With less than a week until NBA teams start training camp there are not many good free agents out there, yet teams will bring in guys to compete for a roster spot. One of the few free agents out there who still might be able to make an impact for an NBA team this year is Ben Gordon and he is reportedly closing in on a deal with the Golden State Warriors to secure a training camp invite, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
The Warriors are reportedly looking for an extra shooter to bring into camp and Gordon is still out there and it appears a deal is close to getting done. Gordon would represent the 18th player signed to a contract by the Warriors and he is expected to compete for a spot on the final 15 man roster.
As it stands now the shooting guards are Klay Thompson, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush, Ian Clark and Chris Babb. Gordon would likely be competing with Rush mostly for a spot as Babb and Clark aren't expected to have much of a chance to make the team. Rush is coming off an awful 2014-15 campaign, which he admitted himself, and Gordon has slowed severely over the past few years so this competition should be interesting.
Gordon is now 32 years old and has played for four diferent teams in his 11 year NBA career. Last season he played with the Orlando Magic and in 56 games off the bench he averaged only 14.1 minutes per game but still was able to average 6.2 points. Gordon is a career 40 percent three point shooter but over the past two years he has shot it well below that so the Warriors are hoping he can show in camp that he can get back to his old form.
32 years old is definitely not too old to still play in the NBA and the Warriors clearly agree based on their reported interest in Gordon. Golden State already has a stacked roster so if Gordon can earn a roster spot out of training camp he would likely just provide shooting depth off the bench but the one thing we know about Gordon is he has always been able to score and that could be helpful for the Warriors as they look to defend their championship.
