The Warriors keep finding ways to squeeze value out of the margins, and Gui Santos may be their cleanest example yet.
Golden State’s recent track record with young talent has been easy to judge through the lens of Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The organization has also done strong work with second-round picks, the kind of players who may never become stars but can absolutely keep a roster sturdy and competitive in today’s NBA. Santos fits that mold - and then some.
Last season, once the rotation thinned out, he pushed himself into real relevance. Between Feb. 3 and April 5, he played 27 games, started most of them, and put up 15.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and four assists per game while shooting 34.3% from 3-point range.
The biggest shift wasn’t just the box score numbers. Santos showed, for the first time in his career, that he could consistently create interior offense, use his footwork to work past less mobile defenders, and give the Warriors another source of reliable scoring.
That production made the three-year, $15 million extension Golden State handed him look like a bargain almost immediately. With a player option in 2028, the deal already came in at a modest annual price. If Santos keeps trending in the same direction, it could end up looking even cheaper.
That matters for a Warriors team that was always going to be tight financially this season, especially with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green’s contracts still on the books. If Golden State was going to keep itself competitive, it needed real value somewhere. Santos has been exactly that.
And now there’s another layer to this. Kristaps Porzingis’ availability for the start of the season remains in serious doubt, and he’s only arriving to the Warriors facility today after missing camp with an undisclosed health issue.
That opens the door for Santos to be more than a useful reserve. He looks set to be a central piece of Golden State’s small-ball lineup early on.
He’s already started in two of his three preseason appearances, both times in the frontcourt alongside Yaxel Lendeborg. In the Warriors’ last preseason game against the Sacramento Kings, Santos looked active again, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, and an assist on 6-of-9 shooting.
What Golden State gets from him goes beyond simply plugging a hole. Santos has shown he can score on a night-to-night basis, and the fit with Lendeborg should help the Warriors’ offense breathe a little easier, especially with both players offering floor spacing from the frontcourt.
A 24-year-old bench contributor would be useful enough on its own. A 24-year-old who may start and produce like this is a different kind of asset altogether. That’s why the contract keeps looking better every time Santos steps on the floor.
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Sonya has also recently addressed the rumors that have lingered around her past divorce, asking for privacy as old claims continue to resurface. For Steph and the Warriors, the on-court focus may always come first, but this was one of those personal milestones that matters just as much to the people inside the family circle. [Read more 🡒]