The Warriors are still trying to figure out whether the next move is about the future or one more swing at the present, and that tension has only sharpened as Stephen Curry moves deeper into the back end of his career.
Golden State came up empty this summer when it came to adding a major name, and it also missed on LeBron James. Even so, Curry is still expected to land a contract extension with the franchise.
“What the terms of a new extension look like for Curry will be completely up to him, as the Warriors are prepared to offer their star whatever he wants. If Steph wants the full $136.7 million through the 2028-29 season, he will get that. If he wants to take a discount to help the team, GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. will have no problem with said deal," NBA insider Brett Siegel wrote.
That still leaves Golden State room to chase a major addition before the February trade deadline, and one name that has surfaced again is Anthony Davis. SI’s Blake Silverman believes the Warriors could eventually make a serious run at him.
“The Wizards likely want to at least try the Davis experiment, but there’s a world where a team like Golden State gets desperate enough to improve the roster and offers a package general manager Will Dawkins can’t turn down,” Silverman wrote.
The fit is easy to see from Golden State’s side. The franchise appears intent on building one more title push around Curry, and Davis would give them a second star with game-changing impact on both ends of the floor. At the start of free agency, the Warriors were already being linked to Davis through trade buzz.
“The Golden State Warriors are planning a pursuit of LeBron James in free agency and Anthony Davis via trade this week, league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania, opening up the flexibility for such a possibility after Draymond Green declined his $27.6 million player option Monday morning,” ESPN’s Anthony Slater wrote.
Davis would bring a defensive presence that speaks for itself, while Curry remains one of the league’s most dangerous offensive forces. Davis has earned $364 million over his career, and putting him next to Curry would create a potentially lethal pairing if health cooperates. For Golden State, that kind of move could be the difference between another quiet season and a legitimate push for a deep playoff run.
In Other News...
Warriors Could Benefit If Detroit Lets Another Young Core Piece Drift
The Pistons have already entered one tricky restricted-free-agency negotiation with Jalen Duren, and another could be waiting right behind it. Detroit has time to work out extensions with its young core, but the clock is now part of the story, especially when teams know these conversations can spill into future roster planning and affect how long a front office can keep everyone in place.
For Golden State, the angle is simple enough: if Detroit cannot lock down every piece of its young group, the Warriors may have a chance to take advantage when opportunity opens up. With cap space to work with, they could be positioned to monitor a situation that goes beyond this summer and into next year, when another important decision could be looming for the Pistons. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Still Have A Big Wing Question Heading Into The Season
The wing depth chart already looked like a spot worth watching in San Francisco, and Moses Moodys injury only sharpens the issue. Moody is expected to miss the first half of the season while recovering from a torn patellar tendon, leaving the Warriors to sort through options before the games start to matter for real. His absence strips away one of the more familiar young pieces on the roster and forces the staff to think a little differently about how it wants to cover size and athleticism on the perimeter.
One name now entering the conversation is Dalen Terry, whom Golden State is reportedly weighing for a training camp spot as a possible stopgap answer. Terry brings a different skill set than Moody, but the overlap in age and physical profile makes him at least a plausible fit for the kind of short-term roster patch the Warriors may need. For a team that always values flexibility, the bigger question is whether the temporary answer can hold up long enough to keep the rotation from feeling Moodys absence too sharply. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Face A Jimmy Butler Decision That Could Reshape Everything
Jimmy Butlers return timeline has started to sharpen the picture for Golden State, and it comes at a moment when the Warriors are already weighing some of the biggest financial questions on their horizon. Butler is on an expiring $56.8 million deal this season, and the front office has to sort through how he fits alongside the roster core while also keeping an eye on the 2027 offseason, when the team could potentially have more cap flexibility.
The complication is that Butlers next contract wont exist in a vacuum. Golden State also has Stephen Currys extension considerations to navigate, and whatever it does with Butler will ripple through the franchises longer-term planning. For a team trying to stay competitive now without boxing itself in later, this is the kind of decision that can shape far more than one season. [Read more 🡒]