NBA Rumors: Kent Bazemore wants 3-year deal from Golden State Warriors
Veteran Kent Bazemore's future is still up in the air, but the latest NBA rumors suggest that the Golden State Warriors want to keep him around. Bazemore signed a one-year minimum deal with the Warriors for the 2020-21 season and went on to make some useful contributions to Steve Kerr's unit.
As per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Golden State Warriors are keen to re-sign Kent Bazemore in free agency. Scotto reported:
"Golden State would like to bring back Bazemore, I’m told… A source close to Bazemore told HoopsHype that he wants to get a multi-year deal, two years sure, but ideally a long-term three-year deal."
Kent Bazemore came off the bench on most occasions for the Golden State Warriors during the 2020-21 season. Following Kelly Oubre Jr.'s wrist injury in April, Bazemore was promoted to the starting lineup. He averaged 10.6 points, five rebounds and 1.5 steals per game during this stretch.
NBA Rumors: Should the Golden State Warriors re-sign Kent Bazemore?
Kent Bazemore isn't someone who'll move the needle for the Golden State Warriors, but he's certainly a serviceable backup wing. Bazemore enjoyed the Warriors' floor spacing and shot a career-high 40.8% from downtown this season. He's also an active defender and tends to disrupt plays quite often.
The Golden State Warriors have enough reasons to give Kent Bazemore another contract, but it will all boil down to finances. The Warriors are already deep into luxury tax and would want to sign him on a cheap deal.
Bazemore earned $2.3 million this season so if the Dubs want to use the non-bird exception, they'll have to offer him a salary starting at 120% of that, which would be roughly $2.8 million. But this may not be a competitive enough offer if Bazemore gets interest from elsewhere in the offseason.
Also read: NBA Rumors - Kelly Oubre looking for over $20M in the summer as Golden State Warriors contemplate moving rookie James Wiseman