NBA Rumors: Warriors interested in Kent Bazemore
By Sam Richmond
The Golden State Warriors have entered the mix for free agent shooting guard Kent Bazemore, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
The Warriors reached out to Lakers free agent guard Kent Bazemore today about the possibility of bringing him back, a source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 3, 2014
The Warriors signed Bazemore after he went undrafted in 2012. He spent 1.5 seasons with the team and was fairly unproductive. He appeared in 105 games and averaged fewer than 2.5 points per game.
But Bazemore flourished in Los Angeles after being traded to the Lakers as a part of the deal that sent sent Steve Blake to the Warriors in the middle of last season. He averaged 13.1 points (45.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent shooting from three), 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 23 appearances with Los Angeles.
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While Bazemore’s performance in L.A. has made him appealing to the Warriors, it doesn’t sound like they are willing to commit very much to him, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
Warriors only talking minimum to Kent Bazemore. That's not going to fly unless his current options fall apart
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) July 3, 2014
As Thompson notes, that’s unlikely to be enough to get Bazemore back in a Warriors jersey. The 25-year-old guard has plenty of suitors.
The Sixers have expressed interest in Kent Bazemore, according to sources. ATL, SAS, PHX, BOS, DAL, LAL and UTA also interested.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 3, 2014
And on top of many of those teams being able to offer Bazemore a bigger contract, they could also offer him much more playing time than the Warriors. Bazemore played just 6.1 minutes per game on Golden State last season. He played 28 minutes per night with the Lakers.
Still, if Golden State was able to get Bazemore for the minimum, the move would make a lot of sense for them. He proved with Los Angeles last season that he has the potential to have a solid NBA career and acquiring him for such little money makes it a low-risk signing.