Former coach Mike Fratello thinks Warriors have lost too much depth
With a starting lineup boasting three of the top basketball talents on the planet in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, it's easy to forget just how productive the second unit was for the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
A number of players from that core group departed the Bay Area this summer in free agency, as Golden State focused on luring the biggest prize of the summer away from the Oklahoma City Thunder in four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant.
The vast changes the Warriors' roster has undergone in recent months has led to questions on how the new group will fare, whether they can capture a second NBA title in three years, and if they'll come close to matching or even surpassing last year's 73-win mark.
Mike Fratello, the former NBA head coach and current on-air analyst for the Brooklyn Nets, has his reservations.
"I don't know about Golden State, just how many games they are going to win because they lost a lot of those glue pieces that were so important to them, giving them the depth that when they came off the bench they didn't have a major drop off and many times gave them a lift and took them to a bigger lead in the game than they had initially," Fratello said during a recent appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio's "Elevate Above The Rim."
Last season, Steve Kerr had a bench mob at his disposal that could go 12-deep on most nights, with veteran Andre Iguodala - who finished second in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting - leading the way as both a playmaker and elite perimeter presence. He and point guard Shaun Livingston are all that really remain, as Brandon Rush (Minnesota Timberwolves), Leandro Barbosa (Phoenix Suns), Marreese Speights (Los Angeles Clippers), and Festus Ezeli (Portland Trail Blazers) aren't in the picture any longer.
In their place will be two rookies (Damian Jones and Patrick McCaw), a veteran looking for his first ring (David West), and a shooting guard looking for a larger opportunity with so many of last season's teammates gone (Ian Clark).