Newcomers Porter, Bjelica key Warriors’ dynamic long-range offense

Warriors fans who paid little attention during the preseason may not believe what they’re about to see with the regular season now here.

Of course, nothing Stephen Curry does beginning with Tuesday night’s opener against the Lakers will surprise anyone. And Jordan Poole’s emergence last season was a pretty good indicator he’ll be a real factor as the Warriors try to snap a two-year playoff drought.

Anyone thinking Klay Thompson will be suiting up Tuesday, or any time soon, has really been disconnected from the Dubs.

But anyone who missed the preseason play of bargain bin free-agent bigs Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica is in for quite a treat. With their “3-and-D” skills, Porter and Bjelica have helped bring a dimension off the bench never seen during Steve Kerr’s eight years with the Warriors.

The 28-year-old Porter, who was limited to 42 games the past two years with Chicago and Orlando because of back, hip and foot injuries, suddenly looks like the man who earned a max deal (4 years, $106 million) from Washington four years ago. When he’s not been flying around on defense or helping space the floor by whipping passes, the 6-foot-8 Porter has been burying 3-pointers – he’s shooting 55 percent from distance (16-of-29) – with more proficiency than his 40-percent career average.

The Warriors are getting this kind of play out of a man making $2.4 million, or $26.1 million less than he earned last year — not that Porter is complaining. He realized he needed to accept a make-good contract somewhere this off-season and the Warriors were at the top of his list.

“To me, it was an easy decision, knowing where I’m at in my career and what I want to accomplish,” Porter told reporters during training camp.

Those into comparisons could make the case Porter’s arrival has the potential to work out like another under-the-radar Warrior free-agent signing years ago. Certainly, Porter’s situation is reminiscent of when Shaun Livingston joined the Warriors to bolster their bench and help trigger a championship run.

Livingston was a former No. 4 overall pick in the draft who had injuries hamper his career before enjoying a renaissance with the Warriors. Porter was the No. 3 overall pick by Washington in 2013 and seemed on his way to a big career before injuries slowed him in 2018.

Porter will likely be spending much of his time this season playing alongside the 6-foot-10 Bjelica, another skilled big man whose specialty is passing, defending and shooting. Still, shooting has really been Bjelica’s calling card in the league — he’s shot 39-percent on 3’s during his seven NBA seasons.

Similar to Porter, Bjelica didn’t need to spend much time contemplating whether to take the Warriors’ minimum-deal offer of $2.1 million. The former Sacramento King and Minnesota Timberwolves forward/center said joining the Warriors simplified his life on the court.

“It’s much easier to play with this group of guys, especially when Steph is on the court,” Bjelica said last week.

Warriors fans will recognize another of their team’s minimum-deal free agents once they see Andre Iguodala back in his familiar No. 9 jersey. Iguodala still doesn’t offer distance shooting, but his defense and play-making skills are still weapons. Knowing the Warriors culture, he was OK taking an 82 percent pay cut from his $15 million contract at Miami when he got a $2.6 million deal over the summer.

If all goes according to plan, folks will be able to point to the combined $7.1 million spent on Porter, Bjelica and Iguodala as a steal of a deal.

With Porter and Bjelica aboard, it’s no coincidence the Warriors are launching 3-pointers like no one’s ever done before. Since adding those two to the mix with Curry and Poole, Golden State averaged a whopping 53 3-point attempts per game during a 5-0 preseason.

It’s a trend that should continue into the regular season, even with Thompson out for the next couple of months or so.

“We’ve always been top-heavy,” Kerr said during the preseason. “But this is the most depth we’ve had with our shooting.”

The Warriors’ new-look, long-range game officially begins Tuesday night. Enjoy.