While the likes of Klay Thompson, Chris Paul and Jordan Poole have each made positive starts to the new NBA season, the same can't be said for former Golden State Warriors big man Dario Saric.
After playing 64 games in one year with the Warriors, Saric signed a two-year, $10.6 million contract with the Denver Nuggets (second-year player option) to help fortify the front court behind 3x MVP Nikola Jokic.
That contract did appear a little surprising though based on how Saric played for the Warriors to end last season. The Croatian played more than 10 minutes just once over the final 22 games, and appeared in just six of those games as he fell out of Steve Kerr's rotation.
After an impressive start to last season where he was one of Golden State's best players, the writing was on the wall for Saric and the franchise seemingly had little interest in bringing him back for a second year.
The Warriors' decision to let Dario Saric walk in free agency has been vindicated
Saric may have taken his talents to Denver regardless, but you'd have to imagine the Warriors weren't offering a two-year deal nor anything more than the minimum. Their decision to let the 30-year-old walk in free agency appears the right one so far, and has certainly received greater vindication in recent days.
Following a poor start to the season through the first five games, Saric has officially been removed from Mike Malone's rotation across the Nuggets last two games against the Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors.
Dario Saric is out of the rotation for the 2nd straight game after being the Nuggets highest paid offseason acquisition.
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) November 5, 2024
Saric has been replaced by veteran center Deandre Jordan as Jokic's backup -- the 36-year-old has played just 123 games in the previous three seasons and hasn't averaged more than 15 minutes during that period.
Saric wasn't playing all that much anyway -- he's seen just 44 minutes of action so far, including two games of less than five minutes on top of the pair of DNPs. He's averaging 1.0 point and 1.6 rebounds, while shooting a combined 2-of-12 from the floor this season.
It's a stark contrast to the first-half of last season where Saric played at least 13 minutes in each of the first 44 games for the Warriors. He also made nine starts during that period and had 10 points or more in 27 of those games.
It's a long season where things could certainly turn around, but right the Nuggets aren't utilizing Saric while the Warriors have eased their way to a 6-1 start following Monday's win over the Washington Wizards.