The Golden State Warriors may have lost Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler, but Big Yurt isn’t going anywhere.
27-year-old Ömer Yurtseven is signing a second 10-day contract with the Warriors, who are without centers Al Horford (calf) and Quinten Post (foot) at present. Yurtseven has
appeared in five games for the Warriors, averaging 3.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He’s made five baskets, dunked once, and gone 6-for-10 from the foul line.
The Warriors do need the front court depth and Yurtseven is extremely 6-foot-11, perhaps his most valuable NBA skill. He’s a solid rebounder but a limited defender in the post and doesn’t have an outside shot. Still, he has three games of 20+ points, which is three more than a lot of players.
Yurtseven played two seasons with the Miami Heat and one for the Utah Jazz before spending most of the last two seasons with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos, before injuries and a roster crunch led to his release. He ended up on the Rio Grande Vipers, the Houston Rockets’ G League team, where he averaged 23 points and 13.3 rebounds in three dominant games.
Incidentally, Panathinaikos has a roster perfect for Remembering Some Guys. Yurtseven shared the frontcourt with Morehead State/Denver Nuggets legend Kenneth Faried, “Hustle” star and Adam Sandler bestie Juancho “Bo Cruz”Hernangomez, along with longtime Cleveland Cavalier Cedi Osman. The Greek team also employs Jerian Grant, son of Harvey Grant and brother of the Portland Trail Blazers forward and legendary bag-getter Jerami Grant, as well as Kendrick Nunn, an alumnus of the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and Santa Cruz Warriors.
Yurtseven is clearly an NBA player, albeit probably a third center on most teams. But because of his Turkish citizenship, he’s probably more valuable to a European team, considering most leagues have caps on how many non-European players they can roster. That’s a big reason Warriors legend Anthony Randolph became a citizen of Slovenia, where he achieved his championship destiny as part of the 2017 EuroCup gold medalists.
How did the Warriors ever let this incredible player, champion, and Summer League legend go?
Will Yurtseven get a real NBA deal when this 10-day is up? Considering that the Warriors are slumping but still locked into the last play-in spot, the team may choose to save money by keeping the roster as lean as possible. Still, they may need Yurtseven if the centers remain banged up, and it may be a choice between the Turkish center or promoting two-way guard LJ Cryer at the end of the season.
Welcome back, Ömer! Please help Golden State beat the Brooklyn Nets. They’re not even trying to win!
