The Warriors depleted their bench while upgrading their top six, which is a pretty good tradeoff. In the playoffs, where Golden State is and should now be focused, rotations shrink and a team’s best players matter more.
But it doesn’t hurt to have depth, and this should help bolster the Warriors’ bench.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports:
Warriors agree to terms on a multi-year deal with free agent F-C Mareese Speights, a source tells Y! Sports.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 8, 2013
Speights deal with Warriors is three years.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 8, 2013
It’s not immediately clear how much the contract is worth, but Marreese Speights to declined to opt into the final year of a contract that would have paid him $4,515,000, so that hints at what he was seeking.
Speights can step into Carl Landry’s role as a pick-and-pop power forward who can rebound, and that’s nice fit with Stephen Curry. Speights can also play center, which is a nice fit with the injury-prone Andrew Bogut.
Because Jarrett Jack is headed to Cleveland, Speights’ old team, perhaps the Cavaliers and Warriors can work out a sign-and-trade, allowing Golden State to maintain its full mid-level exception and the ability to further re-assemble its bench.
If the Warriors play their cards right, they could dump their bad contracts, get Iguodala and Speights and still have $5.15 million to spend on another free agent.