Editor’s note: The Chronicle is reviewing the season of each player after the Warriors’ second straight championship run.

As the NBA trends toward a position-less brand of basketball, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia faces a tricky question: How does he stay relevant in a league in which his skill set is increasingly less needed?

Pachulia has worked diligently on switching off screens to defend shooters along the perimeter, only to watch the much younger Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell — two prototypical small-ball centers — eat into his minutes. Now, after being limited to garbage time in the playoffs, Pachulia’s career is at a crossroads.

It’s a sobering turn of events for someone who started every game he played for the 2016-17 NBA champions. But even as he was anchored to the bench, Pachulia hardly complained, staying late after practice for games of 3-of-3 and peppering teammates with pointers. Head coach Steve Kerr went out of his way multiple times during the playoffs to laud Pachulia’s professionalism.

That his sudden nosedive in playing time was through no fault of his own only made it tougher to stomach.

In today’s NBA, in which speed and versatility are prized over size, the traditional center has become more luxury than necessity. For the first several months of the season, Kerr liked having Pachulia’s size and screen-setting ability for seven-minute bursts to start the first and third quarters. Seldom did he play down the stretch in close games, however.

After poring over team analytics over the All-Star break, Kerr knew he needed to shake up his starting lineup. Golden State’s defensive rating in the first five minutes was significantly worse than it was the previous season despite using the same starting unit.

Though Pachulia had been providing the nuances — picks, pinpoint passes, solid positional defense — that are fundamental to his job, he was the only player Kerr could reasonably move out of the starting lineup. The hope was that JaVale McGee’s speed, energy and shot-blocking ability would offer a jolt to a group that had been less productive than its pedigree would suggest was possible.

It wasn’t long before Kerr decided to start changing his starting center game-to-game based on matchups. When Kerr shortened his rotation in the playoffs, Pachulia became an afterthought. Among Warriors players, only Patrick McCaw, who was sidelined by a spine injury until Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, and Damian Jones played fewer minutes than Pachulia in the postseason.

Offseason outlook: It is highly unlikely that Pachulia, who will become an unrestricted free agent Sunday, will return to the Warriors next season.

Given how the league is trending, Golden State probably doesn’t need more than one or two prototypical centers. McGee, who is four years younger than Pachulia, has a far better chance of re-signing.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron

More Information Zaza Pachulia bio Age: 34Position: Center Ht./Wt.: 6-11, 270 pounds Hometown: Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia College: NoneYears pro: 15 2017-18 averages: 5.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 14.1 minutes per game Contract status: Pachulia will become an unrestricted free agent Sunday. Warriors announce Summer League roster Three current Warriors players — Jordan Bell, Damian Jones and recent draft pick Jacob Evans III — highlight Golden State’s Summer League roster, which was announced Wednesday. Player-development coach Willie Green will serve as head coach of the team. After participating in the inaugural California Classic Summer League in Sacramento from July 2-5, Golden State will play in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2018 in Las Vegas from July 6-17. Schedule and full roster, B9