlikely to be filled this offseason.
As Golden State does their best to maximize the final years of Stephen Curry's career, they need to build the best roster possible around the superstar, and an unnoticed failure this offseason could compromise that mission.
The Warriors still need a guard, and they likely won't get one
As the Warriors let Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II walk in free agency, they also gave up a major part of their veteran core as a result of the restrictions of the current CBA.
While bringing in Horford, who averaged nine points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season with the Boston Celtics, will help recoup some of this loss, the team's backcourt situation is still highly dependent upon Curry's minutes.
Outside of Curry, the duo of Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield have shown a lack of consistent offensive aggression and dependability.
Hield is a notoriously streaky shooter, and he largely projects as a bench guard at this point in his career largely as a result of this lack of consistency as an offensive player.
Podziemski, while he took notable steps forward from his rookie season, still looked hesitant and unconfident through large swathes of last season, failing to take over the team's starting shooting guard role with the dominance that the Warriors hoped for.
Additionally, Golden State did not extend a qualifying offer to Pat Spencer, leaving their backcourt even thinner than before.
While many hoped the solution to this problem would come through the draft, the Warriors instead traded back, selecting two forwards in the bottom half of the second round, and, as players such as Taran Armstrong and LJ Cryer remain highly unpolished, it remains to be seen whether they can make a rotational impact this season.
Now, in a positional free agent market that is currently headlined by Russell Westbrook, it seems as though Golden State will be out of luck in filling this need through free agency, rendering it likely that the team will need to depend on Hield and Podziemski heavily next season.