Brooklyn Nets forward Yuta Watanabe is listed as a top free-agent target of the Golden State Warriors, according to a recent article by Bleacher Report. Watanabe is currently an unrestricted free-agent this summer after signing a 1-year, $1.8 million non-guaranteed contract with the Nets this past summer.
Watanabe, 28, just completed his fifth season in the NBA after previous stops with the Memphis Grizzlies (2018-20) and the Toronto Raptors (2020-22). For his career, Watanabe is averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 43.9% from the field and 39% from three-point land. He had a bit of a breakout for Brooklyn as he bumped his scoring average up to 5.6 points per game and shot 49.1% from the field and 44.4% from behind the three-point line.
One of Watanabe’s best games of the 2022-23 season came in a 2-point win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 17. In that contest, Watanabe had a season-high 20 points (shooting 5-of-7 from three-point land) and pulled down seven rebounds as well. Here’s what Zach Buckley of B/R had to say about Watanabe being a free-agent target of the Warriors:
“With the Warriors potentially looking to cut costs in light of the collective bargaining agreement’s new restrictions on big spenders, they may only have minimum money to throw around on players outside the organization.
That would obviously drain the player pool considerably, but maybe they could sneak in a potential bargain like Yuta Watanabe.
His 2022-23 breakout was interrupted by the Brooklyn Nets’ deadline dealing, which quickly congested the wing rotation. Watanabe was often squeezed out, which potentially clouds over what was otherwise a convincing campaign.
He spent the first half of the season energizing a Nets team that was still championship chasing with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Watanabe, a 6’9″ swingman, consistently made his presence felt with energetic defense, transition attacking and a three-ball that fell at a personal-best rate of 44.4 percent (and a ridiculous 51.4 percent from the corners, per NBA.com).”
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