The Warriors’ eight-game winning streak has them rolling, but the timing of Brandon Williams’ hamstring injury is a fresh headache at exactly the wrong moment.
Golden State said Williams will be re-evaluated in one week, which is better than the worst-case scenario. Still, it leaves the roster thinner just as the team heads into a five-game road trip and keeps the pressure on a front office already weighing Kristaps Porzingis trade options.
Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, the Warriors could have as many as 10 main roster players available. Williams is out, Gary Payton II is dealing with a knee issue, Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody remain sidelined as they recover from long-term knee injuries, and the Porzingis situation continues to hover as the team explores possible trades involving the veteran center.
The injury list does not stop there. Will Richard is probable despite a torn UCL in his thumb, a problem that can sometimes require surgery and keep a player out for two months. Gui Santos is also working through an ongoing knee issue that has already cost him multiple games this season.
That’s the reality for a team playing strong basketball while carrying $90 million on the sidelines. Another setback like Williams’ could quickly drag Golden State back toward Play-In Tournament territory.
Williams had been giving the second unit a needed lift, bringing energy and scoring off the bench. Without him, the Warriors may have to turn to two-way guard LJ Cryer for backup point guard minutes, a risky option with games ahead against teams like the Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
The front office reportedly wants to get something done before December 16, which would give the Warriors more flexibility to re-aggregate an acquired player’s salary before February’s mid-season deadline. The injuries only add another reason to move sooner rather than later, with Porzingis and his $20 million salary sitting at the center of those discussions.
At the same time, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office still have to walk a fine line: stay active in trade talks, but not jump at a deal that doesn’t meaningfully help or limits future flexibility.
As long as the wins keep coming, Golden State can afford a little more patience. But with Williams now out and a tough road trip looming, that patience is about to get tested.
In Other News...
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Draymond Greens name surfacing in trade chatter is the kind of development the Warriors never really expected to be managing this time of year. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Sacramento Kings have interest in Green ahead of the February mid-season deadline, which immediately turns a familiar Golden State cornerstone into an unexpected talking point as the market starts to take shape.
A deal between the Warriors and Kings would come with plenty of hurdles, from fit to contract considerations, and the idea still feels more like a difficult possibility than a clear path forward. Still, the fact that Green is being discussed at all says plenty about how quickly the deadline can force even the most established teams into uncomfortable territory, and there has been no official trade confirmed. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Injury Situation Just Made This Rockets Test Feel Different
The Warriors are heading into the first stop of a five-game road trip in Houston with plenty of momentum, but also a little more uncertainty than usual. Both Golden State and the Rockets are 8-3, and the matchup already had the feel of an early measuring-stick game before the injury report started to pile up for both sides. The Warriors have won eight straight, while Houston is coming off a win over the Denver Nuggets, so this one arrives with real weight even before the ball goes up.
Will Richard is among the names to watch after being listed as questionable with a left thumb UCL tear, and he is part of a broader list of players on both teams dealing with availability concerns. For Golden State, that adds another layer to a road test that was already going to say plenty about where this group stands early in the season. A strong start has given the Warriors some breathing room, but the kind of game they get in Houston could hinge as much on who is available as on who is playing best. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Backcourt Plans Could Suddenly Revive A Familiar Reunion Talk
The Warriors eight-game surge has only sharpened the sense that this group is back in the kind of position where bigger roster ideas start to surface. After the win over New Orleans, Golden State is once again being mentioned in the same breath as high-end names such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which tells you how quickly the conversation can shift when a team starts stacking victories and looking ahead to the next offseason.
Jordan Poole has also re-entered the picture in a way that would have sounded unlikely not long ago, with the former Warrior saying he would be open to a return as a free agent. If Golden State does end up with more salary cap flexibility next offseason, the front office may have more room to explore familiar paths as well as splashier ones, and that is the kind of backdrop that keeps reunion talk alive even when the roster is already rolling. [Read more 🡒]