The Golden State Warriors haven’t had a consistent frontcourt for the entire season. While that trend will likely continue for the rest of the year, with injury concerns surrounding Al Horford, Draymond Green, and, most notably, Kristaps Porzingis, there is one change the team can make to at least attempt to gain some stability down low.
While Golden State deals with growing concerns with its big men, the team was urged by Peter O’Keefe of BlueManHoop.com to sign G-League standout Marques Bolden to a ten-day contract. Bolden has played well on the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, and could come in next to Gui Santos and Quinten Post as an up-and-coming big man for the rest of the year.
Green and Horford are aging and not the players they once were, while Porzingis has played just one game since arriving at the Warriors at the trade deadline, now set to miss more time with an illness. Though they haven’t completely thrown away this season, the Bay Area team giving a young player more run might be the best idea amid the concerns for their other centers.
Warriors Urged To Sign G-League Standout Marques Bolden
Golden State has an open roster spot, and they have rewarded other G-League standouts with ten-day contracts this year, making the idea of bringing up Bolden all the more likely.
“The Warriors rewarded strong G League form this time last season, signing former ninth overall pick Kevin Knox to a pair of 10-day contracts before eventually giving the veteran forward a rest-of-season deal,” O’Keefe wrote. “Why not reward Bolden in a similar manner, particularly when Golden State’s center rotation still faces issues with Porzingis’ illness, a back injury for veteran Draymond Green, along with the need to continue managing 39-year-old Al Horford?”
Bolden is averaging 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in the G-League this season. He is coming off a 30-point on 8/13 three-point shooting game, and could offer the same stretch-big abilities the Warriors were looking for with both Horford and Porzingis this season, neither of which has been as advertised so far.
The former Duke Blue Devil has played in only 18 total NBA games across four different seasons, but his numbers with Santa Cruz show the potential is there.
At this point in the season, taking at least a ten-day contract flyer on Bolden wouldn’t be the biggest risk for the Warriors. At the least, turning him into a tradeable asset that other teams across the league would be eager to develop would help Golden State keep a title-hopeful team around Stephen Curry in the final few seasons of his career.
But for now, without Porzingis, and with the in-and-out Horford and Green on the injury report, adding another shooting big man with some rim-protecting abilities wouldn’t be a massive risk, and likely a move with only upside at this point in the season.
Nate Williams Nearing Debut Amid Concerning Warriors Injury Report
At the same time the Warriors could be eyeing the move of elevating Bolden, the team is set to see the debut of a newly acquired player after the trade deadline.
Recently, Golden State signed Nate Williams to a two-way contract for the rest of the season.
Williams doesn’t have a strong resume in terms of his NBA averages, but after a few strong G-League performances, he was elevated to the first-team squad, likely to make his debut in the team’s upcoming back-to-back games against either New Orleans or Memphis this week.
With the team’s loaded injury report featuring Curry, Porzingis, Green, Horford, Jimmy Butler, and a few others, Williams could very well play for Golden State very soon.
▫️29 PTS ▫️6 REB ▫️3 AST ▫️63% FG ▫️75% 3PT ▫️2 STL ▫️1 BLK
Warriors found a gem ⭐️
As would be the case with Bolden, giving Williams a chance to show his potential doesn’t carry much downside for the Warriors at this point in the season. He could offer some much-needed scoring, and while already on a two-way deal, allowing him to show his potential amid all the injuries wouldn’t result in anyone’s minutes being taken away.
With the team’s record and major injury concerns, Golden State is at an interesting point in the season. Until the team gets back its key contributors healthy, experimenting with the roster by using players like Williams and potentially Bolden could be head coach Steve Kerr’s best option as the front office figures out the future of the franchise.
Warriors Injury Report: Urged To Sign Ex-Duke Big Man As Porzingis Replacement