The Golden State Warriors have taken the first steps to completing their roster after the Jimmy Butler trade, converting Quinten Post's two-way contract into a standard deal on Friday.
It was a fait accompli that the Warriors would convert Post onto the main roster, with the 52nd overall pick having surged into a surprise starting role for Steve Kerr over the last five games. According to @gswcba on X (formerly Twitter), Post will make $445,571 over the remainder of this season and just under $2 million in 2025/26 before becoming a restricted free agent.
The Warriors should have signed Quinten Post to a longer-term contract
Upon reflection, the Warriors should have signed Post to a longer-term contract beyond next season. Mike Dunleavy Jr. should be given credit for finding another rotation-calibre center with a pick in the 50's, but he and Golden State should have taken a similar path as they did with Trayce Jackson-Davis the year before.
Jackson-Davis was given a guaranteed contract straight away, which figured as a big reason as to why he fell to pick 57 in the 2023 Draft anyway. The four-year, $7.7 million deal is incredibly team-friendly, with the Warriors getting some protection by the fact the final season is a team option.
Even with Jackson-Davis out of the rotation right now, many believe he will return at some point and continue to significantly outplay that contract. The 24-year-old has already made 53 starts for Golden State in his career, averaging 7.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game.
In an ideal world, Post would be on a similar four-year contract at less than $2 million per season. Even if you eventually don't want both on the roster, it wouldn't be difficult to move them in a trade.
Instead, Post will become a restricted free agent next season. If he continues to develop and becomes a legitimate full-time starter for the Warriors, then all of a sudden you may be looking at a player who commands $8-10 million per year or more.
With Golden State just signing Butler to a huge two-year, $112 million extension, and Jonathan Kuminga likely to command a large sum as a restricted free agent this summer, the franchise needs to find all the value it can get elsewhere on the roster going forward.
Post will likely provide enormous value for the Warriors over the next 15 months, but the franchise missed an opportunity in not signing him to a longer-term deal given they forecast to be above the first or second tax aprons in coming seasons.