SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Before the opening possession of the second quarter on Wednesday night in Sacramento, Steph Curry and Quinten Post had never played together. Not in offseason scrimmages. Not in training camp. Not in practice. Never in an NBA game.
“Literally,” Curry said. “He reminded me of that.”
There are people within the Golden State Warriors who note that Curry has never had a true 7-foot stretch center next to him in his career. There have been shooting power forwards masquerading as centers in small lineups, like Mo Speights and Otto Porter Jr. and Dario Saric and JaMychal Green and Nemanja Bjelica. Kevin Durant could be thrown into this mix and considered the ultimate cheat code.
So it’s not as if Curry has never operated on the floor with this type of floor-spacing element. Post could probably be considered most similar to Bjelica, a slower, skilled big who could shoot and pass a bit while bumping around the interior.
But with Curry facing defenses selling out more egregiously than ever to double him and get the ball out of his hands, the lack of a shooting threat in the frontcourt has been debilitating. For more than two months running, the Warriors have had the fifth-worst offense in the NBA.
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That has again caused Steve Kerr to shake up his rotation. In the 123-117 loss to the Kings, he placed Buddy Hield in the starting lineup in place of Dennis Schröder and used Post as the second-unit center. In his first true NBA rotation minutes, Post — who has impressed in the G League — performed decently.
He made a 3 and a layup as part of a personal 5-0 run early in the fourth quarter. He had six rebounds in 14 minutes, holding his own against Domantas Sabonis. He showed some vision and passing chops on the short roll.
“Besides the one turnover I had in the third where I thought he was going to roll and he popped and we got confused, it was kind of building chemistry,” Curry said. “We’ll develop it. But there were three other plays I can think of where they sent a double or pulled over and I was able to find him.”
Here is Steph Curry on Quinten Post and the benefit of playing with a stretch center
“You have a counter to aggressive defenses that want to take the ball out of my hands…Try to create advantage off his presence — or a shooter’s presence at the five. It definitely helps.” pic.twitter.com/nkJTPn8BHN
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 23, 2025
Kerr said after the game that he plans to give Post more minutes in the coming games. Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga are out for the foreseeable future. Kevon Looney left Wednesday night’s game with an illness. Kyle Anderson is nearing a return from a recent injury, but the depleted nature of the frontcourt means a more extended opportunity for Post.
“He changes the look out there,” Kerr said. “He can hit a 3. He can pass. You saw him battling Sabonis. It’s a different look and I’d like to give him some time.”
Steve Kerr said he plans to give Quinten Post more minutes in near future
“Playing with a space big is a luxury…He changes the look out there. He can hit a 3. He can pass. You saw him battling Sabonis. It’s a different look and I’d like to give him some time.” pic.twitter.com/4ecF7HQfvZ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 23, 2025
Post is an older rookie, drafted 52nd out of Boston College and currently stashed on a two-way contract. He’s already 24 and developed enough to believe he can help in a pinch. But in the bigger picture, this is about the glaring void on the roster and some subliminal nudging from Kerr and Curry in the lead-up to the Feb. 6 deadline.
“Just the way the league is going right now, having space, having as many shooters as possible at whatever position, the five, it helps,” Curry said. “You have a counter to aggressive defenses that want to take the ball out of my hands. It should help Dennis (Schröder) a little bit, too. Pick-and-roll type situations, make the defense decide whether to pull in or stay at home. Try to get downhill a little more. Try to create advantage off his presence or a shooter’s presence at the five. It definitely helps.”
The Warriors’ front office isn’t oblivious to this notion. They’ve cycled through plenty of veterans. Porter and Bjelica perfectly filled this role for the Warriors during their 2022 title run. JaMychal Green and Saric were whiffs the next two offseasons. The Warriors kicked the tires on Kelly Olynyk before last year’s trade deadline. Lauri Markkanen was viewed as a supercharged version of this concept, but Utah never got serious in negotiations with Markkanen prepared to extend there.
The Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic is the stretch center most often floated externally and internally. They’ve discussed him and the dynamics at play, including his $21.4 million contract for next season that could theoretically be rerouted in the summer, if necessary. Vucevic will be in Chase Center on Thursday night with the Bulls in town. He is averaging 20.3 points and making 41 percent of his nearly five 3s per game in what has been a rebound season.
Chicago has been willing to discuss Vucevic, but the price tag has so far been deemed too steep, league sources said, which is typically the case until the deadline is within about 72 hours. We’ll see if the Warriors get any type of transactional business done in the weeks ahead, but their coach and star point guard are making clear the benefit of a stretch center. For now, that’ll have to be lived through the inexperienced Post.
(Photo of Quinten Post and Steph Curry: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
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