On the same day that the Warriors lost Marreese Speights to free agency, they’ve been able to re-sign one of their other bench players.
James Michael McAdoo has agreed to return to the team on a 1 year deal, according to the Undefeated.
McAdoo has been relegated to garbage minutes throughout most of his career, but his production is impressive relative to the amount of minutes he plays.
Averaging just 6.4 minutes per game, he averaged 2.9 points per game. For some added context of that productivity, he ranked 3rd on the team in points per 48 minutes, trailing only Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
It’s an extremely small sample size, but a promising indicator of the talent that McAdoo has, and what he could be capable of with an expanded role.
The Warriors re-sign James Michael McAdoo to a one-year deal, source tells @TheUndefeated.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 8, 2016
What’s interesting about this decision on McAdoo’s part is that with how the depth chart is materializing for next season, it doesn’t appear like he’s going to get significantly more playing time than he has gotten for the past couple seasons.
David West is going to likely get the bulk of the minutes off the bench at power forward, leaving McAdoo and Kevon Looney to compete for extra minutes here and there.
McAdoo probably would have had a better chance to cement himself as a rotation player on another team. Staying with a potentially legendary squad has its own perks, though, even if playing time is hard to come by. McAdoo obviously liked what he had going here, and the Warriors were more than happy to oblige him with a 1 year contract.
Not only is he familiar with the system, but his athleticism has been on display for the past couple seasons with how he finishes near the hoop. His long arms are also an asset, giving him the versatility to guard multiple positions on defense.
This was a mutually beneficial move for each side involved. The Warriors are constructing a roster that looks very different than last season’s, but possibly even more formidable than the squad that won 73 games.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, Kevon Looney, Ian Clark, and James Michael McAdoo are returning from last season.
Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, and Brandon Rush have departed.
Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia, and David West are new acquisitions, along with draft picks Damian Jones and Patrick McCaw.
13 players in total are on board for next season, leaving just 2 more roster spots for the front office to fill.