Golden State Warriors: Ranking every member of the team’s bench
7. Alec Burks
If you haven’t been following along during the offseason and were hoping to get a full sense of what the Golden State Warriors were working with by watching the preseason, you probably have no idea about Alec Burks.
Burks was initially signed to help bolster a second unit with question marks littered about. But a high ankle sprain kept out for the entirety of the preseason, and it’s still not a lock that he’ll be playing on opening night.
Burks may be the only true backup small forward on the roster now that Alfonzo McKinnie is no longer with the team. He’s been a part of a number of offensively limited squads over his eight-year career.
That might not be his fault, but his numbers don’t especially jump off the page as anything completely game-changing.
Last season with the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Sacramento Kings, Burks put together 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists across 64 games. He shot 36% from three-point range, shooting especially well from the right corner.
He’ll get the nod to play significant minutes whenever he’s available for two key reasons.
Firstly, there aren’t really any other options unless the Warriors choose to plug in someone from out of position. That would most likely leave Golden State very small — and not because of any elite shooter needing to be fit into the lineup.
Secondly, his contract is fully guaranteed. He’s going to be around the entire year because the Warriors can’t cut him and don’t really have any better options.
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This might come across as though Burks is a sunk cost, but he isn’t. He’s shown glimpses of being a pretty effective rim-runner with some playmaking ability.
That, paired with his relative veteran presence might end up going a long way for a second unit that might be entirely made up of first and second-year players, at times. He won’t be anywhere near the playmaker of Andre Iguodala, but he should stabilize the bench.
The biggest question mark for him this season will be his ability to remain healthy for the majority of the season.
The Warriors don’t have a lot of wiggle room to mess around with their roster, so a fully guaranteed contract is somewhat of a gamble for them. The expectation is that Burks will be ready to contribute in the first few games of the season.
But looming ankle issues like what we saw out of the preseason could spell disaster for any hope of the second unit being playable.
Ultimately, Burks might be a player that comes into his own playing alongside some of the talent that the Golden State Warriors already have. There’s a good chance that a better overall offensive system will improve those shooting numbers.
Hopefully we get to see that version of Burks. But, before anything else, he’s going to have to get healthy in order to help flesh out the small forward depth.