Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was hampered by runner’s knee this season, causing him to miss 27 consecutive games, and will turn 39 next season.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
The Golden State Warriors lost eight more games than they won in 2025-26, but general manager Mike Dunleavy didn’t seem to think Friday their record reflected their depth of talent.
“Do we need to get better roster-wise? I think so,” Dunleavy said at his annual season-ending news conference. “But we didn’t get to a point where we played a team where, you know, the roster is better than ours.”
As the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs prepared to tip off the Western Conference finals Monday, the Warriors are left to reimagine their roster for 2026-27. Injuries certainly played their part in undermining their hopes for this season, but even before they lost Jimmy Butler — to a torn right ACL in January, preceding Moses Moody’s torn left patellar tendon in March — their record parked them in the play-in tournament.
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Dunleavy said “we’ll always look to be better, talent-wise, roster-wise” while touting belief in the roster’s core: “We’re going to have to do some stuff, whether it’s retaining some of the free agents that we have (or) bring in some new players. But the general core of guys … I think is very solid and we’ll look to add to it.”
What’s the condition of the active roster?
Golden State has $181.5 million committed to a nine-man roster for 2026-27 against a luxury tax line of $201 million. The first apron looms at $209 million while the second sits at $222 million.
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Stephen Curry, Butler and Draymond Green — amid his $27.6 million player option — account for 81% of the active payroll. The contracts of Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Will Richard are guaranteed. Al Horford ($6 million) and De’Anthony Melton ($3.5 million) have player options. The Warriors also pick 11th in the first round of next month’s NBA draft.
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“We’ve got good players on good contracts,” Dunleavy said. “And I think a big part of (improving) will be Moses getting back and getting healthy. That was a tough one for us, but overall, I think, relatively speaking, we’re in pretty good shape.”
What about Kristaps Porzingis?
Acquired at the NBA’s trade deadline (from the Atlanta Hawks) for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, the 7-foot-2 sharpshooting big man is bound for unrestricted free agency. That after averaging 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 43.3% (and 31.1% from 3-point range) in 15 games for Golden State. Injury and illness plagued Porzingis, whose proof of concept — as a floor-spacing, mismatch attacking, rim-protecting complement to Curry — was best fulfilled in the play-in tournament victory over the Los Angeles Clippers with 20 points, five rebounds, three 3-pointers and two rejections.
“KP is just a unique, unique player on both ends of the court. I think for us to have that talent back is something we want,” Dunleavy said. “We’ll start having the conversations to try and get him back in the fold, but we like what we’ve seen from him. I think next year could be a more healthy, productive year for him.”
Porzingis headlines a crop of Warriors free agents that features Gary Payton II, Seth Curry, Charles Bassey, Pat Spencer (restricted) and Quinten Post (restricted). It could also include Horford if he doesn’t retire, and Green and Melton if they decline their player options (as Melton almost surely will).
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What do the Warriors need to add?
Youth, athleticism, ballhandling and positional size, as evidenced by the Thunder and Spurs, who flood the court with speed, strength and versatile skill around their respective franchise players.
The Warriors are down their starting wings — Butler and Moody, two of their top defenders, Butler in help and Moody on the ball — into 2026-27 and short on off-the-dribble shot creation, save for Curry and Podziemski, albeit in a secondary role.
“We’ll always look to add athletically, length, size, skill, all those things,” Dunleavy said. “But, yeah, I mean, watching the playoffs, you learn a lot. You see the teams where they’re at, where you need to go, and it’s good to see.
What tools can the Warriors use to improve?
The most immediate way to improve is through the 11th pick in a draft that’s armed with depth and high-end talent, particularly in the top half of the first round. Golden State stands to add a starter or rotational contributor.
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Beyond the pick, the Warriors have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception — worth $15 million — to offer an unrestricted free agent in addition to the $5.5 million biannual exception. Top trade chips include four first-round draft picks, Podziemski and the expiring contracts of Butler and Green, should he elect to exercise his player option.
“As far as trade acquisition stuff, I mean, we’re probably always in the conversation, frankly, because we have the draft capital to be,” Dunleavy said, “So we’ll always look at stuff, whatever we can do to make the team better that makes sense now and in the future.”
Concern for Curry’s runner’s knee?
Curry acknowledged the “new normal” he might be facing with runner’s knee, which kept him out 27 consecutive games. He’s turning 39 next season, his 18th in the NBA, and Dunleavy said the Warriors are mindful of how he’ll be managed.
“My understanding is we expect him to have a year next year where that knee, we’ll manage it, but it’s not something we’re worried about,” Dunleavy said. “At his age, given what’s happened, you have to think that way, but it’s not something I probably need to think more about his actual age than I do the knee. I guess that’s the way I’m thinking about it.”
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Curry is eligible for a contract extension and the Warriors expect to grant him one.
“I don’t see any scenario where we don’t want to figure out a way to have him finish here,” Dunleavy said.