Projected Warriors depth chart and rotation entering the regular season

As the Western Conference was simply loaded with genuine title contenders a season ago, the Golden State Warriors' 46-36 campaign only earned them a 10th-place finish, and their season ultimately ended after 83 games as they were bounced in the Play-In Tournament by the Sacramento Kings.

But the Golden State team that will take the floor to open the 2024-25 NBA season next Wednesday won't look like the one that took that 118-94 loss.

The most notable absence, of course, will be that of Klay Thompson, who, instead of playing second fiddle to Stephen Curry, will now do so alongside Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks. Also gone is Chris Paul, whom the Warriors opted to release after one year instead of bringing him back to the Bay for a second season at a hefty price tag of $30 million. Paul will suit up for the San Antonio Spurs this season.

While the Warriors attempted to lure other stars to San Francisco, particularly Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, neither worked out.

But there are plenty of new additions to Steve Kerr's squad, as Golden State acquired Buddy Hield from the Philadelphia 76ers and Kyle Anderson from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the six-team trade that helped Thompson get to Dallas. The Warriors also acquired Lindy Waters III from the Oklahoma City Thunder via trade and brought in another former Sixer, De'Anthony Melton, in free agency.

So, again, while there will be plenty of familiar faces in Curry, Green, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and a few others, this will be a new-look Warriors team from an overall standpoint.

Golden State Warriors depth chart

While Kerr has tinkered with several starting lineups during the preseason and still has some tough decisions to make, this is what we believe the Warriors' depth chart will look like when the regular season begins.

The biggest issue for Kerr right now is that he essentially has too many options from which to choose. And as he typically only uses a 10-man rotation, that makes his job even more challenging. For instance, Lindy Waters III has looked good in the preseason, even hitting a buzzer-beating triple to beat Sacramento, and has the best plus-minus of any player on the team thus far. But he may not even crack the rotation to start.

Some of the other names you see in that "Deep Bench" section won't even see the floor unless someone goes down with an injury. For instance, if Curry and Melton are both sitting, Podziemski would likely take the point. Pat Spencer is there to simply fill the box.

And speaking of Podziemski, seeing as Golden State wouldn't include him in any trade with the Utah Jazz for Markkanen, he's the clear starter in the No. 2 spot, even if Kerr hasn't said as much just yet. Some might want Hield in that spot, but he'll end up in the sixth-man role to give the second unit a scoring boost when Curry needs a rest.

Some might be surprised to see Moses Moody as the backup small forward behind Wiggins as opposed to Gary Payton II, but Moody has earned that slot with how he's played in the preseason. While technically a shooting guard, Moody has a couple of inches on Hield, so that's why he's there. But as Hield can also play the No. 3, those will interchange at times, for sure. As for Payton, he's regressed and may not even be a Warrior at season's end.

Green will start at center, but he'll also end up playing plenty of power forward. But Kuminga, who was the team's third-leading scorer a season ago behind Curry and Thompson, will start at the No. 4 spot. Backup center Trayce Jackson-Davis has had a solid preseason as well and could see some extended minutes at times.

All in all, this is a deep Warriors team, far deeper than the one Kerr put on the floor a season ago. And, again, he will likely tinker with the starting five as the season moves along. But this team will win a good amount of games, even in a still-tough Western Conference.