A lot has happened with the Golden State Warriors this offseason, so some things are easy to overlook. Steph Curry and Steve Kerr led Team USA to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and then made political speeches at the Democratic National Convention. They signed Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton and executed a sign-and-trade deal for Buddy Hield. They signed Quinten Post and tried unsuccessfully to sign Paul George and Lauri Markkanen. They opted out of Chris Paul’s contract and watched him sign with the San Antonio Spurs, and said goodbye to franchise legend Klay Thompson, who joined the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal.

That’s a lot. But who’s counting it all?

But before all these moves came the first domino effect of the offseason: the trade of the No. 52 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (which they got back a few hours later and used to draft Post) to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the scoring winger Lindy Waters III.

Waters has been forgotten by many Warriors fans, and it’s not hard to see why. After their spate of trades, the team – while perhaps not great – seems to have too many good players to adequately utilize all of their minutes.

As things stand, it’s hard to imagine Waters getting more playing time than Anderson, Melton, Hield, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gary Payton II or Kevon Looney. I’m not a professional mathematician, but by my calculations, that’s 12 more players than Waters in the rankings, and that doesn’t even include Post or Gui Santos, who are vying for a spot in the rotation.

In other words, it is hard to imagine Waters playing a role. And yet, in the NBA, always a role to be carved out, and Waters has shown a lot of potential. Here are some ways he could help the Dubs more than you might think.

Depth for an inbound trade

While I did say that Waters has 12 players ahead of him on the list, that was a bit of a dramatic view. Looney and Green aren’t stopping him from getting minutes…if any of those players were injured, it wouldn’t make it any easier for Waters to get on the field.

But Moody is blocking Waters. Wiggins is blocking Waters. And Payton is blocking Waters. And it’s easy to imagine one of those three — maybe even two of those three — being traded in the right deal in the next two months.

It’s an aspect of squad construction that is often overlooked, but it’s always easier to make a big transfer when you know you have enough players to replace the one leaving.

An offensive

Waters hit 43.5% of his three-pointers last year, and while he’s “only” hit 37.7% in his three-year career, he has the shots to shoot a ton of threes in a short amount of time. The Warriors – and Steve Kerr in particular – know firsthand how valuable it is to have a player who comes off the bench and is on fire.

Even if Waters is way down the roster, he’s the type of player Kerr will likely turn to when the offense lets him down… and he could be the spark that turns things around in any given game.

And if his hitting percentage stays around 43.5% this year? Well, that’s a player who will work his way into the rotation, which we know is flexible.

Appointment flexibility

Just as the depth that Waters provides gives the team more freedom to pursue a trade in the remainder of the offseason, it gives them the same freedom should they try to make a big deal at the trade deadline in February. Waters could also be used at the deadline to match salaries on a larger deal or simply to get the Dubs a future second-round pick.

Defensive disorders

On his best day, Waters can fill a bit of a Shaun Livingston role. He’s a very solid defensive player with the mobility of a guard but the length (6’6″ with an even longer wingspan) of a winger. He regularly gets into the passing lane and disrupts play and could be part of an exciting, active and stubborn defensive lineup.

In short, Waters has a chance to contribute in some capacity. He may have faded into obscurity in many people’s minds, but he’s still a player who could play a key role in a successful season.