The Warriors’ summer has gone nowhere near the script plenty of people imagined.
Golden State was once viewed as a serious possibility to land LeBron James, and the team also kicked around the idea of trading for Anthony Davis. Neither move happened, and the result has been a roster that looks a lot more familiar than fresh.
As NBA writer Jake Weinbach put it, “The Warriors are officially running it back despite missing the playoffs last season. Golden State re-signed Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II this summer,"
That underwhelming offseason has only pushed the Steph Curry conversation louder into the open. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said on “NBA Today” that Curry should start thinking seriously about his next move.
“Steph needs to be planning his exit strategy from the Golden State Warriors," said Perkins on 'NBA Today'." Think about it, over the last four years, the Warriors have been in the play-in tournament.
And this year, the way that the West is stacked up, they're gonna be a play-in tournament team again. You can't waste any more time hoping and banking that Mike Dunleavy is gonna get it right or is gonna make the moves that are needed to make sure that you can compete for a title, especially in a tough Western Conference.
If Golden State ever did decide to move Curry, Heavy.com’s Adel Ahmad laid out a massive three-team proposal that would send him to Toronto.
“Raptors receive: Steph Curry and Caleb Martin. Warriors receive: Immanuel Quickley, P.J.
Washington, Ja’Kobe Walter, a 2028 first round pick (via TOR) and two second round picks (via TOR). Mavericks receive: RJ Barrett,” Ahmad wrote.
The deal would be a jarring one for Curry, who would presumably prefer to end his career in Golden State. But from the Warriors’ perspective, it would bring back a pair of younger pieces with a chance to matter for the next stage.
Washington and Quickley are making a combined $250 million on their current contracts. And with Curry’s career inching toward its finish line, Golden State could choose to cash in while there’s still real value on the table. If it ever came to that, Curry could always return to the Warriors in free agency.
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Warriors May Already Be Running Out Of Answers For Their Scoring Need
The Warriors search for scoring help has already gotten more complicated than it looked when DeMar DeRozan first surfaced as a possible buyout target. Golden State had been tied to the former Kings wing after his exit from Sacramento, but the buzz has cooled as the team works through a tighter financial picture and a thinner list of realistic options.
With the non-taxpayer mid-level exception already used on DeAnthony Melton, the Warriors are left shopping in the minimum-contract aisle, which makes the field much tougher to navigate. DeRozans market is drawing other contenders as well, with the Miami Heat involved and Denver widely viewed as the team best positioned if he decides to take that kind of deal, leaving Golden State to weigh how much appetite it really has to keep waiting. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Still Have One Big Roster Question Behind Luka Doncic
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League chatter has them monitoring the market for big men and keeping trade and free-agent options open, which is the sort of lingering roster question that can shape how the rest of the offseason unfolds. One possibility floating around involves Houston center Clint Capela, but for now the broader point is simpler: Los Angeles is still hunting for another body in the middle before camp opens. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Currys Old Warriors Vision Now Feels Hard To Ignore
Back in 2022, Stephen Curry sketched out a future for the Warriors that sounded like a natural next chapter in the dynasty. He talked about Jordan Poole as a future All-Star, Jonathan Kuminga as an All-Defensive caliber player and James Wiseman as an MVP candidate within five years, a young core that could carry the franchise while Curry and the veterans eased into the background.
Instead, the path from that idea to today has been far messier. Poole was traded after his well-publicized fallout with Draymond Green, Wiseman was moved and is no longer in the NBA, and Kuminga has since been traded and remains unsigned, leaving the Warriors with an aging roster and a future that looks far less settled than Curry once imagined. [Read more 🡒]