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Golden State Warriors: Grading The Offseason

By Gerald Bourguet

June 7, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) celebrates a scoring play with center Andrew Bogut (12), guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Draymond Green (23)against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
June 7, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) celebrates a scoring play with center Andrew Bogut (12), guard Stephen Curry (30) and forward Draymond Green (23)against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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April 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) celebrates after making a basket while being fouled against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 97-87. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Return Of The Blur

Once the Warriors locked up Draymond Green, they had basically made the one big offseason move they needed to make. (Trading David Lee was a maneuver the front office wanted to make in order to ease the luxury tax bill, but it wasn’t one they “needed” to make.) After re-signing Green, the priority became moving Lee, but locking in the Brazilian Blue certainly wasn’t a bad move either.

At age 32, Leandro Barbosa is probably getting close to his last legs. He’s not a great defender and he’s a bit inconsistent with his production on offense. But he remained fairly efficient despite his limited minutes, averaging 7.1 points in 14.9 minutes per game during the regular season and 5.0 points in 10.9 minutes per game during the playoffs.

In Game 2 of the first round, when it looked like the New Orleans Pelicans could possibly steal a game at Oracle Arena, Barbosa came through with 12 points in 15 minutes. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Blur poured in 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting to help the Dubs take a 3-2 series lead. They just so happened to win that game by 13 points.

This wasn’t going to make-or-break the offseason, but bringing back Barbosa and his speed, his rapid-fire offense and his serviceable three-point touch on a one-year, $2.5 million deal is a nice touch to Golden State’s already successful summer.

Grade: B

Next: So Long, Lee

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