Golden State Warriors and Festus Ezeli will not reach extension

The Golden State Warriors will not sign center Festus Ezeli to a contract extension before today’s midnight deadline

The Golden State Warriors announced Monday that the team will not reach an extension with big man Festus Ezeli from Vanderbilt, the 30^th overall pick of the 2012 draft. ESPN’s Ethan Strauss first reported the Warriors’ decision to table contract discussions until the offseason.

According to Strauss, the Warriors are not necessarily moving away from Ezeli, but rather weighing all their options.

The 26-year-old from Nigeria has demonstrated his potential to be the Warriors’ starting center, but injuries and limited playing time leave the team skeptical about whether he can be a key contributor going forward. Ezeli sat out the entire 2013-14 season after he underwent surgery for a knee ailment. He has filled in nicely for the oft-injured center Andrew Bogut, who most recently has been sidelined with a concussion he sustained on opening night.

Bogut has always been injury-prone, but when healthy has played superior defense, which earned him a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive second team last year. However, Bogut is on the wrong side of 30; he will turn 31 on November 28^th and may not have a future with the team after his contract expires after the 2016-2017 season.

Last year Ezeli averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in only 11 minutes per contest. In three games this year he has scored 7.7 points per game, collected 5.3 rebounds, and blocked 1.3 shots per game.

Golden State likely needs more time to evaluate whether it is in their best interest to commit themselves to Ezeli for the future. Ezeli will have to the make the most of his time while Bogut is out with the concussion before he will be relegated to his bench role.