Golden State Warriors: What Extension Should Festus Ezeli Get?
Ceiling vs. Fit
As general manager Bob Myers was speaking with KNBR, he made an excellent point in regards to both Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli: At the moment, it’s incredibly hard to tell what these two players could become down the road.
Bob Myers to KNBR on Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli: "Both are guys where you could say, 'I don't know where the ceiling is.'"
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) August 28, 2015
Ezeli is a bit older than what you’d typically think of when it comes to young players with potential, but he’s also only played two NBA seasons because of injury problems. There’s no guarantee those issues are a thing of the past, since Ezeli only played 46 regular season games last year. But if he is able to stay healthy, Ezeli still has plenty of tread on his tires.
Draymond Green has surpassed Bogut as the best defender on the Warriors, but Bogut’s rim protection is a crucial part of the NBA’s best defense. For Ezeli to succeed him, he’ll have to develop into a similarly elite rim protector and smart team defender like Bogut is.
However, Ezeli’s value seems to be based solely on potential right now since Bogut will continue to be the starter in 2015-16. Bearing that in mind, it’s difficult to determine Ezeli’s true value in a contract negotiation, since that value will only be fully realized once Bogut is no longer capable of fulfilling his current role.
Next: Security vs. Restricted Free Agency