Which free agents will the Warriors prioritize keeping?
Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. are among the free
agents the Warriors will look to bring back
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 20: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry holds a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he talks with Golden
State Warriors’ Kevon Looney (5) during the Championship Parade on
Market Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 20, 2022. The
Warriors won their fourth NBA Championship in eight seasons after
defeating the Boston Celtics in the Game 6. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 20: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry holds a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he talks with Golden
State Warriors’ Kevon Looney (5) during the Championship Parade on
Market Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 20, 2022. The
Warriors won their fourth NBA Championship in eight seasons after
defeating the Boston Celtics in the Game 6. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 28, 2022 at 5:40 a.m. | UPDATED: June 29, 2022 at 2:45 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/28/which-free-agents-should-the-warriors-prioritize-keeping/

The Warriors have nine free agents coming off this title year and plenty
of incentive to keep a good chunk of them.

The free agency negotiation clock starts at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday. And
pressure is on Bob Myers and the front office to glue the best parts of
this title-winning team back in place — or find worthy replacements.

Majority owner Joe Lacob has made clear that winning championships
justifies a loose budget. So that $400 million payroll Myers, the
Warriors’ president of basketball operations, threw out after last
season as something of a maximum budget will most likely be within reach
heading into the 2022-23 season. The Warriors paid a record-setting $350
million last year and are deep in the luxury tax and repeater tax zone
with no reason to cut back yet.

“There is a limit, it’s not limitless,” Myers said. “I would like it to
be limitless, but trust me, it’s not. You’ve got to have some
constraints on salary.”

That was made clear Wednesday when the Warriors reportedly chose not to
tender qualifying offers to Oakland native and fan favorite Juan
Toscano-Anderson or bench point guard Chris Chiozza.

The Warriors have the Core 3 — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond
Green — on the books along with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins (though
they’re eligible for extensions). But re-establishing the supporting
cast is crucial. Here’s the priority list heading into free agency.

- Kevon Looney

The 26-year-old went from an oft-injured player to the Warriors’ ironman
after playing all 104 games in the 2022 season. That included a pivotal
playoff performance in which he gave the Warriors a huge rebounding edge
over their bigger, physical opponents.

Looney’s value skyrocketed as he solidified himself as a foundational
part of the team. His presumed heir, James Wiseman, their seven-foot No.
2 overall pick, sat on the bench injured for the entire season and still
has to earn a spot as a starter in his third NBA year.

And now the Warriors have to make a choice. Do they spend big on Looney
or let the unrestricted free agent walk and find a new center market in
free agency? Or do they go all-in on a healthy Wiseman season in 2023?

Expect Looney to be a priority for the Warriors, but other teams with
cap space to play with could make his return complicated. The Warriors
have Looney’s Bird rights, so they can match whatever offer Looney gets,
but a team like the Indiana Pacers, with ample cap space, could
technically pump up the offer to a place the Warriors may not feel
comfortable matching.

“Thankfully I hope that our players will give us a chance to respond to
an offer,” Myers said. “They don’t have to. They don’t owe it to us. But
that’s what you get if you win and you create a good environment. You
might get a chance to match something.”

- Gary Payton II

Payton established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the
NBA — quite a journey for a 29-year-old who spent most of his career
toiling between the end of the bench and the G League. It’s a Cinderella
story for Payton, who should be paid well in his eighth year in the league.

Payton’s perimeter defense skill is hard, if not impossible to find on
the free-agent market. He’s a true difference-maker on defense who
became an essential part of Steve Kerr’s playoff rotation and a huge
loss when he fractured his elbow during the West semifinals. The
Warriors may make it a priority to keep the gem they discovered for
themselves.

Golden State has the advantage of owning Payton’s early Bird rights,
which means it can offer up to 105% of the average player salary for the
prior season. If another team offers a contract the Warriors can’t
stomach matching, they may turn to some internal options; Moses Moody
showed some scrappy defensive prowess in his minutes this year. But
Payton’s return elevates the Warriors’ defense, something they can’t
mess with during this contention window.

- Otto Porter Jr.

Despite the injuries, Porter turned out to be a perfect fit for this
Warriors team. Rare is it to find a big who can shoot, rebound and
defend to Porter’s level. A team with Steph Curry needs players who can
help space the floor and keep the junky defenses honest — and Porter
helped accomplish that.

