How Porter and Bjelica help Warriors — plus what’s left for them in free agency
The Warriors entered free agency with three main needs: An experienced wing, a floor-spacing big man and a backup point guard.
Within the opening hours of negotiations, they have addressed two of those needs by agreeing to sign forward Otto Porter Jr. and big man Nemanja Bjelica.
According to sources, Bjelica and Porter will come to Golden State on one-year, minimum contracts. All told, it looks like two potential steals by getting a pair of rotation-caliber players on minimum contracts while still maintaining the full amount of the $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception.
But things didn’t appear so fruitful in the first moments of free agency, which started at 3 p.m. Monday. The big names were the first to go, with Kyle Lowry agreeing to sign with the Miami Heat, Chris Paul re-upping with the Phoenix Suns and Mike Conley returning to the Utah Jazz. The Warriors were never in play for them, but then Golden State’s targets went off the market, including Nic Batum, who re-signed with the LA Clippers. The Lakers scooped up several others: Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore, who reportedly turned down more years and money from Golden State to play in Los Angeles.
After missing the playoffs the last two seasons, the Warriors appeared to be striking out. Then Porter agreed to sign, reportedly for a less lucrative contract than he was offered elsewhere. Porter, a former third-overall pick out of Georgetown who averaged 11.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 38.7% from 3-point range two seasons ago, is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him play only 28 games. He’s seeking a chance to resuscitate his career and, if he can, should provide the Warriors with much-needed perimeter size, shooting and defense.
Golden State has been chasing a player with Porter’s physical profile for two years. At 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Porter should effectively fill the void left by Harrison Barnes and then Kevin Durant as a forward who can complete lineups that feature Draymond Green at center. While Porter is no longer one of the NBA’s rising wings, as he was when he signed a four-year, $106 million contract with the Washington Wizards in 2017, he remains one of the league’s very best shooters. He’s made 44% of his catch-and-shoot attempts over his last five seasons.
The Warriors hope to tap into that while stamping out the conditioning and health issues that prompted Chicago to trade him in a salary dump to the Orlando Magic in March. Back and leg issues limited Porter to 28 games last season and 14 the season before that. He hasn’t played 60 games in a season since 2017-18, and those injuries have robbed Porter of his athleticism. After blocking more than 30 shots in five straight seasons, he’s combined for just 10 blocks over the last two years. His immobility has made him a liability on defense, where he struggles to pick up ball-handlers at the point of attack. At this phase of his career, Porter may be limited to guarding forwards who don’t do much off the dribble.
But after taking the minimum to play for a team with postseason aspirations, expectations are low for Porter. The Warriors won’t ask him to be the answer on the perimeter like Washington and Chicago did, but rather an option. At the minimum, that looks like a solid addition.
After Porter, the Warriors zeroed in on the next area of need and agreed to terms with Bjelica Tuesday morning. A career 38.7% 3-point shooter, Bjelica is one of the best floor-spacing centers in the NBA. He also provides a healthy amount of rebounding and passing. The latter skill could end up being most useful in Golden State, where coach Steve Kerr regularly asks bigs to facilitate open looks for shooters. It’s easy to envision the 6-foot-10 Bjelica hitting Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson off a split action. He’s also capable of running handoffs beyond the arc and making plays off the dribble.
However, as was the case with Porter, injuries plagued Bjelica last season and damaged his market value. He dealt with a lingering ankle injury before being traded in March from the Kings to the Heat, where he failed to make an impact. Within a week of the trade he was out of the nightly rotation and those in Miami grew tired of Bjelica’s poor conditioning and prodding of coaches for more playing time.
These two moves are value plays for a team with no cap space. The Warriors entered free agency armed with only a $5.9 million taxpayer mid-level exception and minimum contracts. After these two deals, they still have the full amount of that exception. How they spend it could ultimately determine the success of this offseason.
Having used the seventh-overall pick on a player as raw as Jonathan Kuminga, general manager Bob Myers acknowledged that a successful free-agency haul would be needed to vault back to contention.
“We need to add some veterans,” Myers said during his post-draft press conference. “We’re not done yet. That’s what we’re going to have to do in free agency.”
Curry agreeing to a four-year, $215 million extension stabilizes things in Golden State. It sends a confident signal to potential free agents, but the return needs to be better than what the team got out of last year’s investments. While Bazemore was helpful, Brad Wanamaker was signed to be the backup point guard but was out of the rotation by the time he was traded to Charlotte in March. Kelly Oubre Jr., who the team acquired with its traded-player exception and a draft pick, appears to be on his way out after an up-and-down season.
The Warriors can’t afford to whiff again. Porter and Bjelica arrive with questions but discernible roles. Targets such as Danny Green and Andre Iguodala remain available and have reported interest in playing for Golden State, but so did guard Patty Mills and he agreed to sign with the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday afternoon.
Roughly 24 hours into a hectic free-agency period, it appears the front office has done well, but free agents are being plucked from the market and there’s more work to be done.