The Golden State Warriors are going to be asking a lot of a 39-year-old Al Horford next season, assuming the veteran center eventually signs with the franchise in free agency as is widely expected.

Young duo Trayce Jackson-Davis and particularly Quinten Post should be able to lessen the burden on Horford during the regular season, but they may not be ideal options come the playoffs if the 18-year veteran were to get injured or become physically worn down.

The Warriors haven’t been linked to many other veteran center options outside Horford this offseason, but that could change if surging buyout rumors come true which would gift the franchise a dream insurance plan.

Long-rumored trade target Nikola Vucevic could be a buyout candidate

Before Golden State narrowed their focus to Horford as a free agent, they’d spent considerable time strongly linked to 2x All-Star Nikola Vucevic as a veteran stretch five in the months leading up to Febraury’s trade deadline.

Interest in trading for Vucevic has since quietened considerably, not only from the Warriors but elsewhere across the entire league. The complete lack of trade market could lead to the Bulls actually executing a buyout with Vucevic instead, perhaps not now but during the course of next season.

“I think at this juncture we’re probably more likely to see a Nikola Vucevic buyout mid-season than we are to see a trade, depending on how the market unfolds, depending on how injuries develop. There just really hasn’t been much of a Nikola Vucevic trade market for a while,” NBA insider Jake Fischer said on Thursday.

Vucevic is on a $21.5 million expiring contract which teams don’t appear eager to trade for despite an impressive year last season where he averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 53% shooting from the floor and 40.2% from 3-point range.

Defensive concerns are probably restricting external interest from Golden State and others, but that’s much less of a problem if Vucevic became a free agent following a buyout. At the very least the 34-year-old could offer another veteran presence who’s arguably more offensively skilled than Horford, even if he doesn’t offer anywhere near the same defensive versatility.

Ensuring that Horford and Draymond Green aren’t worn down over the course of the season will be vitally important to Golden State’s hopes for success, so adding another big man option shouldn’t be totally off the radar for the front office.

None of the current free agency options look overly appealing, but that would change dramatically if Vucevic suddenly became an option after so much speculation surrounding him as a potential trade target of the Warriors previously.