Golden State Warriors veteran backup center Jermaine O'Neal hasn't committed to playing another season. If O'Neal did retire, free agent Emeka Okafor could be one name the Warriors look at to replace him.
O'Neal could be considering retiring before the season the starts. Warriors general manager Bob Myers told the San Francisco Chronicle he spoke Monday with O'Neal but felt uncertain whether the 35-year-old would return for a 19th season. It also doesn't help that the Warriors fired coach Mark Jackson, whom O'Neal was a big supporter of.
Although he's past his prime as a starter, O'Neal helped anchor the second unit with his 7.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He was a reliable backup with a 15.34 PER in his 20 minutes per game, a consistent off-the-bench contribution Golden State needs in the postseason.
Festus Ezeli is the in-house replacement, but he's coming off a knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season. Given the uncertainty of Ezeli, along with starting center Andrew Bogut's history of getting injured, Golden State could look to bring in a free agent to provide a reliable backup big man.
The best option on the market currently is Okafor, a proven rim-protector who can defend the paint. There're two problems with pursuing him, though: 1) He's also coming off missing a whole season because of an injury and it's uncertain when he'll be cleared to play, and 2) Golden State is going to have a lot of competition for him once he's healthy.
If Golden State does look to bring in outside help, it probably wouldn't be until midseason, or at the earliest after training camp.
