The Golden State Warriors have obviously been focused on landing LeBron James this entire offseason. What happens if they come up short? These three veterans should come very cheap and be able to help the Warriors make another push with Steph Curry.
DeMar DeRozan makes perfect sense for the Warriors, given the injury situation with Jimmy Butler. He would be the perfect bridge player until Butler is healthy and ready to return. When he is healed from the injury, DeRozan will become one of the best off-the-bench scorers in the league. Despite entering his age-37 season, he is still an elite scorer. He averaged more than 18 points a game last season with the Sacramento Kings.
Nicolas Batum fits a very specific type of team, and the Warriors are just that. They could have him in a similar role to Draymond Green, helping with screens and facilitating some quick offense with Curry. He still provides elite spacing, shooting over 40% from three, and would thrive with Curry. The amount of attention picked up would leave him wide open for an easy corner three every time. He may be limited to around 15 minutes a night at this point in his career, but he would certainly help shore up the bench unit.
Russell Westbrook may not seem like the best fit with Curry and Draymond, but when you have the opportunity to get talent in the door, you do it. Westbrook is one of the best free-agent guards available on the free agency market. He averaged 15/5/6 with the Kings last season, proving he can still be a high-level contributor. He knows how to produce off the bench as well, placing in the top ten in Sixth Man of the Year voting three consecutive years before jumping back into a starting role with Sacramento.
The Warriors already have a very good roster that doesn’t need a ton of change. Obviously, signing LeBron wouldn’t hurt, but his decision isn’t the end of the season in Golden State. Adding any of these three veteran free agents would boost their chances of making a run.
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