The Golden State Warriors have felt the absence of Otto Porter Jr. since the versatile forward left in free agency following his impactful 2022 season. While Poter did not replicate his 2022 campaign last season with the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors were unable to effectively replace his production that was so vital to their title run.
After a quiet few days of free agency, it was announced by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday morning that the Warriors had come to an agreement with free agent forward Dario Saric. An additional report from The Athletic’s Anthony Slater revealed that the team hopes Saric can fill the valuable Otto Porter Jr. role from from two season ago.
“Saric essentially fills the role that Otto Porter Jr. did so successfully two seasons ago and JaMychal Green mostly didn’t this past season,” Slater wrote. “He’s a frontcourt shooter they can put next to Draymond Green or Kevon Looney or Jonathan Kuminga and better spread the floor in otherwise cramped lineups.”
Slater also pointed out the connection between Saric and Chris Paul, which was strong during their time as teammates with the Phoenix Suns. Upgrading a roster at this point in free agency is never easy, especially with the limited financial flexibility the Warriors have, but the team certainly did well with the front court addition of Dario Saric.