For a while there, Andris Biedrins looked like an underrated young center with some serious upside — that’s why the Warriors inked the then-22-year-old to a $54 million deal in July 2008.

The 7-footer played well for the first month of his contract, a stretch of time those around the Bay Area remember fondly, but since then it’s been a mysterious downward decline for Biedrins. And unfortunately for the Warriors, they’ve never had another center capable of replacing him for any length of time.

That will change this season when Biedrins moves to the bench in favor of Andrew Bogut. The big question, then, becomes how far down in the depth Biedrins will fall. Festus Ezeli, a 6-foot-11, 255-pound force out of Vanderbilt, was the Warriors’ second first-round pick in June, and could very well give the team the interior toughness, rebounding and occasional offense that Biedrins simply hasn’t provided in nearly four full seasons.

via Joe Kaiser of ESPN