NBA Free Agency: Marreese Speights signs with Los Angeles Clippers

Marreese Speights has decided to leave the Golden State Warriors to sign as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers on a multiple year deal worth the veteran’s minimum.

When the Warriors signed Kevin Durant, there was a lot of celebration. It is hard to fault the organization and the fan base for being excited, as they added one of the best players in the NBA to a historic roster that won more games in a season than Michael Jordan ever did.

Unfortunately, though, there came a cost to Golden State. They were going to lose much of their depth in order to fit Durant on the roster.

Speights signing with the Clippers is not going to cripple the Warriors franchise. However, it does take away another available body from their thinning front court.

Losing Speights hurts a little more than normal because Golden State has already lost Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks. Barnes signed as a free agent, while Bogut was traded to clear cap space for Durant. Barnes and Bogut were key rotation players for the Warriors.

Golden State should still be able to win a good amount of games and make the NBA Playoffs next season. When you have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Durant and Draymond Green, depth is not as big of an issue as normal.

The Warriors have some cushion on the front court, thanks in large part to two veteran big men who were willing to sacrifice money to chase an NBA Championship. David West and Zaza Pachulia left San Antonio and Dallas respectively to sign with Golden State.

For the Clippers, Speights provides them with someone that can be the third or fourth big man in the rotation. Doc Rivers likes his small ball lineup, so Luc Mbah a Moute might get plenty of time at power forward. As a solid outside shooter, Speights might see some time playing next to Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

With the Warriors being the favorite to come out of the Western Conference, another value that Speights brings is the fact that he has inner knowledge of how Steve Kerr likes to run the team.

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