Ranking Players Warriors Hope Get Bought Out to Fill 15th Roster Spot

The Golden State Warriors have their 15th roster spot available, and on Saturday it appeared they were gonna fill it with Lonzo Ball.

But now that isn't likely.

The Stein Line's Marc Stein wrote the following on Monday.

""There were some fresh rumbles over the weekend that the Warriors might opt not to sign Lonzo Ball in the end after converting Pat Spencer from a two-way deal to a standard NBA contract."

There are a handful of players who have already been bought out or released that the Warriors could want, but the fact that we haven't heard rumors about Golden State's interest in them suggests general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is waiting to see who else will get bought out.

A player must be bought out or waived by March 1 to be eligible for the playoffs. With that in mind, it's common for lottery teams to wait until late February before buying out their veterans to give them a shot at a postseason run.

Before we get to the players who can get bought out, let's go over who is already on the market as well as which players the Warriors can't sign.

Notable Players Already on the Market

- SF Haywood Highsmith
- PG/SG Lonzo Ball
- C Chris Boucher
- SG Eric Gordon
- SF/PF Georges Niang (injured)
- SG/SF Matisse Thybulle (injured)

Highsmith would be the best option on this list due to his defense, but he'll likely be in big demand among contenders with open roster spots. The other options are pretty underwhelming, which suggests the Warriors will wait until March to make a decision.

Ineligible for Warriors to Sign If Bought Out

SG CJ McCollum, SF Khris Middleton, SG/SF Klay Thompson, SG/SG Bogdan Bogdanovic, SF DeMar DeRozan, C Jusuf Nurkic

As a team over the first apron, the Warriors are ineligible to sign a player whose 2025-26 salary is higher than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $14.1 million.

Ranking Players Warriors Hope Get Bought Out

1. SF Nicolas Batum

The 37-year-old would fit in anywhere as someone who can knock down threes (39.4 percent) and play smart defense.

The Clippers have a team option to bring Batum back next season, which could be valuable as a way to aggregate salary for a trade. So they will likely keep him, but if Batum demands to be bough out, they could do right by him.

2. PF Kyle Anderson

Since the 2016-17 season, Anderson's teams have been better on defense with him on the floor in every season except 2021-22, per Cleaning the Glass.

The 32-year-old works best on offense with a stretch 5, and the Warriors have three of them. That's why he'd be a great fit to return to the Bay.

Anderson has a non-guaranteed $9.7 salary for next season that I suspect the Grizzlies don't want to pay, as they don't have much use for a 32-year-old while they are rebuilding.

3. C Marvin Bagley III

Bagley had a double-double in his first game with the Mavericks. The 26-year-old would be the best interior finisher on the Warriors.

He's making only $2.3 million, so this buyout would not save the Mavs much money. It would likely only happen if Bagley requested to be bought out or released so he could have a better chance at playing in the playoffs.

4. PF/C Kevin Love

Love still averages 12.0 rebounds per 36 minutes, which would easily rank first on the Warriors. He's also still a threat from the perimeter, shooting 36.4 percent from three.

The 37-year-old is in the last year of a two-year deal, making him a prime buyout candidate.

5. C Kevon Looney

On the one hand, Looney probably isn't thrilled with the idea of returning to the Warriors after losing playing time to Quinten Post last year.

On the other hand, Looney is barely playing at all with the Pelicans, and he'd likely get some run in the Bay if/when Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis are out.

Looney has a team option for next season, which might make the Pelicans want to hold onto him to give them more options on the offseason trade market.