Gui Santos enters the Warriors’ season with a real opening, but also a real challenge.
Golden State needs him to matter. After the way he raised his level last season in a depleted rotation, Santos showed enough to suggest he can be more than a background piece.
He gave the Warriors some shot creation inside, and he was steady enough from deep to keep defenders honest. If the bench is going to generate consistent offense, Santos has to be part of that answer.
The problem is that the Warriors just added another name to the mix in Georges Niang. Even on a partially-guaranteed veteran minimum deal, Niang brings something Steve Kerr will always value: a reliable perimeter shot.
He did not appear in an NBA game last season while rehabbing an injury, but his track record is clear. Niang is a 39.9% 3-point shooter, and he hit 40.6% of his perimeter attempts in his last full NBA season in 2024-25.
That kind of shooting travels, and it can take minutes from somebody else.
Santos still has the higher ceiling, full stop. Niang is not suddenly a better long-term piece or a cleaner upside bet.
But rotation basketball is about fit, and the Warriors’ frontcourt minutes are going to get crowded. Yaxel Lendeborg appears set to start alongside Draymond Green at least until Jimmy Butler returns, which is expected around mid-season.
Lendeborg’s defensive versatility and offensive polish make him a strong candidate to hold that role right away.
That leaves Santos in a tricky spot. He should still be an important bench weapon, but if he’s going to be the Warriors’ primary offensive option off the bench in the frontcourt, the 3-point shooting has to hold up. If it doesn’t, Niang has a path to chip away at those minutes at the four.
There’s also another layer once Butler is back. At that point, the frontcourt rotation could tighten even further, whether Draymond Green moves to the bench or Lendeborg starts eating into Santos’ scoring role. Santos can’t afford to drift.
The encouraging part for Golden State is that Santos already showed he can do the job. He shot 35.1% from 3 last season, and that mark stayed fairly steady even when his volume climbed in the final months of the year.
That gives him a baseline. Now he has to prove it’s his floor, not his peak.
At minimum, Santos’ place in the rotation is not locked in for 2026-27. If he wants to build on the momentum he created late last season, he’ll need to stay a versatile, usable offensive threat off the bench.
In Other News...
Stephen Curry Just Shifted The Warriors' Biggest Contract Question
Stephen Curry has not left much room for doubt about where he wants to finish his career, and that alone changes the conversation around Golden States biggest contract question. The Warriors have been operating with the understanding that their franchise pillar still sees his future tied to the team, even as the timing of the next extension remains something to sort out later. Curry and his wife, Ayesha, also stressed that he still feels ready to keep performing at a high level after missing many games last season because of injury.
What comes next is less about whether the sides want the same thing and more about when the paperwork actually gets done. There has been speculation around the length and timing of Currys next deal, and the usual financial gravity that follows a player of his stature is now part of the backdrop again. For Golden State, the unresolved part is not the relationship, but the calendar, and how long the wait runs before the next real move is made. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Curry Still Defines Everything For Warriors Entering This Season
Stephen Curry is heading into his 18th NBA season, and for the Warriors, the conversation still starts and often ends with how much he can handle. After an injury-plagued year, Golden State is again preparing to lean heavily on its franchise centerpiece, even as the roster around him tries to prove it can better support the offense when the new season opens against the Lakers.
Former teammate Matt Barnes recently pointed out that Currys long-term future still feels tied to the Warriors, much the way some stars spend their entire careers with one team. But Barnes also underscored the reality Golden State keeps running into: Curry cannot keep shouldering everything alone forever, and the burden on him only grows if the rest of the group does not help lighten the load. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Get A Rare Preseason Stage Before A Crucial Early Look
The Warriors are getting a rare preseason backdrop this fall, and it comes with a little extra intrigue for a team trying to get a clean early read on itself. Golden State and the Clippers will open their 2026-27 training camps in Hawaii from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, giving both clubs a chance to work away from the usual mainland setting before the preseason slate begins.
Golden States first exhibition comes against Los Angeles in Honolulu, part of a broader preseason schedule that is already set for the Warriors while the Clippers have only partially announced theirs. For a team that tends to draw attention no matter the time of year, this trip offers an early look at rotation work, conditioning and chemistry before the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]