There's an argument to be made that the most important person at the Golden State Warriors won't actually play a single second next season...or ever.
The Warriors' decision to bring back injury-prone veterans and prioritize talent over availability has heaped even more pressure on the medical staff, making Rick Celebrini one of, if not the most important factor in the team's hopes of a return to the playoffs.
Warriors have placed more pressure on Rick Celebrini and medical staff
General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. confirmed earlier in the week that the front office had a choice to make between talent and availability. They ultimately chose the former, brining back the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton over younger players who might not be as good, but who would likely be on the floor more often.
Celebrini and the medical staff will have their work cut out for them. They'll need to manage a roster with five players 34 years of age or older, while two players younger than that in Porzingis and Melton have long injury histories and have played in just 74 and 55 combined games respectively over the past two seasons.
Porzingis, in particular, will be a fascinating watch as the Warriors try to manage the mysterious illness he's dealt with since the end of his career in Boston. Golden State extended the former All-Star to a two-year, $40 million extension (only $3 million guaranteed in second year), and there's no doubt the front office would have got some assurance from Celibrini that Porzingis could play far more than the 32 combined games he played with the Warriors and Atlanta Hawks last season.
This is all without yet mentioning the biggest variable in Golden State's season -- when Jimmy Butler returns, how he looks once on the floor, and how much impact he can actually have. With Butler and Moses Moody, Celebrini already has huge responsibility managing two key players with long-term knee injuries.
Warriors won't be able to stem bleeding from Stephen Curry injury
There's also major interest in how the Warriors manage superstar guard Stephen Curry, and whether there is any lingering effects from the worrisome 'runner's knee' injury that saw him miss 27-straight games toward the end of last season.
Safe to say that particularly while Butler remains out, Golden State won't have much chance of competing without Curry early next season. Even a 10-15 game stretch without the two-time MVP could be enough to derail the Warriors' hopes of a playoff return.
Celebrini has been a major part of the organization since his arrival in 2018, but his importance has never been higher as the Warriors look to retain some kind of relevance in the Western Conference.
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