This offseason has left the Warriors in a familiar but uncomfortable spot: moving carefully while the rest of the league keeps making noise. Golden State hasn’t gone hunting for the kind of splashy trade that changes the conversation overnight, and the result is a roster that looks awfully close to what it was a year ago.
That doesn’t mean the Dubs are done trying to patch things up. With Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined by injuries, the bench still needs help, and the front office could be forced to look beyond the trade market.
If the Warriors are going to tighten things up before the new season, the best path may be through low-cost free agency. Three names stand out.
Bruce Brown is the cleanest fit on the board. The veteran guard and former NBA champion is coming off a reunion with the Nuggets that didn’t quite land the way anyone hoped, and a fresh start makes sense. Golden State could use his kind of positional flexibility, and Brown brings a rugged two-way game that has always made him more useful than his size might suggest.
Last season, Brown put up 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. His playoff production didn’t hold up as well, but the defensive edge was still there. The fit isn’t perfect, especially with De’Anthony Melton and Brandon Podziemski already in the mix, yet the Warriors’ shortage of wing depth makes Brown a logical insurance move.
Cam Thomas is the swing-for-the-fences option. The 24-year-old guard, who was previously with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, surprisingly hit free agency after being waived by Milwaukee last season. Interest around the league has been thin, but he’s been linked to the Warriors enough that a match still feels possible.
Thomas is built differently from Brown. He’s a scorer first, last, and always, with the kind of offensive arsenal that lets him hunt buckets in a hurry.
The downside is just as clear. His all-around game hasn’t been as reliable, and that has contributed to issues with fit in past situations.
Still, he averaged 13.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 41.0% from the field and 31.0% from three-point range. Those numbers don’t scream complete player, but they do point to real scoring talent.
For Golden State, that upside might be enough to justify the gamble.
Then there’s Ben Simmons, the name that always brings a little more intrigue than certainty. He’s been working toward an NBA comeback after missing an entire season to recover from injuries, and the latest updates suggest he’s in much better shape than when he last played. The question is whether he still offers enough to matter.
For the Warriors, Simmons makes sense in a very specific role. His perimeter shooting is still a major problem, but his size, mobility, and passing give him value that goes well beyond scoring.
He can defend multiple spots, push the ball, rebound, and organize an offense in ways that could help a second unit. In some ways, he’d function as a larger version of Draymond Green.
In his last NBA season in 2024-25, Simmons averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. That stat line won’t wow anyone, but as a bench playmaker and defensive presence, it gives Golden State something it currently lacks. If the Warriors are willing to live with the spacing issues, Simmons could still be a useful piece.
In Other News...
Warriors Suddenly Have A Jordan Poole Question Fans Cant Ignore
Jordan Pooles name briefly sent a familiar ripple through Warriors circles after a false report claimed the Pelicans had waived him and Golden State was keeping tabs on a possible reunion. It was the kind of rumor that gets instantly latched onto in the Bay Area, where Pooles time with the Warriors still carries plenty of weight and any hint of a return naturally invites speculation about how the roster might look if the opportunity ever surfaced.
For now, though, the path back appears distant. New Orleans is not operating as if a split is imminent, and the expectation is that the team will see whether a new voice under Jahmahl Mosley can coax more from Poole before entertaining anything more dramatic. His recent performance and contract situation remain part of the conversation, but the real question for Warriors fans is less about whether the door is open today than whether it could become relevant later. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga Is At The Center Of A New Cavaliers Debate
Jonathan Kumingas name keeps surfacing in trade chatter, and now the Cavaliers are the latest team weighing whether his upside is worth the cost. A rival scout poured some cold water on the idea, framing Clevelands interest around the kind of deal that would require real rotation pieces going out in return. For a team that has spent time looking at ways to sharpen its wing athleticism and add more juice on the perimeter, Kuminga remains the kind of swing-for-the-fences target that can also create a lot of internal debate.
Clevelands search is not limited to Kuminga, either. The Cavaliers are also pursuing Peyton Watson, and even with Watsons recent performance, there is still uncertainty about how his game would translate in Clevelands structure. With sign-and-trade possibilities in the mix, the front office is trying to balance talent, fit and the cost of making a move, which is exactly why this is becoming such a tricky conversation rather than a straightforward upgrade. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg Is Bringing Real Edge To This Battle
Yaxel Lendeborg has already shown he is not coming into the Warriors with a shy approach. The rookie forward has backed up his reputation with strong college and Summer League production, and he has brought that same confidence into a matchup that naturally gets attention around the league. For Golden State, that kind of edge matters as much as any box-score number, especially for a player trying to carve out a role early.
Stephen Curry has already acknowledged what Lendeborg can bring, which only adds to the intrigue around his place on this roster. The next question is how that confidence translates when the games start counting for real, particularly in a physical matchup against Phoenix and Dillon Brooks. For the Warriors, that is the kind of test that can quickly show whether a rookie is just talking like a pro or ready to play like one. [Read more 🡒]