A low-profile player could have a high-profile impact.
A lot has happened this offseason for the Golden State Warriors, so it’s easy to let some things slide through the cracks. Steph Curry and Steve Kerr led Team USA to a gold medal a the Paris Olympics, then gave political speeches at the Democratic National Convention. They signed Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton, and executed a sign-and-trade for Buddy Hield. They drafted Quinten Post, and made failed attempts to trade for Paul George and Lauri Markkanen. They opted out of Chris Paul’s contract and watched him sign with the San Antonio Spurs, and said goodbye to franchise legend Klay Thompson, who joined the Dallas Mavericks on a sign-and-trade deal.
That’s a whole lot. But who’s keeping score?
Before all of those moves, however, came the first domino of the offseason: trading the No. 52 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (which they would re-acquire a few hours later and use to draft Post) to the Oklahoma City Thunder for sharpshooting wing Lindy Waters III.
Waters has fallen out of memory with a lot of Warriors fans, and it’s not hard to understand why. After their flurry of moves, the team — while perhaps not great — does seem to have too many good players to sufficiently allocate all their minutes.
As things currently stand, it’s hard to see Waters getting more minutes than Anderson, Melton, Hield, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gary Payton II, or Kevon Looney. Now I’m no professional mathmetologist, but by my count that’s 12 players ahead of Waters on the depth chart, and that’s without even accounting Post or Gui Santos making a run at a spot in the rotation.
In other words, it’s hard to envision how Waters can play a role. And yet, in the NBA, there’s always a role to be carved out, and Waters has shown plenty of potential. Here are a few ways he could help the Dubs more than you might think.
While I stated that Waters had 12 players ahead of him on the depth chart, that was a little bit of a dramatic way of looking at things. Looney and Green aren’t blocking him from getting minutes ... if either of those players were injured, it wouldn’t make it any easier for Waters to get on the floor.
But Moody is blocking Waters. Wiggins is blocking Waters. And Payton is blocking Waters. And it’s easy to envision any of those three — maybe even two of those three — getting traded in the right deal over the next two months.
It’s an overlooked part of roster building, but it’s always easier to pull the trigger on a big trade when you know you have some depth that can fill in for the outgoing piece.
Waters shot 43.5% from three-point range last year, and while he’s “only” at 37.7% for his three-year career, he has the stroke to unleash a load of threes in a hurry. The Warriors — and Steve Kerr in particular — no firsthand the value of having a player who can come off the bench and catch fire.
Even if Waters is buried on the depth chart, he’s the type of player who Kerr will likely turn to when the offense is letting him down ... and he could be the spark plug to turn things around in any given game.
And if his shot stays at or around 43.5% this year? Well, that’s a player who will work his way into the rotation, which we know is fluid.
Just as the depth that Waters provides gives the team more freedom to pursue a trade in what remains of the offseason, it also gives them that same freedom should they try to swing a big deal at the February trade deadline. Waters could also be used at the deadline to help make the salaries match on a bigger deal, or simply to bring the Dubs a future second-round pick.
Waters can, on his best day, fill the Shaun Livingston role a little bit. He’s a very solid defensive player, with the agility of a guard, but the length (6’6 height, with an even longer wingspan) of a wing. He gets into passing lanes regularly and disrupts plays, and could help form the part of an exciting, active, and pesky defensive lineup.
In short, Waters will have a chance to bring a lot to the table, in some form or fashion. He may have slipped to the back of a lot of people’s minds, but he’s still a player who could be a key part of a successful season.
