The Golden State Warriors moved on from Trayce Jackson-Davis in an under-the-radar trade with the Toronto Raptors in February, and they may have now signed two better alternatives in the nearly eight months since that deal.
After signing Charles Bassey late last season and securing the 25-year-old on a minimum contract in free agency, the Warriors have now landed Graham Ike on a two-way contract who could do a reasonable Jackson-Davis impression this season.
Graham Ike signing makes Trayce Jackson-Davis trade looks even better
Ike is completely unproven as a rookie entering the league, but he did earn a two-way contract on Sunday thanks to a very impressive summer league campaign where he was the starting center on a championship team.
There are some obvious similarities between Jackson-Davis and Ike. They're both lefties who are slightly undersized at 6'9", but can still provide impact in the interior on both ends of the floor while also possessing good passing feel.
They both produced big numbers in their final year of college and were named to the All-American teams, yet failed to garner much interest come draft time. Ike went undrafted, while Jackson-Davis may have suffered a similar fate if not for Golden State trading into the 57th overall pick.
Is it possible that Ike could replicate or even be better than Jackson-Davis was when given opportunity? There's a genuine possibility given the now Raptors center hardly set a high bar in his final months as a Warrior, averaging just 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game before February's trade that landed Golden State a second-round pick they used to draft Lajae Jones.
Warriors won't rely on Graham Ike as much as Trayce Jackson-Davis
The good news for Ike is that the center minutes won't fall on his shoulders in a way they once did with Jackson-Davis. The Warriors' center rotation looks far more stable -- which is ironic given the injury-prone nature of Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford -- than it did a couple years back when they were leaning on Jackson-Davis, a rookie Quinten Post and a declining veteran in Kevon Looney.
Golden State will have to manage Porzingis and Horford throughout the regular season, giving both Bassey and Ike an opportunity to thrive and try to secure long-term places at the franchise in a way Jackson-Davis couldn't.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Warriors generally get things right when it comes to the end of the roster, and this appears like another example of that with the shuffle in their center depth over this calendar year.
