{"id":149797,"date":"2025-07-11T12:26:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=149797"},"modified":"2025-07-11T12:26:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:26:21","slug":"the-warriors-could-use-yves-missi-to-solve-biggest-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/11\/the-warriors-could-use-yves-missi-to-solve-biggest-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"The Warriors Could Use 3.5 ORPG 6’11” Big To Solve Biggest Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO<\/strong> \u2013 The Golden State Warriors<\/a> have been the quietest big-market team this offseason. This silence frustrates fans who expected aggressive moves after the Jimmy Butler<\/a> splash and a gritty playoff win against Houston<\/a>. The team still faces the huge question of Jonathan Kuminga\u2019s<\/a> restricted free agency. No resolution there<\/a> yet. While free agency drifts away, the front office can still work magic through the trade market. One clever target to fix a glaring hole? A big body with real upside \u2014 Yves Missi<\/a> of the New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Warriors Could Use Yves Missi To Solve Biggest Issue<\/h2>\n

Why Missi Makes Sense Now<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Yves
Mar 28, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) grabs a rebound against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Golden State lost Kevon Looney<\/a>, a loyal glue guy, to the Pelicans. Looney\u2019s offensive skills were never the draw. His value came through rebounding, connecting passes, and smart off-ball play. He averaged 2.5 offensive boards a night, giving the Warriors extra possessions they needed badly.<\/p>\n

His rebounding isn\u2019t easily replaced. The 2025 free agent class thinned quickly. The rumor mill says Al Horford<\/a> could join the Warriors soon. That helps, but Horford is 39. Add him to Stephen Curry<\/a>, Jimmy Butler<\/a>, and Draymond Green<\/a> \u2014 you have an aging core with heavy mileage. You can\u2019t lean on them for eighty-plus games and deep playoff runs. That\u2019s why the Warriors’ Yves Missi plan must happen to freshen up the frontcourt.<\/p>\n

Missi\u2019s Numbers Make The Case<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Missi, a 6’11” second-team all-rookie last season, averaged 3.5 offensive rebounds per game. Top ten in the league. He alone can almost wipe out the hole left by Looney\u2019s exit. He\u2019s raw. He\u2019ll make mistakes. But a young, bouncy big with motor covers so many sins.<\/p>\n

If Horford signs, Missi lightens his burden. He keeps Butler from battling bigger forwards for extra possessions every night. That saves legs and possibly prevents wear-and-tear injuries down the stretch. This is how contenders build depth: mix trusted veterans with fresh energy.<\/p>\n

Money And Fit Both Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A Warriors and Yves Missi union makes sense financially. He\u2019s still on his rookie contract for three years. The front office can match his salary with spare minimum deals. The Kuminga contract situation adds a tax layer. So finding value deals like Missi is gold for cap management. You keep your big three happy, protect your cap, and add real rotation help for pennies on the dollar.<\/p>\n

The Pelicans would pick up the phone. They drafted Derik Queen<\/a> and signed Looney. Their center room is crowded. They\u2019d flip Missi for picks or small contracts. A Yves Missi trade checks all the boxes \u2014 need, cost, age, upside.<\/p>\n

No-Brainer For A Sneaky Contender<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Butler trade shows the Warriors want one more shot with Curry. But wanting it isn\u2019t enough. Winning it means solving small issues before they break you in May. Offensive rebounding was the quiet weakness last season. Missi can patch that. He\u2019s a project but a perfect low-risk swing.<\/p>\n

In a summer when the Warriors have mostly sat still, trading for Yves Missi could be the spark that keeps this window alive just a bit longer.<\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 The Golden State Warriors have been the quietest big-market team this offseason. This silence frustrates fans who expected aggressive moves after the Jimmy Butler splash and a gritty playoff win against Houston. The team still faces the huge question of Jonathan Kuminga\u2019s restricted free agency. No resolution there yet. While free agency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":149806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,25,33,3,4721],"tags":[250,142,4612,4557,48,49284],"class_list":["post-149797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-warriors","category-pelicans","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-al-horford","tag-jimmy-butler","tag-kevin-looney","tag-nba-offseason","tag-stephen-curry","tag-yves-missi"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149807,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149797\/revisions\/149807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}