The Golden State Warriors have done a ton of work this offseason. While guys like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant were always going to re-sign with the franchise, players like Andre Iguodala hit the open market and had to be convinced to come back to the champions.
And yet, Golden State was able to bring back basically everyone. On Thursday, the team was able to bring back one more contributor to its title run: JaVale McGee. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, McGee has reached an agreement with the franchise.
Free agent center JaVale McGee has agreed to re-sign with the Golden State Warriors, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 27, 2017
Haynes reports that McGee will return to the team for the veteran’s minimum, and with this signing, the Warriors’ roster is now complete. McGee confirmed the report in the most perfect way imaginable: He posted a video to his Instagram of himself celebrating while “Welcome Back” by Mase played.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXEWnftj3Tb/?taken-by=javalemcgee&hl=en
McGee’s NBA career has featured a number of ups and downs, but he was really good in his role as the team’s backup center during his one year in the Bay Area. He averaged 6.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in a scant 9.6 minutes per game. Those are meager numbers, sure, but his advanced and per-36 numbers were really good — he was second only to Durant in Player Efficiency Rating last season, surprisingly — and he was able to give the team a shot in the arm when he was asked to play more.
The Warriors’ only true center on the roster before this signing was Zaza Pachulia. Sure, Draymond Green and rookie Jordan Bell could handle playing the five if need be, but bringing back McGee certainly gives them more flexibility at the position.
