The Golden State Warriors— even after bringing back Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II— still have two open roster spots to play with this offseason.
For most teams, those two spots would be reserved for end-of-bench contributors. The Warriors, though, are going to need all hands on deck as they enter another season with an injury-prone, veteran roster. Jimmy Butler is projected to be out until mid-season, and Moses Moody might miss the entire campaign as he rehabs his torn patellar tendon. Porzingis, Horford, and Curry will likely need to miss at least 20 games each.
By the time we reach the end of the regular season, those 14th and 15th roster spots may have taken on much larger roles than any fan might've anticipated.
There's two lines of thought, then, for how Golden State should fill them. Should they target reliable veteran contributors who can take on productive minutes over the course of the season? Or should they target younger players who might have upside left to be unlocked?
If they choose the latter course, Ochai Agbaji could represent the perfect buy-low candidate— and his 3-and-D profile could provide Golden State with some sort of solution to Moses Moody's absence if everything goes well.
Ochai Agbaji could be a worthy target for one of the Warriors' final roster spots
There's no player left on the market who can replace Moody's mix of athletic defense and perimeter shooting. He took a major step forward last season, averaging 12.1 points and knocking down 40.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc before his injury.
If he was healthy, he would be the starting shooting guard for the Warriors, and his fit between Curry and Yaxel Lendeborg would be unimaginably exciting. But with Moody out, the Warriors need some extra juice on the wings. Perhaps a player like Agbaji could represent that.
Bleacher Report, in their recent rankings of the remaining free agents, had Agbaji ranked as the sixth-most intriguing player still left on the market. The case for that mantle is clear. Although Agbaji has struggled to shoot at any sort of volume from 3-point range through his four NBA seasons, there's still some upside to be unlocked there as a 3-and-D player. Over the 20 games he played after his trade to the Brooklyn Nets last season, he averaged 6.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists on 57.2% true shooting.
He posted a -0.3 defensive estimated plus-minus, per Dunks & Threes, but he has the frame and the athletic profile to be impactful on that end of the floor in the right sort of system.
The problem is that, while Agbaji has shown flashes as a movement and off-ball perimeter shooter, he's never been able to consistently sink threes during his career. He shot 39.9% across 60 games with Toronto in 2024-25, but he shot just 18.5% before his trade from the Raptors last season.
If Golden State thinks they can unlock the best version of Agbaji— which is likely as a consistent bench wing contributor— perhaps he's worth a minimum-contract swing this offseason. It would at least help the hole Moody's absence has left on the wing, if not a portion of his production.
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