Porter’s downside is that, unlike Looney and Payton last season, he’s
not particularly durable. He missed 19 regular-season games and three
playoff games with nagging injuries. His injury-plagued career helped
the Warriors land him last offseason for the veteran minimum. That also
may help the Warriors retain him for the taxpayer mid-level exception
they did not use last year, which is around $6 million. But if Porter is
fielding bigger offers, it’s unclear how much more the Warriors are
willing to pay for Porter. If the price is right, he’s proven to be the
perfect piece.

>RELATED ARTICLES
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NBA free agency: Evaluating all the Warriors’ contract situations

- Andre Iguodala

Iguodala, 38, hasn’t said whether he will retire or not after his 18th
NBA season. He only played 31 regular-season games and just a handful
more during the playoffs — where his IQ was most valuable — but Warriors
coaches and players raved about Iguodala’s impact as a quasi-coach. He
has the ear of his teammates in a way other coaches don’t.

If Iguodala decides to play another year, the Warriors could use him in
a role similar to the one Udonis Haslem holds with the Heat. Or maybe
Iguodala has a healthier season left to give.

- Nemanja Bjelica

Bjelica was an essential piece to this run as a veteran off the bench.
Though he wasn’t a great defender, the 34-year-old stretched the floor
and provided some much-needed size on a Warriors team where that was
lacking — especially during Draymond Green’s two-month absence due to a
back injury.

The Warriors would probably be happy to keep Bjelica, who worked well in
their system, but they may view that spot as replaceable with other
veteran minimum options on the market.

