Warriors Get The Exact Opposite Of Kevin Garnett

After getting oh-so-close to nabbing Kevin Garnett on draft day (and ignoring our need for Sheed), the Warriors have signed the one NBA player who is pretty much the exact opposite of KG: Austin Croshere.

Wait.

Austin Croshere.

… the Warriors signed Austin Croshere?!

Along with signing last year’s second-round pick from Belgrade, 7′2′ Kosta Perovic, that means that 14 of the 15 roster spots are filled up. We suppose Croshere is meant to replace Matt Barnes (who, by the way, hasn’t received any offers yet, leading him to fire a second agent), but we have to wonder why Croshere?

In his prime, Croshere was a solid shooter with the Pacers. His best year, however, came nearly a decade ago, in 1999. Last year, coming off the bench (as he surely will do this year), the shooting specialist shot a miserable 28% from three-point land. He has a career 40% shooting percentage, which is astonishingly low for a 6-10 forward, including just 33% for career threes, which is astonishingly low for a reputed sharpshooter.

Granted, Mullin did sign him for the veteran’s minimum, and since it’s only a one-year deal, the team will only have to pay $771,000, but wouldn’t it have been better to let Nellie find yet another diamond in the D-League rough? In the tradition of Matt Barnes and Kelenna Azubuike, Nellie has proven that he can find good players who can be signed to the (non-veteran’s) minimum. Azubuike made just $259,000 last year. Furthermore, with young players, there’s the possibility of upside. Croshere has none of that.

Thoughts? Rationale?

Warriors getting busy filling out their roster [Mercury News]