The Warriors are reportedly signing former Kentucky Wildcat Willie Cauley-Stein. Here are 3 reasons why Golden State made the move
The University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball Program has had just three first-team All-Americans during the Calipari regime. The most recent of the bunch, hipster center Willie Cauley-Stein, is on the move after four seasons in Sacramento. He won’t be traveling far, however, since his next stop is a simple greyhound and multiple hours of standstill traffic away, in San Francisco where he’ll team up with the Golden State Warriors.
Next to fellow Cat De’Aaron Fox, Cauley-Stein averaged 11.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists this past season for the overachieving Kings. Finally in a winning situation and surrounded by a promising young core, Cauley-Stein, Fox, Oklahoma folk hero Buddy Hield, and the rest of their lavender-outfitted crew blew the doors off preseason expectations, soaring to a playoff contending 39-43 final record after being pegged as just a 26-win team coming into to last season.
While the cheeriness returned to Sacramento after an extended hibernation and local fans at long last had a reason to be engaged, Cauley-Stein expressed sour feelings towards the organization after the conclusion of the season, and even asked that the Kings not extend him a qualifying offer once he hit free agency, making him an unrestricted commodity.
After reading the tea leaves surrounding the ambivalence between Willie and the Kings (particularly the fans), I must admit, he is not a popular character. Sacramento’s social media sphere (albeit social media is usually negative anyways) is riddled with distaste for Cauley-Stein and his lack of assertiveness, focus, passion, and more than anything else, his effort, which fades in and out quite often. I don’t know the whole story behind Willie’s experience in Sacramento and his relationships with his teammates, the front office, and the fans, but I do know that he has removed himself from the situation. According to a report from Warriors correspondent Marcus Thompson of the athletic, Cauley-Stein will play for Golden State next season:
I’m told Willie Cauley-Stein coming to the Warriors. Was Damian Jones that bad in the Summer League debut? Does that mean no DeMarcus Cousins?
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) July 2, 2019
After some sour apples fell off the tree, WCS made a swift exit and he landed in Golden State. Not too shabby. Here are a few reasons why the Warriors brought the former Kings center on board for 2020.
1. Low Risk, High Reward
According to a few non-certified rumors around NBA circles, Cauley-Stein is coming to the Bay on a one-year deal slightly above the veteran minimum. Given that Golden State’s budget is stretched thinner than Bol Bol’s frame and they have next to no room left for free agents, one would think the deal is quite small. On Willie’s end, I’m confused why he didn’t try to fetch more money. If he did sign for around the minimum, that’s chump change compared to what average starting centers are earning these days. Why not seek a multi-year guaranteed deal worth at least 7 or 8 million? The last former Kentucky center to try this maneuver, Nerlens Noel, said no to $70 Million over 4 years and has since failed to sign for even a fraction of that sum.
Either way, Golden State could care less. They just brought a starting rim-running center on board for a couple of bucks. From their perspective, there is no reason not to make the transaction.
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I’m sure the front office is aware of Cauley-Stein’s drawbacks from his days in California’s capital (which is a possible reason for his lack of a bigger contract), but the upside for Cauley-Stein, just 25 years old, is still much higher than the risk. As we saw at Kentucky, Willie at his peak and anchoring a defense is a monster not to be messed with. He was a historic defender at the college level and he does enough on offense to remain relevant. Smart move from Golden State, especially if this was the final asking price for Cauley-Stein.
2. Frontcourt Depth
The Warriors’ lack of depth in the frontcourt was frightening in the postseason. In the Finals against Toronto, Golden State sponged frontcourt minutes via a committee of untrustworthy pawns: Jordan Bell, Damian Jones, Jonas Jerebko, and the injury maligned DeMarcus Cousins and Kevon Looney. That ensemble was an unequivocal dumpster fire. And they already lost Bell, Cousins, and Jerebko in free agency. Factor in added tread on Draymond Green’s tires and the loss of Andre Iguodala in the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade, and Golden State has overwhelming vacancies in the frontcourt. Cauley-Stein, sans the headaches, will be a reliable option in the starting lineup or off the pine. He is a competent rebounder, an athlete of rare ability at seven feet tall, and can score with reasonable efficiency around the basket. He will learn his role and play within it in Steve Kerr’s warped system. Drama aside, Cauley-Stein put up 12 & 8 numbers on a near .500 squad in 2019. He will certainly get minutes for the former champs.
3. Pick-and-Roll Potential
Part of what appealed to the Warriors about Willie Cauley-Stein, I'm told, is his pick-and-roll ability. Personnel will force them to run more this upcoming season. WCS can operate up top with both Steph Curry and -- especially when Curry/Draymond sit -- D'Angelo Russell.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 2, 2019
Pick-and-roll partners with Stephen Curry? I can think of few, very few, enterprises as enticing as running pick-and-roll with Steph Curry. If there was Tinder for NBA players and Willie Cauley-Stein was swiping through profiles (although, let’s be honest, Willie feels more like a Bumble guy) and he found Steph Curry, it would be an immediate super like. He thinks I’m a rim running 7-footer who can’t shoot threes and thrives around the rim and sees Curry’s profile, a two-time MVP and the greatest shooter in the history of basketball; well, that’s the type of perfect profile where you buy extra likes if you need to. And if he actually gets a match? Forget it. Someone go check his heart rate, it probably sounds like the one in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. In Curry, he’s got a tandem soulmate. Hell, maybe there is a reason he took that discount.
(Sorry for my older crowd who has no idea what Tinder is. Here’s a more relevant example for you all: it’s like being a random actress in the 1940s and getting a call from Humphrey Bogart and he’s starring in a new noir film as a sleazy insurance salesman/part-time gangster and wants you to be his love interest. The price is irrelevant, you just say yes. It’s a dream scenario, it’s the peak of your profession. You accept the job without hesitation!)
Cauley-Stein is a cheap and possibly lucrative option for a Curry pick-and-roll partner. If I was going to take such a weighty bet on myself, I’d want to be surrounded by the most elite, most compatible people possible in my profession. Steph Curry is just that. And Cauley-Stein can act as everything Curry always wanted in Jordan Bell–in a taller and much more athletic body.
Congrats to Willie! Leave any comments or concerns down below or bark at us on Twitter @alexhweber or @WildcatBlueNatn. Thanks for reading! (PS: we are still accepting questions for the upcoming mailbag on wherever you want to leave them. Don’t hesitate! We will answer every submission!