The Golden State Warriors' offseason has been one of relative disappointment,
It's not just the fact that LeBron James ultimately spurned them in free agency, choosing instead to team up with Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. For many, it's the fact that they're simply running back a slightly simplified version of last year's roster. They have yet to add an external free agent— instead extending Draymond Green and re-signing De'Anthony Melton, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Gary Payton II.
But perhaps the most painful moment of the offseason came when the Warriors were forced to lose Quinten Post to a three-year, $30 million offer sheet from the rival Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies worked incentives into the contract that, even if Green had taken a pay-cut, would've pushed Golden State above the first apron.
Sam Vecenie, in fact, listed that as his most poignant critique of the Warriors' offseason on the latest episode of the Game Theory podcast, citing it as a direct example of what they missed out on by waiting out the James sweepstakes.
"Not only did you lose on LeBron— you lost on Quinten Post. You lost LeBron and also lost a good, valuable player who I think projects as a good backup center long-term... I just don't see it with this work right now." Sam Vecenie, The Game Theory Podcast
While Vecenie is right to critique the Warriors' offseason, Golden State was always in a position where an offer sheet like that would've forced them to lose Post. The decision is defensible, even if it's painful.
The Warriors' loss of Quinten Post was about more than just the LeBron James sweepstakes
Post was an exciting contributor when he came into the league. His 7-foot frame and floor-spacing abilities made him an intriguing addition alongside Stephen Curry, and he was certainly a source of excitement for the first couple months he was with the team.
But it quickly became clear that his defensive aptitude was not where it needed to be, and his slow-footedness and lack of rebounding skill did not help his standing with Steve Kerr. He took strides in his second season on that end of the court, but his dip in production from beyond the arc certainly didn't help matters, either.
Regardless of the James sweepstakes, going over the first apron for Post, or even paying him $10 million a year over three seasons in a vacuum, was not worth the gamble in the slightest. Although there are availability questions surrounding both Horford and Porzingis, this roster is built in the short-term around them playing the center position. Charles Bassey's addition at a modest annual salary of $2.5 million provides Golden State with a level of physicality and rebounding acumen that they desperately need next to those two players.
After the Green extension and the Gary Payton II signing, moreover, the Warriors have just over $5 million standing between them and the second apron. As of now, they're projected to be hard-capped at the second apron if they ultimately use either the bi-annual exception or the mid-level exception on Melton. They likely wouldn't have been able to accommodate both Green at $27.7 million and Post at $10 million.
To ask Green to take a pay-cut for LeBron is one thing. But for Post? Was that ever really a possibility?
Perhaps the final allotment of Melton's salary would have created the necessary space to keep Post on the roster. But as painful as it is, paying $10 million a year to Post simply wasn't an option at this point. Even if he develops into a useful backup center in Memphis, the Warriors made the decision they needed to in letting him walk this offseason.
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