The Golden State Warriors are slated to begin training camp today.

Yesterday, the Warriors were afforded the ability to voice their own aspirations and opinions for the upcoming season to the media and Warriors fans alike.

While the day was headlined by the press conference of Andrew Wiggins and his opinions on whether or not he will receive the impending Covid vaccination. The inevitable Hall of Fame point guard and Warriors Legend, Steph Curry, took to the stand to answer questions from the media. Curry, heading into his 13th season with the Warriors, has grown into the role of not only the franchise leading scorer but also as a liaison between public and media interest and front office decision making.

One of the most important questions coming into the season is whether or not they will opt to use their mid-level taxpayer exception. The MLE affords the Warriors some much-needed flexibility with whoever they are able to acquire prior to or during the NBA season, whether it be in free agency or the buyout market. Steph, when asked if the Warriors should use their taxpayer mid-level exception valued at $5.9 million, responded, “Yes, Yes and Yes”.

It has now been made abundantly clear that the Warriors would like to use their taxpayer MLE in either the buyout market or free agency. But we need look no further than last year to see proof that just because they may want to use it, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will have an opportunity to sign the right player.

There are several players that come to mind when talking about a potential buyout signee. Kevin Love being one, the five-time all-star and former NBA champion is well past his prime but still could add depth and value to this Warriors roster. Of course, Love’s remaining contract of $31 million this year and $28 million the upcoming year would have to be bought out by the Cavaliers as they try and build around their young core.

Additionally, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Evan Mobley with the third pick in the draft as well as the acquisition of Jared Allen last January. This proves that the franchise is beginning to build towards the future and with a large contract like Love’s that they will have to pay, regardless, it may be smarter for Cleveland to part ways with the NBA veteran and focus more on the development of their frontcourt without having to give minutes to Love.

With the Warriors ideally using the taxpayer MLE, they will find more value in the buyout market as teams around the league are constantly looking to build towards the future in the form of rebuilding their roster. The Warriors could use a veteran presence at the end of their bench to help some of their younger guys out as well as provide a spark of either offense or defense in times of need.

If we look at past championship Warriors teams there always seems to be a common theme of veteran leadership. In 2015, they had Leandro Barbosa and David Lee, In 2017, they had Matt Barnes and David West. These players didn’t play a pivotal role in offensive or defensive production but were massively important in the sense that they provided a veteran presence for the younger guys to learn from.

All in All, the Warriors would be wise to use their Taxpayer MLE should the opportunity present itself. This team has become a melting pot of young and old with more younger players than old. The majority of the Warriors roster is in their early to mid-twenties so I feel it would be wise to go out and be very aggressive when it comes to using their MLE on a veteran.

There is no way to tell who will become available but pay very close attention to the buyout market in the upcoming weeks as teams around the NBA may begin to off-load large player contracts as they gear up for the 2021-2022 season and or realize that the 21-22’ season may not be going as well as they had hoped.