Bob Myers at Summer League (Photo: @LetsGoWarriors)
Bob Myers has been nothing but a magician for the Golden State Warriors, so it should come to no surprise that the savvy general manager has continued to keep the team’s options open in regards to the final roster spot.
LetsGoWarriors.com last spoke to Myers at the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase, during which he expressed the notion that the team was keeping their last spot open in order to retain roster flexibility.
“We’re just looking at different options,” Myers said. “Having the roster spot allows us to take back 2-for-1 in a trade if we wanted to do something like that, it gives the option to call up a player from the D-League or any other available free agent; but right now, we’re actually having trouble playing the players we have, so we’re gonna keep our eye out and see what happens.
It’s a very fluid time of the year and we’ll keep looking at things but right now there’s nothing imminent from our side.”
Early on, there were rumors that the Warriors were in the mix for shooting virtuoso, Ray Allen, but the team has reportedly not aggressively pursued talks with the coveted free agent.
Jermaine O’Neal has also fallen out of the mix after announcing via Instagram that the “time isn’t right” right him to play, and Amar’e Stoudemire has unfortunately fallen into the clutches of Western Conference rival, the Dallas Mavericks.
So what’s left for Myers to look at? Andrew Crawford of SheridanHoops.com proposes an answer: China.
Much like the many European teams overseas, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) has long since attracted NBA players in need of a change of scenery. Many of these players were young guys seeking to further develop their skills after being waived or left undrafted by NBA teams; others are NBA veterans who still have the skills and health needed to play competitive basketball.
Former Warriors point guard Gilbert Arenas was one of those veterans who, after a storied (and troublesome) career in the NBA, opted to earn a living playing in the CBA. Jordan Crawford, another former Warriors guard, still plays in the CBA.
While many believe that the Warriors shouldn’t make a roster move that would disrupt the team’s chemistry, what a playoff team like the Warriors could still use is a veteran big man capable of being a huge, inside presence.
Marreese Speights certainly leaves something to be desired on the defensive end, as well as David Lee; in addition, the former is more of a jump shooter rather than an inside scorer, and the latter has proven that his best years as an offensive presence in the post are behind him.
That’s where China comes in: two of the most intriguing players that the SheridanHoops writer gives us are Hamed Haddadi (21.1 PPG, 14.32 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.3 BPG, 59.4 FG%) and Andray Blatche (31.1 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.8 SPG, 55.8 FG%).
Both could provide immediate help in a few minutes a night for the Warriors, helping to score a little inside and defend the paint while enveloping boards and moving the ball. Both are completely different players with Haddadi being the defensive stopper to Blatche’s highly versatile offensive game, but either one could possibly find a place in Kerr’s limited frontcourt rotation.
Now despite the trade deadline closely looming, trading away a player is something the Warriors will likely look to avoid considering how highly the organization values team chemistry. The team could possibly sign a developing young prospect, but that would be relatively unnecessary for an already elite team like the Warriors that does’t need another project to worry about.
If trading for a NBA big man or calling up a D-League prospect like James Michael McAdoo aren’t options that Myers and the top brass want to pursue, Haddadi and Blatche are just two possible players that the Golden State Warriors front office could buy to fill that 15th spot.
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