Shaun Livingston: 5 potential landing spots in 2017 NBA free agency

1. Golden State Warriors

Livingston’s career path is one of the more amazing in NBA history. From being told he may lose his leg to playing a major role on one of the greatest teams of all-time is one of those real-life stories that validates cheesy sports movies.

As much credit as he deserves for his perseverance, the Warriors are inseparable from that story. Without them, his career would have been salvaged, but not redeemed. He’d still be a former phenom coming off the bench, wondering what could have been. As it is, he can view his dark times as an unconventional path to glory.

That does not mean he owes the Warriors anything. They did him no favors by signing him; he had already proven himself the previous season in Brooklyn. While two NBA titles is one kind of validation, getting paid is another.

It’s also the one that he has missed out on, due to spending his prime years on minimum contracts and non-guarantees. He’s made roughly $40 million in his career, meaning that the difference between $16 million and $30 million could matter a great deal.

Next: Warriors - Setting expectations for pending free agents

For the Warriors to keep him at a price they feel comfortable with, they may have to add a third partially-guaranteed year ($24 million, $20 guaranteed sounds reasonable). If they get there, it’s hard to imagine Livingston leaving his place of atonement.