Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Warriors face a challenging season with key injuries and an aging core limiting their depth.
- Draymond Green’s return provides some stability but major leaps from young players are needed to compete.
- A series of ideal breaks — including healthy seasons and breakout performances — could push Golden State into playoff contention.
LeBron James decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers and all of a sudden the Golden State Warriors are staring at a dismally empty offseason. Things look a little bit better with today's news that Draymond Green would be back on a one-year, $27.7 million deal but that outcome was never really in doubt. Green opted out of the final year of his deal to give Golden State the flexibility to chase LeBron, when that didn't pan out he re-signed for the same terms.
Besides Green, the Warriors also retained Kristaps Porziņģis and De'Anthony Melton, drafted Yaxel Lendeborg and ... and ... that's pretty much it. They took the core of an aging, injury-plagued team that won 37 games and missed the playoffs and added one rookie. Even one as accomplished as Lendeborg isn't nearly enough to move the needle and this rotation does not look ready to compete. At least, not yet.
Projected Warriors starting lineup and rotation after Draymond Green re-signs
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Stephen Curry | PG | De'Anthony Melton |
Brandin Podziemski | SG | Will Richard |
Yaxel Lendeborg | SF | Gui Santos |
Draymond Green | PF | Charles Bassey |
Kristaps Porziņģis | C | Al Horford |
Now, that this core probably won't be locked in for the entire season — Jimmy Butler should return from his torn ACL and rejoin the starters. The bad news is he may not be back until February or later, and when when he gets back it seems likely someone else will be out. Curry only played 43 games last season, Green played 68 and Porziņģis was only available for games after being traded to the Warriors.
The bench also has a lot of question marks and will need both healthy seasons from Horford and Melton, and big leaps from players like Richard and Santos. The Warriors have been linked with DeMar DeRozan and it's possible the veteran wing could solve some problems as a scorer off the bench but that may also just be a band-aid.
Are the Warriors good enough to compete in the West?
The answer to this question is almost certainly no.
But you can at least sketch out how it could happen.
Porziņģis, Green and Curry are all healthy enough to play 65+ games, fresh by the time the playoffs roll around and don't show any significant age-related decline. Butler comes back sometime in January, ramps up quickly and is able to account for any drop-off in athleticism with his trademark grit and force of will. Brandin Podziemski takes a leap and stabilizes his shooting percentages with a tick up in volume. DeRozan signs and anchors the bench as a playmaker and scorer. The young players on the bench become a tough defensive unit.
And lastly, Yaxel Lendeborg is even better than advertised. He already showed he was too good for Summer League, leading the Warriors to a title and winning MVP. His pre-draft profile was all about his NBA-readiness and a ceiling as a high-level role player. His ceiling might not be as high as Cam Boozer, AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson but he might be better than advertised and he's much closer to his prime than younger draft prospects. If he's a 15-point per game scorer, who plays elite defense, hits open shots and inserts himself in the Rookie of the Year race, that could be enough to make the Warriors a wild card in the postseason.
Almost all of those things would have to break right for the Warriors to actually contend in the West, which history tells us is absurdly unlikely. But the pieces are there and if you squint, you can convince yourself they're in the mix.
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