3 Golden State Warriors players who won’t be back next season
After Stephen Curry got them into the play-in tournament virtually on his own, these three players won’t be back with the Golden State Warriors next season.
The Golden State Warriors finished above .500 this season, and made the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. If not for Stephen Curry, who won the scoring title by averaging 32 points per game, they would’ve been a lottery team with among the best odds to get the No. 1 overall pick.
The Warriors seem to be a long way from being a championship contender again. But with Curry, Draymond Green and the (hopefully) healthy return of Klay Thompson as their core, they won’t be pushovers next season. If they can the right pieces around that veteran trio, a run to the top half of the Western Conference is in the cards next season. The draft may yield a high pick to go with their own first-rounder, provided the Minnesota Timberwolves fall out of the top-3 overall and that pick goes them via the trade that netted them Andrew Wiggins. 2020 No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman shouldn’t be forgotten either.
The Warriors roster is line to look different around the edges next season. On that note, these three players will not be back.
3. Eric Paschall might not be back with the Warriors next season
When he was available this season (40 games played), as a left hip injury cost him over a month and he dealt with a wrist injury before that, Paschall was usurped by Juan Toscano-Anderson in the pecking order of Warriors’ big men.
Paschall averaged 9.5 points per game and shot nearly 50 percent from the floor this season, with a small uptick as a 3-point shooter compared to his rookie season (33.3 percent). As our friends over at Blue Man Hoop cited, the Warriors went 12-7 in games where he scored in double figures.
Despite being just 6-foot-6, Paschall saw 65 percent of his minutes at center this year (according to Basketball-Reference). Ideally, he’d be able to stretch the floor offensively or be more impactful on the defensive end as a small-ball 5, but that’s not the case at this point.
That said, Paschall has plenty of potential with career averages of 18.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per-36 minutes. And he’s only due to make $1.78 million next season before becoming a restricted free agent. Most likely as part of a bigger move to add someone, Paschall may find his footing elsewhere next season.