Grading Warriors' Decision to Re-Sign Charles Bassey

After losing Quinten Post to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors needed to sign a center.

And that's what they did Thursday, agreeing to terms with Charles Bassey on a one-year contract.

Below, I graded the Warriors' decision to re-sign Bassey. Contract details have yet to be released, but I'm working under the assumption that he was given a veteran minimum contract.

Grading the Bassey Signing

Usually when I grade a free-agency signing, I put a lot of stock into how much of a bargain the contract was. But in this case, Bassey was never going to get more than a veteran minimum contract from anyone.

The 25-year-old has appeared in NBA games with five different teams over the last two seasons. He's had a series of 10-day contracts that show many teams think he's intriguing enough to play in the NBA, but not so intriguing that they would use a standard contract on him.

Still, I have believed that Bassey should be on a standard contract with somebody for the last year.

And he was more impactful than expected in his five-game stint with Golden State last season.

Bassy averaged 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in just 20 minutes per game. His per-36 numbers were outstanding: 19.1 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

At this point, nobody should be questioning whether Bassey produces enough to play. The big questions are a) health and b) perimeter defense.

Bassey has had several knee injuries in his young career. The Warriors need him to be healthy so he can step in for Al Horford (40) when he needs an age-related rest or Kristaps Porzingis if he continues to miss lots of games with injury and illness issues.

As for perimeter defense, Bassey struggles to cover in space around the three-point line. He won't suddenly be great at this with more practice, but the Warriors will hope he can at least work on his defensive awareness so he isn't allowing so many open looks from three.

But even though that poor perimeter defense showed up last season in his 13 games with the Warriors and others, his defensive EPM wasn't a major issue.

In fact, his EPM overall was quite strong in comparison to the available centers.

As you can see, Bassey had the best EPM of any center the Warriors can sign, and he's younger than most of their options.

Could the Dubs have gone after Kevin Love to have another stretch-5 instead of a more traditional offensive center like Bassey?

Maybe, but Love is 37 and might not even play next year.

Based on a combination of age and effectiveness, Bassey was the best option the Warriors had.

Grade: A