After just four games as a genuine member of the Golden State Warriors rotation, Quinten Post was thrust into a starting role by Steve Kerr for Wednesday night's nationally-televised game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chase Center.
Replacing second-year big man Trayce Jackson-Davis who was axed from the rotation completely, Post struggled to find the same effectiveness that had led to his remarkable ascension to the starting center position.
In eight first-half minutes the rookie center failed to record a single point, rebound or assist, while committing two turnovers and three fouls as he, like most Warrior players, had trouble defending MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who had 31 of his 52 points by half-time.
Kerr chose to go with veteran center Kevon Looney in the second-half, while also giving some small-ball center minutes to Kyle Anderson when the 3x champion was off the floor. It proved undoubtedly the right decision as Looney delivered a season-high 18 points to go with four blocks in Golden State's come from behind 116-109 victory.
The Warriors may convert Quinten Post's two-way contract
While Wednesday's game may not have gone his way, Post has still been a major revelation for the Warriors with his shooting ability from the center spot. Prior to the Thunder meeting, the 24-year-old had averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 41.7% from 3-point range in his last four games.
It remains to be seen what Kerr decides to do with his lineup moving forward, but with Post being a natural pairing with the soon-to-return Draymond Green, one suspects that he could remain as a strong starting option over the second-half of the season.
There is however one problem with that -- Post is on a two-way contract and therefore wouldn't be eligible to participate in the playoffs were Golden State to make it that far. That issue could be addressed in the next 7-10 days though, with Post likely to be converted to a standard deal if the Warriors were to open up a roster spot or two with a trade prior to the February 6 deadline.
"Any three-for-one deal would very likely mean the promotion of two-way 7-footer Quinten Post to the main roster," Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic reported on Wednesday.
The ironic aspect is that said three-for-one trade could see the Warriors acquire another stretch big, with Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic having been strongly linked to the franchise over recent weeks.
The Athletic also reported on Wednesday that Vucevic views the Warriors as a desirable destination, though getting a shooting center is seen as less of a priority as the front office considers a move for multi-time All-Stars Jimmy Butler or Zach LaVine.