Outlook: Roster additions bring back excitement
Rival teams are starting to get worried about the Warriors again. Maybe the Lakers aren’t trembling, but in a very short time, Golden State has turned an episode of utter despair into the spirit of revival. A few thoughts as the roster gains strength: 1 There were times last season when Draymond Green seemed to be losing interest. He even admitted struggling with his motivation when it became obvious the team was headed nowhere, because “I’ve never really lost in my life.” As the Warriors aim high in Klay Thompson’s absence, hoping to get into the playoffs and see where it takes them, Green has plenty of reasons to be excited about a roster so dramatically re
That whatif became reality Sunday, when Golden State agreed to sign Bazemore to a oneyear, veteranminimum deal worth $ 2.3 million.
Though it doesn’t hurt that Bazemore is buddies with the face of the franchise, the Warriors pursued him in free agency for basketball reasons. Not much of a shooter during his first Golden State stint, Bazemore, 31, has become a reliable “3andD” wing.
In 25 games with the Kings last season, he shot 38.4% on 2.9 3point tries per game. Bazemore’s 7foot wingspan and high energy make him a tough defensive matchup for point guards, wings and even some big men. Given that he boasts experience in playoff games, Bazemore should be able to provide the Warriors meaningful postseason minutes.
Though he figures to help back up Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins this season, Bazemore can make spot starts when necessary and slide into the closing lineup when head coach Steve Kerr needs another dependable perimeter defender. This is a testament to how much Bazemore has improved since he last wore a Warriors jersey more than a halfdecade ago.
Undrafted out of Old Dominion in 2012, he was poised to play in Ukraine for $ 90,000 before he impressed on Golden State’s Summer League team and earned a nonguaranteed deal. Though he had his moments, Bazemore was raw offensively, shooting 37.1% from the field ( 27.4% from 3point range) in 105 games with the Warriors.
By the time Golden State traded him to the Lakers at the deadline, he was best known to Warriors fans for celebrating wildly on the bench and being on the receiving end of one of the league’s more notable rookie pranks. In April 2013, while Bazemore was running on the treadmill at the team’s Oakland practice facility, a group of older teammates that included Curry filled Bazemore’s car with popcorn.
Given more playing time with the rebuilding Lakers, Bazemore began to flash his twoway potential. But it wasn’t until the 201415 season, when he retooled his shooting motion with the Hawks, that Bazemore emerged as an essential rotation player for a winning organization.
In July 2016, after averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game for an Atlanta team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, Bazemore had tears in his eyes at the news conference announcing his fouryear, $ 70 million extension. But as the Hawks drifted out of contention and went allin on a youth movement, Bazemore began to question whether Atlanta could be his longterm home.
After getting dealt to Portland in June 2019 for Evan Turner, he shot 34.7% from the field in 43 games with the Trail Blazers. A deadline trade to the Kings provided a muchneeded change of scenery. By helping Sacramento — 1528 at the time of his arrival — win 16 of its final 29 games, Bazemore showed that his time in Portland was somewhat of an aberration.
Along the way, he kept in close contact with Curry. The two had bonded during their 11⁄ seasons on
2 the Warriors together over a shared love of their native North Carolina, Christianity, family and golf.
A March 2016 story published on ESPN. com revealed that Bazemore played a key role early in his career in getting Curry to sign with Under Armour. Once Curry got his own signature sneaker, Bazeriors. more made a habit of wearing the shoe during games.
Seldom has a week passed without the friends exchanging texts or talking on the phone. Each offseason, Curry and Bazemore get together to work out and play a couple rounds of golf. In April, while the NBA season was paused because of the coronavirus pandemic, they teamed up for a virtual golf-simulator challenge.
Whenever they saw each other, Curry daydreamed about sharing a roster again with Bazemore. Just a week ago, however, that seemed unlikely to happen this season. Fresh off an encouraging stretch with the Kings, Bazemore figured to command more than minimum offers in free agency.
Center, not wing, also seemed to be the Warriors’ most pressing need. But after Klay Thompson suffered a seasonending torn right Achilles tendon during a pickup game in Los Angeles last Wednesday, Golden State made wing depth its top priority in free agency.
To sign with the Warriors and reunite with Curry, Bazemore turned down offers from at least eight other teams, including a reported twoyear deal with the Suns. Shortly after news of Bazemore’s addition broke, Curry posted a screenshot to Instagram of him talking with Bazemore. Both were grinning.
Nearly seven years removed from breaking from his reputation as the quintessential company man to interrupt Myers’ news conference and express his frustration with the Bazemore trade, Curry finally can call one of his best friends a teammate again. And that should be a positive for the entire organization.