The Warriors went into the offseason knowing they needed more punch in the backcourt, especially with Stephen Curry now 38-years-old and dealing with a lingering knee issue. Anfernee Simons looked like the cleanest answer for a while, but Golden State ended up taking a different path - and a cheaper one - with Brandon Williams.
Williams may not bring the same three-point threat Simons does, but he offers something the Warriors can use too: speed downhill and the ability to get into the paint. That matters even more with injured six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler sidelined, leaving Golden State short on the kind of interior pressure that can bend a defense.
Last season, the gap in production between the two wasn’t huge. Williams posted a career-best 13.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while Simons finished with 14.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his time with the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls. Both handled larger bench roles, and both showed they can carry an offense in stretches.
For the Warriors, the real win may have been financial. Williams is on a non-guaranteed minimum contract, while Simons signed a two-year, $12.3 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. That difference helped Golden State hold onto the taxpayer mid-level exception, which they used to bring back De’Anthony Melton on a two-year, $12.4 million deal.
Melton and Williams are tied together in more ways than one. Both were part of the Warriors’ original Simons pursuit, and they also have history as former high school teammates.
Golden State would have preferred a different outcome - Melton back and Simons on a minimum deal - but that was never realistic. Now the hope is that Melton and Williams together can give the Warriors more than Simons will provide in Philadelphia, where the 27-year-old may be no higher than the sixth option on a loaded roster.
Simons was one of the offseason’s big what-ifs for Golden State. Still, the Warriors may be content if Melton and Williams can deliver enough to lift an offense that finished 19th in the league last season.
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