NBA Golden State Warriors

Aaron Craft Will Address Hole in Golden State Warriors’ Roster

Fresh Videos

By

Aaron Craft

Getty Images

Last week, the Golden State Warriors signed former Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft to a partially guaranteed one-year deal. The move comes after point guard Nemanja Nedovic went down with a foot fracture and is slated to miss much of the season and following Craft’s strong showing with the Dubs’ summer league team.

Craft primarily excels at two things: running the offense and playing staunch perimeter defense. Besides Stephen Curry, the Warriors do not really have a point guard capable of running the offense, as Shaun Livingston is more of a combo guard who lacks the ball handling ability to be a strong facilitator.

Craft could fill in that role as a bench facilitator; during each of his four years at Ohio State, Craft averaged a shade under five assists a game, a solid number in a college game that is not inherently conducive to assists given its slow pace and emphasis on defense.

Craft also became known as a lockdown perimeter defender during his days at Ohio State despite his 6-foot-2 frame and weighing in at 195 pounds. While Livingston is also more than capable of manning the perimeter in bench-heavy units for the Warriors, adding another player who can bully opposing point guards in the point guard-heavy Western Conference certainly wouldn’t hurt. The Warriors’ bench was atrocious on defense last year, and any help they can enlist to improve those defensive ratings should be welcomed.

While Craft is not a lock to make the Warriors’ final roster by any means, training camp will show if he will be able to make an impact for Golden State. Given his unique skill set, it looks like he will.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on