The Golden State Warriors‘ offseason has been marked by relative silence as they have yet to make any major signings. While their interest in veteran big man Al Horford could be the most significant move in free agency, the Dubs may face competition in their pursuit.
The Denver Nuggets have emerged as a potential suitor for the free-agent big man as of late. According to Clutch Points’ Evan Dammarell, the Nuggets are likely to show an interest in Horford as their recently signed backup center, Jonas Valanciunas, could opt to leave the team to play professional basketball in Greece.
Dammarell wrote, “The Denver Nuggets, meanwhile, were considered a potential threat if they lost newly acquired Jonas Valanciunas… if Valanciunas heads overseas, Golden State could still have competition to land the future Hall of Famer in Horford.”
The key factor here is the possibility of Valanciunas heading overseas to play with Greek side Panathinaikos. After being traded to the Nuggets by the Sacramento Kings, Valanciunas reportedly expressed an interest in leaving the team and playing in Greece.
While this would appear to be a likely outcome, Dammarell addressed that, as per Marc Stein, the Nuggets are not inclined to let their newly acquired center leave. Shams Charania also reported on this topic and tweeted:
“Denver has informed Jonas Valanciunas’ reps that the franchise fully intends to have him honor his contract as the Nuggets view Valanciunas as a critical center addition to back up Nikola Jokic and play alongside him. Greek team Panathinaikos pursued Valanciunas in recent days.”
These events could have a massive impact on the Warriors’ approach to offseason roster construction. The front office placed a priority on acquiring a center, with the imminent shift away from the “small ball” approach. Former NBA champion and 5x All-Star Al Horford has been viewed as the ideal acquisition in this regard.
Horford has garnered a lot of interest from teams in the free agency market. Having averaged 9.0 points and 6.2 rebounds on shooting splits of 42.3% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc, he has proven himself to be an extremely serviceable big man.
With Kevon Looney departing to the New Orleans Pelicans as a free agent, the Warriors took a huge blow to their roster depth. This sees the team in dire need of a starting center. Horford is the ideal replacement due to his veteran experience, floor-spacing ability, game IQ, and championship pedigree.
As things stand, the Warriors are expected to explore signing Horford to a veteran minimum deal or use their mid-level exception to facilitate the move. Meanwhile, Horford is taking the time to explore his options before coming to a conclusion regarding his future in the league.
