Golden State Warriors Take Worthwhile Gamble On JaVale McGee

The Golden State Warriors are taking a low-risk, high-reward chance bringing JaVale McGee into training camp.

The Golden State Warriors are considered the winners of the offseason by many people, as they came away with the crown jewel of the free agent class in forward Kevin Durant. While adding Durant makes the already strong Warriors that much stronger, some sacrifices needed to be made, namely with the Warriors’ depth.

To clear enough room to sign Durant, the Warriors had to get creative with their salary cap. While they were able to retain the key cogs in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors did see their depth get poached in free agency.

While their second unit will retain Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, the Warriors saw a number of players leave as free agents. Harrison Barnes signed a max deal with the Dallas Mavericks, as Andrew Bogut was also traded there to make room for Durant.

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The frontcourt was further decimated with Marreese Speights and Festus Ezeli leaving for the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers as free agents.

As a result, the Warriors were left with Anderson Varejao as the only returning center. They signed Zaza Pachulia as a free agent to replace Bogut in the starting lineup, and also selected Damian Jones with their first round pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Veteran David West was also added to the roster, but without Bogut the Warriors are left without much of a defensive anchor or rim protector.

Pachulia has averaged only 0.3 blocks per game in his career, leaving a huge letdown in rim protection compared to Bogut. Jones blocked 1.7 shots per game at Vanderbilt in his career, but asking a rookie to contribute that much right away for a team with expectations as high as the Warriors may not yield the same results.

As a result, the Warriors were still in the market for a big man that could help protect the basket until now. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Warriors have invited veteran center JaVale McGee to training camp in hopes of shoring up their lack of a rim protector.

A make-good deal means McGee will have a shot to make the roster if he performs well in training camp. With the departures the team saw this offseason, McGee has a good shot at making the roster if he does not implode or struggle mightily during training camp.

There is no guarantee that happens, as McGee has become known for boneheaded plays and lowlights just as much, if not more so, than his athleticism and shot blocking ability.

It has been a couple of seasons since McGee was a useful rotation player in the NBA, but the Warriors are hoping they catch lightning in a bottle and can coax some production out of a player that has shown he can be a useful rim protector in the middle.

For his career, McGee has averaged 1.7 blocks per game, as he averaged at least two blocks per game in a three-season stretch from 2010-13.

While he doesn’t offer much offensively, as he is a bit out of control at times on that end of the court, the Warriors do not need him to score the ball; as long as he can show he can protect the rim adequately he should find a spot with the Warriors.

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This is a low-risk, high reward move for the Warriors. Rim protection and size is arguably their biggest weakness right now, but McGee could help fill that void as long as he shows he is over the injuries that have derailed him recently and that he can keep his head on straight playing for a title contending team.