Marreese Speights wants to reward the Warriors for picking up the team option on the final year of his contract, which is worth $3.815MM, Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com writes. The Big Man has emphasized conditioning thus far in his offseason workouts and he hopes the hard work translates into a bigger role on the team.
“So coming into this year, I’m going to prepare differently so that I’ll come into camp in the best shape I’ve ever been. And hopefully that will give me a chance to get more consistent minutes,” the Florida product said.
Speights will have competition for back-up frontcourt minutes with new addition Jason Thompson coming into the fold and Festus Ezeli primed to take on a bigger role.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division.
- Markieff Morris‘ situation has created uncertainty for the Suns, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. Morris reportedly wants out of Phoenix and trading the forward probably makes sense for both parties. Blancarte argues that because of his team-friendly contract, which has three years and $24MM remaining on it, Morris could be a valuable oncourt addition to another franchise. However, the Suns are likely to receive a less than stellar return for the 25-year-old, similar to what the Nuggets netted for Ty Lawson, because of his offcourt issues.
- New additions Lance Stephenson, Wesley Johnson, Paul Pierce and Josh Smith bring some much needed versatility to the Clippers, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com writes. Smith’s ability to play the center position, which he did 12% of the time last season for the Rockets, should give Los Angeles the ammunition to matchup against top small-ball lineups, such as the Warriors’ lineup with Draymond Green at center.
The Warriors have no shortage of backup center options. The real question: Can any of them fill in effectively enough for the team to repeat if Andrew Bogut goes down?
Maybe Ezeli? I’d imagine he gets first shot if an injury were to occur, but I am not too optimistic on him being anywhere near as effective as Bogut.
Given the creativity that Steve Kerr and his staff displayed last year, the Warriors could start Ezeli, Speights or Jason Thompson based on matchups if Bogut goes down. They did the same thing at guard last year, giving starts to Barbosa, Livingston and Justin Holiday when needed. By playoff time, Barbosa and Livingston had pretty set roles that they each thrived in, and Holiday was hammered the bench.
Additionally, Draymond Green gives them the option of playing without a traditional center for long stretches.