Golden State is reportedly targeting another free agent big man as the front office fills out its last roster spots around Stephen Curry.
Golden State's offseason changed in a hurry once LeBron James picked the Philadelphia 76ers, and the front office has spent the days since working on smaller moves to finish the roster around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
The newest name in that search is a familiar one.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on the outlet's Clutch Scoops show that the Warriors are targeting Kelly Olynyk, a 13-year veteran center still on the free agent market, along with several guards for the remaining openings.
Why Olynyk Keeps Coming Up
Siegel said the interest is not new, and he does not expect Golden State to chase anything bigger on the trade market.
"It's Kelly Olynyk, a guy that has been linked to the Warriors before. He's been a target of them for the last two to three years. He's going to be an option on a minimum deal," Siegel said.
He added that the team had about $8 million to work with under its hard cap at the apron when he laid out the targets, which points to minimum contracts the rest of the way.
The center depth explains the fit.
Golden State kept Kristaps Porzingis this summer on a contract extension reported at two years and $40 million, but the group behind him thinned out when Quinten Post left for the Memphis Grizzlies in restricted free agency.
Veteran center Al Horford is back, though he played 45 games last season while averaging 8.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, and Horford skipped every back-to-back and will keep doing so.
Charles Bassey re-signed after Post's exit, but the same outlet described him as an athletic interior big rather than a floor spacer.
A Cheap Big Who Fits the System
Olynyk is not the player he once was, and last season showed it, since he managed just 3.2 points in 8.6 minutes a night across 42 games for the San Antonio Spurs.
The longer track record still shows a useful player, because he has averaged 9.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists for his career while shooting 36.9 percent from three.
A 7-footer who can pass and stretch the floor has always fit the way this offense moves, and on a minimum deal there is almost no risk in finding out how much he has left.
Golden State re-signed De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II on Saturday, so the real debate now is how to use the team's final roster spots.
Adding Olynyk would fit a quiet offseason built more on patience than big swings, and the budget stays tight because the front office still has to sort out Brandin Podziemski's next contract.
Horford turned 40 in June and already gets his schedule managed carefully, while Bassey covers a different job entirely.
If the price really is the minimum, as Siegel reported, a big man with Olynyk's history of shooting and passing is worth a spot on this roster, and the front office should get it done before another team makes the same call.
