The Golden State Warriors can’t afford to keep treating the future like a safety blanket. Stephen Curry is 38, he just re-signed for less than the max, and the message around him is pretty clear: there needs to be another move coming soon.
Last season was the warning sign. Golden State finished 37-45, landed 10th in the West, and went out in the Play-In after Curry and Butler missed a combined 83 games.
Curry still managed 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 46.8% from the field and 39.3% from three in just 43 games, which only reinforces how much he can still carry when he’s out there. But banking on better health and a cleaner run of luck is not really a strategy.
The Warriors stayed quiet all summer, missed out on major stars, and brought back most of the same roster that already came up short. If they’re sitting near .500 again by January, Mike Dunleavy has to be ready to act.
This isn’t about tearing everything down. It’s about stop pretending the middle lane is working.
That’s why three names stand out as trade candidates before the 2027 NBA trade deadline.
Draymond Green is the first. No one needs a reminder of what he’s meant to this franchise.
Four championships speak for themselves. But the version of Green who can still organize a defense and make the right read is not the same force he used to be, and last season’s numbers reflected that: 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 41.8% shooting, and 32.6% from deep.
Golden State also finished 18th in offensive rating and 17th in defensive rating, so this wasn’t some elite machine being held together by his presence.
The other issue is that Green’s name always comes with extra noise - technicals, arguments, podcast clips, Steve Kerr situations. That stuff was easier to live with when he was still the backbone of a title team. Now the bigger question is what he gives the Warriors in 2027.
His contract makes him movable. He’s on a one-year, $27.7 million deal, which gives Golden State an expiring salary big enough to matter in a real trade.
If the team is winning and Green is central to it, fine, keep him. But if January arrives and the Warriors are stuck in that seventh-to-10th range again, moving him makes more sense than paying for nostalgia.
Kristaps Porzingis is a different kind of decision. On talent alone, he looks like a perfect fit next to Curry - a 7-foot-2 center who can shoot, protect the rim, and open the floor. The problem is that the whole arrangement depends on him staying available, and that has never been a safe assumption.
He played 15 games for Golden State last season and posted 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 43.3% overall and 31.1% from three. Illness and Achilles tendinitis wiped out the rest, and Kerr even described the situation as “a bit of a mystery.” That’s not exactly the kind of phrase you want attached to a player you’re counting on in a playoff push.
The injury concern matters even more because Curry and Butler already come with their own availability questions. Adding another high-end piece whose career has been shaped by health issues means stacking the same risk over and over.
The Warriors got a good player when they traded the demanding Kuminga for him, but Porzingis still hasn’t delivered when it counts. Even Al Horford at 40 made an impact in the Play-In against the Clippers.
Still, the contract gives Golden State a lane. Porzingis re-signed for two years and $40.0 million, and $19.5 million this season is workable for what he can be when healthy. If he starts the year right, plays 30 or 40 games, and puts up something like 17 a night, that’s the kind of window that could tempt a team into selling before the next injury changes the conversation.
Then there’s Brandin Podziemski, the name that will probably spark the most pushback. He’s 23, played all 82 games, and turned in a solid season: 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 45.5% shooting, and 37.1% from three. There’s nothing wrong with that production.
The issue is more about projection. Three years in, it’s still not obvious what the Warriors believe he’s going to become.
He rebounds well for a guard, moves the ball, competes, and doesn’t hurt you in obvious ways. That makes him useful in Golden State’s system.
It does not automatically make him untouchable.
If the front office sees him as a solid rotation guard or maybe a steady starter, that’s the kind of player you can move if a bigger upgrade is available now. And the financial side is coming soon enough anyway.
He’s extension-eligible, and guards who can play usually get expensive fast. If the Warriors are paying him more than $20.0 million a year, they need to know he’s part of the next version of the team, not just a player they like more than the rest of the league does.
Podziemski may actually be the most valuable chip of the three. Green is 36, Porzingis carries the injury baggage, and Podziemski is young, cheap, and already productive.
Other teams would want him, especially with restricted free agency ahead and the possibility that he could be cheaper than expected. If Golden State can attach him to salary and draft capital and bring back a better two-way starter for Curry and Butler right now, that’s the kind of move worth making.
The Warriors have already spent enough time protecting young players because of what they might become somewhere else. James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, chunks of the whole second-timeline experiment - the results are already on the record. At some point, the focus has to shift from what Podziemski might be in three years to what Curry needs over the next two years of his extension.
In Other News...
Warriors Just Sent A Clear Message About Lajae Jones
Lajae Jones is already getting his pro career underway overseas, and the Warriors' decision to leave the 54th overall pick out of training camp says plenty about where he fits in their immediate plans. After four years of college basketball, Jones signed with Italian club Pallacanestro Trieste and wasted little time getting on the floor, giving him a head start on the next stage of his career while Golden State keeps its focus elsewhere.
Golden State's developmental priorities were clearer when the club opted to bring Alex Toohey into the pipeline instead, with Toohey expected to land with the Santa Cruz roster. For Jones, the path now runs through Italy, and for the Warriors it is another sign that not every recent second-rounder is being treated the same as the team sorts out who is closest to helping in the system. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Took A Real Risk On Al Horford For One Reason
The Warriors went into the market for a veteran center and came away with Al Horford on a two-year contract that includes a second-year player option, a move that says plenty about how they view the veteran big man. Horford missed significant time last season because of injuries, but the team is clearly willing to take on some risk here because of what he can still bring, and because the medical side in Golden State appears comfortable with where he is physically entering training camp.
Horfords appeal has always been as much about steadiness and fit as raw production, and that matters even more for a Warriors group trying to balance experience, health, and lineup flexibility. The injury history is part of the conversation, of course, but the early read around the building is that he has arrived in strong shape, which is exactly the kind of update Golden State needed before leaning into what could be a very important season for him and for them. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Camp Battle Next To Draymond Just Got More Intriguing
Training camp in Hawaii is bringing an early sense of urgency to the Warriors, and one of the more interesting questions on the floor is who will be asked to settle in next to Draymond Green in the frontcourt. The team has been sorting through young options, with Draymond coming away impressed after minicamp and Steve Kerr already viewing Gui Santos as a player worth watching closely after his strong finish last season.
There is a real opening there, and not just in the frontcourt. Golden State also has a starting job to sort out at shooting guard, where Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton are in the mix. For now, the camp spotlight is on how the Warriors balance those battles while trying to find the right fit around Green before the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]