While Steve Kerr grapples with 11 players who may warrant rotation minutes for the Golden State over the remainder of the season, a line seems to have been put through second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The 25-year-old was again an onlooker as the Warriors took down the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, having seen a rare and limited opportunity during the first-half of Tuesday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jackson-Davis played just over four minutes in that game, tallying one point and one rebound as Kerr looked for a spark off the bench on the second night of a back-to-back.
Trayce Jackson-Davis' time in the Warriors rotation appears limited
Few can really blame Jackson-Davis for failing to take advantage of that opportunity on Tuesday, having seen very little on-court playing time over the past two months. The former 57th overall pick now has 13 DNPs since January 29, and hasn't played more than 15 minutes in a game since January 22 against the Sacramento Kings.
Jackson-Davis surged past veteran Kevon Looney in the rotation last season, but this time around has become the victim to a new rookie year revelation. Another late second-round pick, Quinten Post, has almost made Jackson-Davis an afterthought with his combination of seven-foot size and incredible shooting from 3-point range.
This time 12 months ago, Jackson-Davis was viewed as the future for Golden State at the center position. Fast-forward to now and the future centers around Post who still has high upside despite his advanced age for a rookie.
The Dutchman is already one of the best shooters among big men in the league, shows a knack for passing amid a generally high IQ, and has taken steps as a rim protector and presence in the paint defensively over recent weeks.
On the other hand, Jackson-Davis hasn't been able to build on the athleticism and subsequent interior force that he displayed last season. Slightly undersized at 6'9" and with a limited offensive game, his ceiling is evidently far below what Post could develop into.
This isn't to say that Jackson-Davis doesn't have an NBA future, or that he couldn't become a rotational piece for the Warriors over the long-term. Some may even argue that Kerr should be utilizing both young big men right now, but it's clear the head coach wants to intertwine one with the experience and veteran reliability of 3x champion Kevon Looney.
That means that in the short-term, a line has practically already been put through Jackson-Davis as a rotational player come playoff time. You can't bench a player for this length of time over the second-half of the season and expect him to come back and have a meaningful impact so late in the piece, meaning Jackson-Davis should already have things in mind that he desperately wants to work on during the summer.
