The Warriors’ roster revamp is complete. The biggest question remains the same.
The Mercury News · Joseph Dycus · 2026-08-27T13:46:11+00:00 · nguồn gốc
SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors have, somehow, some way, crafted a roster that is even older than last year’s elderly unit that went 37-45 and flamed out of the play-in tournament.
Observers expected all summer that general manager Mike Dunleavy would have to pull off a trick to significantly elevate the roster, given their salary cap constraints.
Their one lever appeared to be a hope of LeBron James arriving in free agency. When they waited weeks for him to announce his move, their options slimmed.
Then he didn’t sign with them and they locked in Green’s extension, leaving only a trade as an avenue to reinvent the team.
The Warriors brought back almost every major rotation player from last season’s team, with the only newcomers until this week being draftees Yaxel Lendeborg and Lajae Jones.
When asked about the lack of roster turnover during several media availabilities this offseason, general manager Mike Dunleavy has expressed the opinion that last year’s team could have been a playoff contender if every major player had stayed healthy.
“This is a really good team that I would say underperformed last year based on injuries and some things we can control,” Dunleavy said.
But on Tuesday, Golden State finally addressed its glaringly obvious need for a creative ballhandler and isolation scorer by signing Brandon Williams to a veteran minimum contract, its first non-draft addition of the offseason.
A few hours later, they inked forward Georges Niang to a deal. Like many of his new teammates, Niang has major injury questions, having missed all of last season with a left foot injury.
Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody will miss a large chunk of the season with knee injuries suffered in the second half of last season, and Steph Curry’s chronic knee issue remains a factor.
The roster now looks like this, assuming LJ Cryer and Jones begin the season on two-way contracts:
Guards: Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton, Brandon Williams, Will Richard, LJ Cryer
Forwards: Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, Yaxel Lendeborg, Gui Santos, Gary Payton II, Lajae Jones
Centers: Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Charles Bassey
Though the roster is now set at 15 full-time contracts after Niang and Williams’ additions, questions remain.
The largest concern is the team’s ability to stay healthy.
On paper, the Warriors have a roster that should be a lock to make the playoffs. Curry and Butler are both top-notch players capable of winning games by themselves, so why are they projected to fight for a play-in spot?
Well, Curry is 38 and is battling runner’s knee after playing just 43 games, while Butler is rehabbing his torn ACL and played just 38 games before that January injury. Even aside from those injuries and Moody’s torn patellar tendon, the rest of the roster is far from a perfect picture of health.
With many of the same faces back for another season, coach Steve Kerr has mentioned the need to switch up the team’s methods outside of gamedays if players are to stay healthy.
“Steph, Dray, our veteran players, we have to be willing and open to some new thoughts and ideas about how we’re going about our day, our practice schedule, study habits,” Kerr said earlier this offseason.
Horford, Melton and Porzingis combined to play a total of one back-to-back set last season.
Draymond Green, 37, battled foot, ankle and back injuries all season. Even their new addition, Niang, has not played since 2025, his injury turning his contract into trade filler last season.
With that group plus Curry all a year older, it is unrealistic to expect the Warriors to suddenly become hardier in a league that prioritizes athleticism.
And while Podziemski played all 82 games and Payton played 73, neither crossed the 70-game threshold the prior season.
The Warriors have talent, but given their collective age, a rotation cast appears destined to watch games from the bench.
Even if Lendeborg is an iron man who lives up to his billing as the draft’s most pro-ready rookie as a 24-year-old, the Warriors will miss the postseason if the rest of the roster is chronically injured.
With four of their first five games on the road against playoff teams, their ability to medically weather an early-season gauntlet will be tested. Niang and Williams should help, but asking to bench players on minimum contracts to play substantial roles could be too much to expect.
If the Warriors are to make a playoff push, the older names will need to be more durable. Is that realistic?
Only time will tell.