The Golden State Warriors are set to have one roster spot left following the All-Star break, with the franchise expected to sign Kevin Knox II to a 10-day contract after previously signing rookie center Quinten Post to a standard deal.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office are likely to wait for the buyout market to materialize, but there's few options forthcoming at this stage after Torrey Craig and Ben Simmons quickly joined the Boston Celtics and L.A. Clippers respectively.
The Warriors may therefore have to look elsewhere outside of current NBA players, with the potential of overseas options or even G League candidates as is the case with Knox.
Should the Warriors consider Patrick Beverley?
One potential signing is Patrick Beverley, with the veteran point guard having become a free agent in recent days after mutually agreeing to part ways with Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Beverley has enjoyed a 12-year NBA career with seven different franchises, having played 73 games last season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks where he averaged a combined 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists on 41.7% shooting from the floor and 33.7% from 3-point range.
It's the defensive end where Beverley built his career though, having earned Defensive Player of the Year votes in five different NBA seasons and earning All-Defensive Team honors three times (once in the All-Defensive First Team).
The now 36-year-old had a number of battles against Golden State superstar Stephen Curry, which includes an infamous quote from Beverley who allegedly told the 2x MVP in 2019, "you had the last five years, the next five years are mine." Beverley has since denied saying those exact words, but it's almost written into NBA folklore by now.
Still, there's a healthy respect between the two competitors, to the point where the Warriors were interested in Beverley two years ago when he was bought out mid-season. He instead chose his hometown Chicago Bulls, but played just 22 games for the franchise before signing with the 76ers in the offseason.
Perhaps Golden State may show interest in Beverley again, potentially as a replacement for departed veteran point guard Dennis Schroder who was involved in the Jimmy Butler trade. Adding the outspoken Beverley to a locker room with Butler and Draymond Green could be terrific or disastrous, with little room for results in between.
Beverley averaged 10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals on 35.3% 3-point shooting in 14 EuroCup games with Hapoel Tel Aviv. Maybe his departure from that team could be a sign of an NBA return on the cards.