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter

Allen wrote:
> Which free agents will the Warriors prioritize keeping?
> Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. are among the free
> agents the Warriors will look to bring back
> >SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA –  JUNE 20: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
> Curry holds a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he talks with Golden
> State Warriors’ Kevon Looney (5)  during the Championship Parade on
> Market Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 20, 2022. The
> Warriors won their fourth NBA Championship in eight seasons after
> defeating the Boston Celtics in the Game 6. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News
> Group)
> >SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 20: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
> Curry holds a Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he talks with Golden
> State Warriors’ Kevon Looney (5) during the Championship Parade on
> Market Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, June 20, 2022. The
> Warriors won their fourth NBA Championship in eight seasons after
> defeating the Boston Celtics in the Game 6. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News
> Group)
> By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
> PUBLISHED: June 28, 2022 at 5:40 a.m. | UPDATED: June 29, 2022 at 2:45 p.m.
> https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/28/which-free-agents-should-the-warriors-prioritize-keeping/
>
>
>
> The Warriors have nine free agents coming off this title year and plenty
> of incentive to keep a good chunk of them.
>
> The free agency negotiation clock starts at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday. And
> pressure is on Bob Myers and the front office to glue the best parts of
> this title-winning team back in place — or find worthy replacements.
>
> Majority owner Joe Lacob has made clear that winning championships
> justifies a loose budget. So that $400 million payroll Myers, the
> Warriors’ president of basketball operations, threw out after last
> season as something of a maximum budget will most likely be within reach
> heading into the 2022-23 season. The Warriors paid a record-setting $350
> million last year and are deep in the luxury tax and repeater tax zone
> with no reason to cut back yet.
>
> “There is a limit, it’s not limitless,” Myers said. “I would like it to
> be limitless, but trust me, it’s not. You’ve got to have some
> constraints on salary.”
>
> That was made clear Wednesday when the Warriors reportedly chose not to
> tender qualifying offers to Oakland native and fan favorite Juan
> Toscano-Anderson or bench point guard Chris Chiozza.
>
> The Warriors have the Core 3 — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond
> Green — on the books along with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins (though
> they’re eligible for extensions). But re-establishing the supporting
> cast is crucial. Here’s the priority list heading into free agency.
>
> - Kevon Looney
>
> The 26-year-old went from an oft-injured player to the Warriors’ ironman
> after playing all 104 games in the 2022 season. That included a pivotal
> playoff performance in which he gave the Warriors a huge rebounding edge
> over their bigger, physical opponents.
>
> Looney’s value skyrocketed as he solidified himself as a foundational
> part of the team. His presumed heir, James Wiseman, their seven-foot No.
> 2 overall pick, sat on the bench injured for the entire season and still
> has to earn a spot as a starter in his third NBA year.
>
> And now the Warriors have to make a choice. Do they spend big on Looney
> or let the unrestricted free agent walk and find a new center market in
> free agency? Or do they go all-in on a healthy Wiseman season in 2023?
>
> Expect Looney to be a priority for the Warriors, but other teams with
> cap space to play with could make his return complicated. The Warriors
> have Looney’s Bird rights, so they can match whatever offer Looney gets,
> but a team like the Indiana Pacers, with ample cap space, could
> technically pump up the offer to a place the Warriors may not feel
> comfortable matching.
>
> “Thankfully I hope that our players will give us a chance to respond to
> an offer,” Myers said. “They don’t have to. They don’t owe it to us. But
> that’s what you get if you win and you create a good environment. You
> might get a chance to match something.”
>
> - Gary Payton II
>
> Payton established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the
> NBA — quite a journey for a 29-year-old who spent most of his career
> toiling between the end of the bench and the G League. It’s a Cinderella
> story for Payton, who should be paid well in his eighth year in the league.
>
> Payton’s perimeter defense skill is hard, if not impossible to find on
> the free-agent market. He’s a true difference-maker on defense who
> became an essential part of Steve Kerr’s playoff rotation and a huge
> loss when he fractured his elbow during the West semifinals. The
> Warriors may make it a priority to keep the gem they discovered for
> themselves.
>
> Golden State has the advantage of owning Payton’s early Bird rights,
> which means it can offer up to 105% of the average player salary for the
> prior season. If another team offers a contract the Warriors can’t
> stomach matching, they may turn to some internal options; Moses Moody
> showed some scrappy defensive prowess in his minutes this year. But
> Payton’s return elevates the Warriors’ defense, something they can’t
> mess with during this contention window.
>
> - Otto Porter Jr.
>
> Despite the injuries, Porter turned out to be a perfect fit for this
> Warriors team. Rare is it to find a big who can shoot, rebound and
> defend to Porter’s level. A team with Steph Curry needs players who can
> help space the floor and keep the junky defenses honest — and Porter
> helped accomplish that.
>
> Porter’s downside is that, unlike Looney and Payton last season, he’s
> not particularly durable. He missed 19 regular-season games and three
> playoff games with nagging injuries. His injury-plagued career helped
> the Warriors land him last offseason for the veteran minimum. That also
> may help the Warriors retain him for the taxpayer mid-level exception
> they did not use last year, which is around $6 million. But if Porter is
> fielding bigger offers, it’s unclear how much more the Warriors are
> willing to pay for Porter. If the price is right, he’s proven to be the
> perfect piece.
>
> >RELATED ARTICLES
>   Warriors’ James Wiseman won’t play in California Classic, eyes chance
> to return in Las Vegas
>   Stephen Curry tabbed as host of 2022 ESPYS
>   Warriors 2022 draft pick to miss Summer League with foot injury
>   Warriors set Summer League roster, highlighted by James Wiseman
>   NBA free agency: Evaluating all the Warriors’ contract situations
>
> - Andre Iguodala
>
> Iguodala, 38, hasn’t said whether he will retire or not after his 18th
> NBA season. He only played 31 regular-season games and just a handful
> more during the playoffs — where his IQ was most valuable — but Warriors
> coaches and players raved about Iguodala’s impact as a quasi-coach. He
> has the ear of his teammates in a way other coaches don’t.
>
> If Iguodala decides to play another year, the Warriors could use him in
> a role similar to the one Udonis Haslem holds with the Heat. Or maybe
> Iguodala has a healthier season left to give.
>
> - Nemanja Bjelica
>
> Bjelica was an essential piece to this run as a veteran off the bench.
> Though he wasn’t a great defender, the 34-year-old stretched the floor
> and provided some much-needed size on a Warriors team where that was
> lacking — especially during Draymond Green’s two-month absence due to a
> back injury.
>
> The Warriors would probably be happy to keep Bjelica, who worked well in
> their system, but they may view that spot as replaceable with other
> veteran minimum options on the market.
>
> --
> Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter

As long as they get Looney and GPII back, I'll be happy.

--Robin