NBA free agency rumors: Zaza Pachulia to sign with Golden State Warriors

By John Buhler | Jul 4, 2016

DALLAS, TX - JANUARY 12: Zaza Pachulia #27 of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at American Airlines Center on January 12, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Cavaliers defeated the Mavericks 110-107. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Free agent center Zaza Pachulia will sign a one-year deal worth $2.9 million to play for a championship contender in 2016-17 with the Golden State Warriors.

According to Shams Charania of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports, “Free agent center Zaza Pachulia has agreed to a one-year, $2.9M deal to sign with the Golden State Warriors.”

Vertical Sources: Free agent center Zaza Pachulia has agreed to a one-year, $2.9M deal to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2016

Pachulia is a solid 13-year NBA veteran center that is coming off arguably his best year as a professional with the 2015-16 Dallas Mavericks. He started 69 of 76 games for the Mavericks, averaging 8.6 points per game, 9.4 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game.

Though a valuable commodity with all four of his previous teams (Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Mavericks), an NBA Championship has eluded the veteran Georgian center. He’s not a flashy player by any means, but is a fierce competitor, a strong rebounder, and great rotational front court piece any playoff team would like to have.

With the Warriors having to presumably trade starting center Andrew Bogut and probably not re-sign restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to bring Kevin Durant into the fold, getting Pachulia for only $2.9 million in 2016-17 is an absolute steal.

Sure, he’s not going to provide the great rim protection of either Bogut or Ezeli (career 0.3 blocks per game), but he has been an important player on six different playoff teams in Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Dallas.

It’ll be interesting to see how Golden State head coach Steve Kerr decides to use Pachulia in his rotation. The Georgian seven-footer isn’t a shot blocker nor a strong jump shooter. However, he has been a solid defensive player on good teams before and is the type of glue-guy teams just love having in their front court. It’s a great value signing for the Warriors this summer without question.

For more NBA free agency news, please check out our NBA free agency category page.

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