Golden State Warriors: What will Juan Toscano-Anderson role look like

The Golden State Warriors are going to have a deep rotation, and those backup spots will be at a premier which casts a shadow over what the role of beloved bench players will like this upcoming season.

One player that could see a drastically different role is Juan Toscano-Anderson, who has found a home in Golden State and quickly has become a fan favorite.

The Warriors have a plethora of players that will be expecting minutes. With that in mind, what will Juan Toscano-Anderson’s role look like this season?

JTA was best known for filling in as a consistent small-ball center in February when both Kevon Looney and James Wiseman went down. JTA stepped up in a big way and helped Golden State fight through those few months without a big man present.

Due to injury, Eric Paschall never got going, and given his different skill set, JTA was better served to play alongside the starters last season. Regardless, that battle is one JTA can put behind him as Paschall is now in Utah.

However, he’ll have to compete with Looney and Wiseman for minutes at center and then Otto Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala and Nemanja Bjelica for minutes behind Draymond Green at the four or in small-ball lineups at the five.

It won’t be easy for JTA to get minutes, but he does have a good case in playing over many of these recent additions. His one unique skill set is something not taught — hustle. JTA was diving all over the court last season, and his energy was obvious.

While he averaged just 5.7 points per game, JTA’s efficiency was something to marvel at. He shot over 40 percent from deep which is exactly what Golden State needed from him. He averaged 0.7 triples per game and 1.2 triples per 36 minutes.

His minutes likely won’t increase, but if JTA can hover around 18 minutes per game, he should find success. It seems entirely possible that he’ll enter the season as the backup power forward.

There’s not much upside outside of him potentially getting more run in small-ball lineups. While Iguodala is great, JTA has proven to be a more lethal shooter. Late in games, I’d expect the experience of Iguodala to be preferred by head coach Steve Kerr.

However, JTA can provide offense and scoring. At what level will be the real question though. Iguodala and Porter Jr. have both shown they can do that as well, so it could end up really being more about situation play styles for Kerr.

That said, expect JTA to have a role, it’s just not known what size it will be quite yet.