Getty Argentine point guard Facundo Campazzo dribbles the ball during a FIBA World Cup qualifier.
The Golden State Warriors may have filled some of their open roster spots by signing veteran Donte DiVincenzo, adding Patrick Baldwin and Ryan Rollins in the draft and making Lester Quiñones a two-way baller, but they’ve still got back-end slots to fill.
Alas, their repeater-tax status essentially limits them to using veteran minimum deals to do so.
Of course, few teams have done as well as the Warriors in getting mileage out of such signings. Last season, Otto Porter left money on the table elsewhere to sign a vet minimum deal and ended up being a key cog to the team’s title-winning effort. The same could be said for Gary Payton II, whose emergence as a lockdown artist just got him a bag in Portland.
Whether or not Golden State can pull another rabbit out of its hat is anyone’s guess, but team president Bob Myers definitely has some intruiging options.
One area of need is the backup point guard and, as Dieter Kurtenbach of The Mercury News sees it, a recent playoff opponent could capably fill the role.
Campazzo Fits the Bill
In an exploration of the free-agent market, Kurtenbach compiled a list of vet min targets to round out the Warriors’ roster. It was a list that included the likes of Dubs mainstay Andre Iguodala, journeyman 3-and-D specialist Avery Bradley and sharpshooter Wayne Ellington, among others.
His suggestion for a new second-unit floor general: former Nuggets guard and Argentine baller Facundo Campazzo.
“The Warriors lack a bona fide, proven backup point guard — someone who can get the team into their sets when they’re in the half-court,” opined Kurtenbach. “Campazzo has plenty of weaknesses, including the inability to defend much of anyone, but he will, unquestionably, run point.
“This is an insurance policy play.”
Campazzo, who won two EuroLeague titles, three Spanish League titles and two Spanish Cups during his six-year run with Real Madrid, appeared in 130 games for Denver over the last two seasons. In just over 20 minutes of play per outing, he averaged 5.6 points, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
At just 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, he’ll always have trouble defending NBA-caliber quarterbacks, as Kurtenbach asserts. However, the 31-year-old is a proven winner, someone who consistently gives effort on both ends and a player capable of going off as a scorer and/or playmaker in bursts.
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Join Heavy on Warriors!Campazzo Rocking World Cup Qualification
Although his NBA future is up in the air, there’s no question about Campazzo’s importance to the Argentine senior national team. During the squad’s latest batch of FIBA World Cup qualifying games, the veteran was the driving force behind key wins against Venezuela and Panama.
Over the final two games of Round 1 qualifiers, Campazzo averaged 24.0 points, 5.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals. He also connected on 47.8% of his field-goal attempts overall and an impressive 57.1% from three-point range.
Argentina went 5-1 during the first round of World Cup qualification. In the next round, which will begin with a two-game leg in late August, the team will compete in Group E of the Americas region alongside Canada, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Panama and the Bahamas.
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