Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has no longer been able to ignore the impact of Gui Santos, with the young forward becoming a staple of the rotation across recent games.
For just the third time in his career, Santos has played more than 15 minutes in each of the past four games. While far from a dynamic offensive player which the Warriors can often need, his ability to do the little things on both ends of the floor makes Santos the sort of player who has traditionally been very valuable playing alongside superstar guard Stephen Curry.
Warriors can no longer ignore Gui Santos' push for rotation minutes
Santos has suddenly been one of the first players off the bench for Kerr in this current rotation pattern, allowing Draymond Green to slide to the center spot before Al Horford's inevitable minutes toward the end of the first and third-quarters.
Nothing showcased Santos' versatile skillset more than Tuesday's blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, with the Brazilian recording six points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals in the 119-97 victory. Santos drilled two of his three shots from beyond the arc, while finishing as a +24 in his little over 21 minutes.
Like many role players in the league, Santos' sustainability will likely stem from his jump-shot and whether opposing defenses truly respect him from beyond the arc. While he remains at just 35.1% on the season, there's positive signs in being a 44.4% shooter from deep with more consistent opportunity over the last eight games.
Golden State are +54 in Santos' 137 minutes over these last eight games, tied for first on the team with veteran guard De'Anthony Melton. With the Jonathan Kuminga situation going from bad to worse and now to the point of a trade request, Santos has taken advantage of the need for another forward option in the rotation.
Yet the Kuminga situation also presents as a career-altering one for Santos and his future with the franchise. If the Warriors move their former seventh overall pick for a viable front court piece, Santos' minutes could easily be slashed and he could find himself stapled to the bench once again.
Given he's on the final year of his rookie deal making $2.2 million, this will be an incredibly important second-half of the season before Santos enters restricted free agency. He has the trust of Kerr and the coaching staff, but we'll see how long that ultimately lasts.