What the Warriors Are Getting with Omer Yurtseven Signing

The Golden State Warriors signed Omer Yurtseven to a 10-day contract on Saturday.

The 6'11" center scored 36 points in a G League game on Friday, prompting the Warriors to give him a contract over Santa Cruz Warriors center Charles Bassey, who the Celtics signed to a contract later Saturday.

Golden State made this move because Al Horford suffered a calf injury and Quentin Post suffered an ankle injury on Friday. If both centers are out for a while, the Warriors will have just Kristaps Porzingis, who is on a 20-minute restriction, and Draymond Green at center. Green also missed Friday's game with a back injury.

Let's break down what the Warriors will be getting with Yurtseven.

Traditional Big Man Game

Unlike all of the Warriors' current centers, Yurtseven is a true back-to-the-basket center. He can take a perimeter shot if he's left wide open, but he's usually going to be stationed at the low block.

In 113 appearances in NBA games with the Miami Heat and Utah Jazz between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seaons, Yurtseven averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game.

That projects to an elite 14.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, which tracks considering he's as strong as he is tall.

In his latest season in the NBA with the Jazz in 2023-24, Yurtseven had a minus-12.1 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass. The Jazz rebounded better on offense and defense with him on the floor, but their field-goal percentage was also worse on offense and defense.

Not surprisingly, he's not someone you want switching onto guards because he doesn't have the lateral quickness to defend drives.

I don't expect the Warriors to give him touches in the post like he's prime Tim Duncan, but I do expect them to use him in pick-and-rolls and look to throw high-arcing passes to him in the paint that he can catch and finish.

Will Warriors Play Yurtseven or Go Small?

It's not common for an NBA team to give someone a 10-day contract and then barely play him. So the question is will the Warriors actually give Yurtseven legitimate run, or will they go with small-ball lineups?

In Friday's game, the Warriors tried Malevy Leons at center, and it actually didn't go poorly, as they won Leons' minutes.

With that said, I think Steve Kerr will actually give Yurtseven a chance if Horford and Post are out for a while.

The Leons gimmick worked for a few minutes, but eventually the Warriors will get crushed in the paint and on the glass with Leons there. So Yurtseven gives the Warriors a legitimate paint presence on both ends, which is desperately needed.