Bringing starter back may be best option at center
Zaza Pachulia spurned lucrative offers to sign a one-year contract with Golden State last summer for roughly $2.9 million — $2.3 million less than he’d made each of the previous three seasons.
Though the Kevin Durant signing was clearly the Warriors’ biggest offseason move, Pachulia’s addition might have been the best value. He provided the toughness and rebounding ability of Andrew Bogut — who was traded in the wake of the Durant addition — for a fraction of the price.
Still, Pachulia’s transition to Golden State came with challenges. The fifth member of a starting five that boasts four AllStars, he had to learn how to contribute without infringing on what makes his running mates elite.
Pachulia’s job as the fulcrum of the Warriors’ offense depends on spacing the floor and finding open teammates. An encyclopedic knowledge of others’ tendencies is imperative. In the early stages of the season, Pachulia often overthought plays. Mounting mistakes made him more and more frustrated.
Midway through the season, Pachulia began relying on instinct. With defenses focused on stopping Durant, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, Pachulia began taking open shots he’d been passing up.
He finished the season shooting a career-best 53.4 percent from the field. A force on the boards, Pachulia led the team in offensive rebound average (two per game) and total offensive rebounds (140). His plusminus of plus-6 led NBA centers.
Pachulia weathered a tumultuous Western Conference finals, when he got death threats from Spurs fans for his role in the ankle injury that forced Kawhi Leonard to miss the final three games of the series. Three weeks later, Pachulia became the first player from the republic of Georgia to win an NBA title. Offseason outlook: A year ago, Pachulia showed a willingness to prioritize opportunity over money when he signed with Golden State. Now, as the Warriors deal with a frenzied freeagency period, Pachulia appears intent on returning to Oakland — even if he needs to leave money on the table again.
He told The Chronicle in February, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here. Even after June, I’m staying here.” Though Pachulia is hardly a franchise cornerstone, the Warriors could be hard-pressed to sign a better big man this summer.
They will probably go into the luxury tax to bring back Durant, Curry, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Among the team’s other centers, JaVale McGee could be lured away with a big contract from another team.