Of all their veteran free agents, the Warriors had hoped 33-year-old Leandro Barbosa would be willing to accept a veteran minimum to go after another championship.
Those hopes ended Wednesday night. The gutting of the Warriors’ bench is in full swing.
Leandro Barbosa has agreed to a two-year, 8 million deal with the Suns https://t.co/y24JGwdCX7
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 7, 2016
Behind Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, no player was more essential to Golden State’s Strength in Numbers than Barbosa. Last season he averaged 6.4 points and shot 46.2 percent from the field in 15.9 minutes per game.
Barbosa was a key factor in the Warriors taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. He shot 10/12 from the field and scored 21 points in the first two games against Cleveland — his best two games of the postseason. He made J.R. Smith look irrelevant, but somehow only wound up playing four minutes in Game 7.
The Warriors took a double-whammy on Wednesday. In addition to losing Barbosa and Brandon Rush, the Cavaliers traded for three-point specialist Mike Dunleavy Jr. The former Chicago Bull may be 36 years old, but he shot 39.4 percent last season. If Cleveland tries to replace him with impending free agent J.R. Smith, though, this move could spell more trouble than good. Dunleavy spent his first five seasons with the Warriors from 2002-07.
Golden State currently has four open roster spots on their bench. Guards that have been floated around include Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar.
GM Bob Myers pulled off two wizardry moves earlier in the week, getting bargain deals on big men Zaza Pachulia and David West. Kevan Looney is a retuning power forward who will be counted on for minutes, as will rookie center Damian Jones. But outside of Shaun Livingston and rookie Patrick McCaw, the Warriors are thin on backcourt help. Myers needs to zero in on a guard, one that can preferably eat a lot of minutes in blowout wins — not the exact role you want Livingston to be filling.
The Warriors will miss the Brazilian Blur, and may have a tough time finding an equal replacement. The Vertical is reporting Barbosa’s deal with the Suns includes a team option for the second season. This may not be his final stint with the Warriors, who will be in a similar salary cap bind in 2017.