Warriors coach Brown sees shades of Livingston in Wanamaker

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When you think of the Warriors' dynasty run from 2014 to 2019, it’s easy to get lost in memories of the Splash Brothers (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson), Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant.

But those five seasons were also shaped by major contributions from rotation players like Shaun Livingston, who remained a constant contributor off the bench as a backup point guard. 

When taking stock of this season's squad, Warriors associate coach Mike Brown said free-agent veteran signee Brad Wanamaker could fill a similar role that Livingston held.

“Brad Wanamaker, his calm demeanor, as well as his size is something that’s really welcome at that point guard position,” Brown told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on the "TK Show."

“He’s a guy that doesn’t seem to get rattled. He doesn’t do anything great, but he’s just solid or good in everything.”

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Listed at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Wanamaker doesn’t have the same length and ability to post up defenders like Livingston, but he’s still a reliable defender who can hold his own against taller wings and knock down an open shot.

In his Warriors preseason debut against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, Wanamaker scored eight points in 19 minutes, going 2-for-4 from the field, while knocking down all four of his free throws and dishing out two assists.

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Livingston, who now serves as the team’s director of player affairs, endeared himself to Dubs fans during those championship runs. If the 31-year-old Wanamaker can come close to leaving the same impression while on his one-year, $2.25 million deal, the Warriors would likely be very happy.

“There’s a little bit of give-and-take, looking at the two players,” Brown said of Wanamaker and Livingston. "But in terms of the demeanor and the intelligence, feel, all that other stuff -- very, very, very similar.”

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