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It’s looking like the Warriors were lucky to secure Gui Santos on a three-year, $15 million contract extension.
Since he put pen to paper Feb. 28, Santos is averaging 15.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The sans-Steph Curry MVP is playing 32.4 minutes per game.
In that span, the Warriors also lost Moses Moody to a season-ending torn patellar tendon. Jimmy Butler’s torn ACL had already thinned out the Warriors’ wing options, but Moody’s devastating injury makes Santos the last one standing.
So Santos has not only thrived over the past month, but the Warriors’ demand for his services has increased. Had Santos not already signed, the price of a brick would be going up. (opens in new tab)
The Warriors will be without Moody and Butler for the rest of the season and at least most of next season, giving Santos the inside track to earn a starting spot. Golden State (35-38) likes playing small lineups with three guards, but Santos and Draymond Green project to be their only rotation players between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9. Wings are the most valuable position in the NBA, and the Warriors will be down their two starters from that category.
Santos, more than ever, fills a desperate need.
“Yeah, that’s the tough part,” head coach Steve Kerr said before Wednesday’s win over Brooklyn. “It’s one thing to suffer season-ending injuries, but when those injuries impact the following season as well, it’s pretty dramatic. Moses and Jimmy are obviously our two starting wings. So, huge loss. Hopefully both guys will be back sometime next season.”
Santos has been at his most valuable when he’s a high-energy role player who can hit open catch-and-shoot 3s. But his recent surge in self-creation — especially with his bag of spin moves and step-throughs in the paint — shows he’s capable of scaling up offensively in a pinch.
He honed the fancy footwork while playing in Brazil with FIBA rules. Prospects who grow up in the States and take the traditional path of AAU, prep, and college ball generally play under more restrictive rules pertaining to the gather step.
Santos’ comfortability with the rulebook, plus daily training with player development coach Noel Hightower, helped him drop a career-high 31 points against Brooklyn.
His arrhythmic, unorthodox style in the paint leads defenders and onlookers to ask for traveling violations as Santos jogs back on defense.
“When Gui got here, he did not look like an NBA player,” Green said. “He just put his head down, worked every single day. You come into the gym early, he’s here, usually finishing up. … He worked to become this guy. He didn’t show up and all of the sudden he’s got an opportunity to show who he is. He worked to become this [player].”
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Still, no matter how well Santos plays, it’s not ideal to have him as the only true wing option. He has played such a heavy minutes total over the past few weeks that his sore knees give him an old-man limp after games. After logging 32 minutes in a loss to the Knicks, he joked to me: “If you’re not limping, did you even really play?”
For the remainder of this season and much of next year, Kerr and the Warriors will have to find a way to ease Santos’ burden. He plays with too much energy for a 32-minute average to be sustainable.
One way is to play smaller lineups, with three guards and two bigs. That presents some challenges on the defensive end, especially.
“You miss the size and the strength on the wings defensively,” Kerr said. “You just look across the board at whoever we’re playing, whether it’s Portland with Deni [Avdija], or the Clippers with Kawhi [Leonard], Phoenix with [Devin] Booker. Moses, Jimmy — those guys would be on those players. So there’s a domino effect to what it does defensively.”
Santos made 11 of 16 field goal attempts in 35 minutes against Brooklyn. | Source: Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
One stop-gap solution the Warriors have tried is matching Green with the opposing team’s best wing. He guarded Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a three-game span.
But that alignment leaves one of the three guards to check a power forward, and also takes Green away from the rim.
Santos, for all his improvements, isn’t built to be a perimeter stopper. That was Moody’s job. But he can at least present a size match against some of the league’s best perimeter scorers.
Maybe the 6-foot-2 Gary Payton II or the 6-foot-3 Will Richard will be tasked with more minutes. They play like wings but won’t help the Warriors beat the undersize allegations.
The reality is that without Butler and Moody, Golden State’s biggest roster hole is on the wing. It means that their 2026 first-round pick, wherever it may land, would be well spent on a player between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9. (Hello, Nate Ament and Thomas Haugh.)
No team would feel great about their situation after losing both starting wings. But at least the Warriors have Santos.
How do you feel about the possibility of Santos opening next season as a member of Golden State’s starting lineup? Let us know in the comments, a new feature exclusively for SF Standard members.