FanPost

Why James Michael McAdoo Will Succeed Next Year

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

David Lee, as we all know, is now gone. The question that faces Steve Kerr and his staff is what to do with the spot in the rotation that Lee owned.

When the Dubs traded Lee to Boston, they got Gerald Wallace in return, and the logical choice to replace Lee in the rotation would be Wallace. Wallace, however, is widely expected to have his contract be stretched over 3 years (resulting in the Dubs paying him about $3.3 million a year for three years instead of $10 million this upcoming season), and then be released before the season starts.

With Wallace supposedly gone, who should fill in where Lee left? Granted, DLee did not have a large role in the rotation and he had many, many, games where his stat sheet was full of zeros, including in the minutes played column. On other nights, however, especially when backup power forward Marreesse Speights was struggling, Lee provided minutes and was expected to put up some points.

Lee's lack of minutes throughout the season could mostly be attributed to his inability to fit in with the Warriors' system, and the system is very important to Kerr, as it took a team that lost in the first round in 2013-14 to a team that won it all in 2014-15. Teams rarely play with only two power forwards in the rotation during the season, as an injury to one of those two would mean big trouble, but that was what the Warriors were forced to do. Now that Lee is gone, Kerr will be looking to give a power forward with a good understanding of the system the Warriors run.

Sound like a certain end of the bench/D-League star we know? That's right, James-Michael McAdoo could be the perfect fit to fill David Lee's spot and then some.

Starting at power forward will obviously be Draymond Green, and the man who will come off the bench behind him will be Speights, but the third power forward should be McAdoo. Not only should he follow Speights off the bench, McAdoo and Speights should share some minutes and give each other some rest.

McAdoo was on the Warriors' roster this past season, as he rode the bench with Brandon Rush and Justin Holiday, but he also played a lot of games with the Santa Cruz Warriors, and he dominated D-League play, often looking like a college player playing a bunch of 8th graders. The only thing holding McAdoo back from cracking the Dubs' rotation was Lee, but now that he is gone, the opportunity is there for the taking for McAdoo.

McAdoo has played his entire professional career with the Warriors, and with the Warriors system, so there will be no time needed for McAdoo to adjust to the system. He knows the system well, and he knows how he can succeed in the system, as evidenced in the D-League. McAdoo also had a very strong showing the Summer League, looking like the Warriors best player on the team.

McAdoo showed his drastically improved shooting during the Summer League, something that is very important to Kerr and his staff, and his long arms and athletic ability should allow him to guard multiple positions, something that Speights can't do, and is where I could see McAdoo getting more minutes than Speights at late game situations as defense becomes more important.

Of course, the Warriors just drafted Kevon Looney, who is a very similar player to McAdoo, but is less developed. If McAdoo is given more minutes, it will allow Looney to play big minutes in the D-League, and it would let Looney fine-tune his game, and improve his defensive play in a way that only playing in a game could. Looney needs to develop, and sending him down to the D-Leauge is a very healthy way for the organization to develop him, and if McAdoo is given minutes with the big league team, it will allow Looney to follow the path of McAdoo, splitting time between Oakland and Santa Cruz until he is fully ready to thrive with the Dubs.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!