The league’s roster moves are notable at this point in the offseason, given how slow the NBA news cycle is in late August. We did, however, see an interesting development from one of the Golden State Warriors’ biggest rivals, with the Phoenix Suns releasing two players — Nassir Little and EJ Liddell — as the first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic earlier this week.
It’s an intriguing move by the Suns, especially considering Little had been a consistent 20-minute-per-game rotation player for two years with the Portland Trail Blazers before his first and only season in Phoenix.
While Charania notes the Suns’ eagerness to provide playing time to rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, the more intriguing element is the fact that it opens up flexibility for the franchise to pursue another veteran-minimum player in free agency.
As it stands, the Warriors don’t have the same flexibility to go after any player to add to their roster. 14 players under contract means they technically have an open roster spot, but their limited position against the first tax apron virtually disqualifies them from signing anyone.
Golden State has several options to change that. The simplest would be to waive Gui Santos and the Brazilian forward’s $1.9 million non-guaranteed contract for next season. Given that the maximum salary cap for a veteran player is just under $2.1 million, that would create just enough room to be viable.
The other option would be for the Warriors to engineer a trade with the Detroit Pistons, who have the ability to absorb a contract on their books. However, Golden State would most likely need to add additional assets to entice Detroit to do so, making it highly unlikely unless the free agent is truly worth it.
Assuming Santos’ path is the only realistic one, is this a choice the Warriors should make? Isaac Okoro may be the best player available, but he’s a restricted free agent, while other notable names include Markelle Fultz, Lonnie Walker IV and Cedi Osman.
These are all players who could prove more valuable than Santos next season. Fultz might be the best fit, giving the franchise another point guard option beyond Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski. But with Golden State’s roster already deep and loaded with rotation players, there really isn’t much upside to make it worth it.
Santos’ contract won’t be fully guaranteed until January 10, so the Warriors have plenty of time to make a decision if necessary. Until then, it remains very likely that their current roster will be the one they start the season with, barring a surprise trade.
