Getty Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have already made the move they had to make this offseason, locking Draymond Green into the roster for the next three seasons with a player-option on a fourth. The rest of free agency is now about making the kind of moves they want to make around the edges of what the Dubs front office still believes is a championship roster.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported on Monday, July 3, that Dario Šarić begins and ends that conversation in the Bay Area. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote on Wednesday that nothing had changed, but added that the Warriors will face stiff competition for Šarić.
Šarić has other suitors — turns out NBA teams like 6’10” players who can pass, shoot and rebound — but that shouldn’t stop Golden State from making a significant pursuit.
The Warriors may not have more than minimum money to offer, but they could craft an enticing sales pitch around filling an important role on a contender. With his IQ and ability to process things at a rapid rate, the 29-year-old wouldn’t have trouble commanding a rotation role.
Dario Šarić Perfect Stretch-Four Fit With Warriors Offense
GettyDario Šarić handles the ball during an NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns.
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Šarić with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft as part of former general manager Sam Hinkie’s now infamous Process. The big man spent the next two seasons playing in Europe, embarking upon his rookie campaign with the 76ers in 2016.
He had subsequent stops with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and, finally, the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2022-23. Šarić has been a role player for the majority of his seven-year NBA tenure, averaging 23.7 minutes per night over 413 games played, which include 217 starts. Šarić has put up 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.6 steals per game over the course of his career, per Basketball Reference.
Monte Poole of NBC Sports reported the Warriors’ interest in Šarić on the first day of free agency, citing his on-floor intelligence and ability to immediately contribute to a win-now franchise upon arrival. He fits in with what the Warriors do on offense as a career 36% three-point shooter who can stretch the floor from the power forward spot.
Šarić is coming off of a three-year, $27 million contract he signed with the Suns in 2020. Well into the luxury tax, any spending the Warriors do moving forward must be done judiciously, as each dollar will represent exponentially more on the balance sheet due to league penalties established by the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Damian Lillard Trade Talks Could Delay Warriors’ Pursuit of Dario Šarić
GettyDraymond Green and Willie Cauley-Stein of the Golden State Warriors defend and Dario Šarić of the Phoenix Suns during an NBA game.
Now a week into free agency, the fact that Šarić and the Warriors have yet to ink a deal could be tangentially related to the trade request made by Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard earlier in the week.
Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer reported on July 3 that discussions between Portland and the Miami Heat for Lillard have lower-profile free agents like Šarić taking a wait-and-see approach until the first big domino falls.
“The Heat have told free-agent players like Malik Beasley, who agreed to a one-year contract with [the] Milwaukee [Bucks] on Monday, that Miami is in a holding pattern before moving forward with its veteran-minimum signings,” Fischer wrote, quoting sources. “Šarić, who had a strong suitor in Golden State, could also be involved with Miami depending on these Lillard proceedings.”