{"id":514400,"date":"2026-01-03T18:27:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/514400\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T18:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:27:36","slug":"whats-in-and-whats-out-for-the-warriors-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/514400\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in and what\u2019s out for the Warriors in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Warriors rang in 2026 with an uninspired 37-point defeat to the defending champion Thunder.<\/p>\n

Draymond Green rested, Steph Curry rested, and Jimmy Butler stayed home to nurse an illness. Jonathan Kuminga was in line for big minutes after getting DNPs in nine of the prior 10 games, but his back flared up shortly before tipoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Punting against Oklahoma City should be easy to move past. But generally, the Warriors are hoping there won\u2019t be too many of those games in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Golden State is bringing into the New Year, and what it should leave behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ins<\/p>\n

Existential dynasty navel-gazing\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just last week, head coach Steve Kerr explained how the Warriors are a \u201cfading dynasty\u201d \u2014 a good but not great team, one that\u2019s hoping to do what\u2019s necessary to at least have a puncher\u2019s chance in the playoffs. Then, with his old pal Tom Tolbert, he expanded by saying the Warriors aren\u2019t under any false pretenses that they\u2019re in position to compete for championships with the Spurs and Thunders of the world.\u00a0 (opens in new tab)<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all true. Just ask Green (opens in new tab)<\/a>. But that doesn\u2019t stop the outcry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe, just maybe, this is some sort of Phil Jackson-esque motivational tactic from Kerr. He is a candid person, and Occam\u2019s Razor suggests he\u2019s just being honest, but maybe he wants his players to hear the noise that nobody believes in them \u2014 not even their coach.<\/p>\n

Regardless of intent, the reflections won\u2019t go away until there\u2019s nothing left to opine on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will Richard and De\u2019Anthony Melton\u00a0<\/p>\n

They closed tight wins in Brooklyn and Charlotte, and they\u2019ve been Golden State\u2019s best two-way wings. Richard the revelation, Melton the X-factor when healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The two guards being so important to the Warriors wasn\u2019t necessarily how the team drew it up. Nonetheless, they represent the current roster\u2019s best options at surrounding Curry, Butler, and Green.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ARookie Will Richard has become a trusted member of Steve Kerr\u2019s closing lineups. | Source: Amber Pietz\/The Standard<\/p>\n

The trade machine<\/p>\n

Concocting fake trades is what this next month is for, specifically.<\/p>\n

Like Michael Porter Jr.? Fire up the trade machine. Trey Murphy AND Herb Jones? Knock yourself out. Confused by the second apron trade restrictions? Check out Spotrac. With the internet, anything\u2019s possible \u2014 even Giannis for a bag of balls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clutch games\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

3 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday, Dec. 19<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

In the last three seasons, the Warriors have played the most clutch games in the league (112). They\u2019re 57-55 in such situations, flirting with pure mid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why would the tight, stress-inducing games suddenly stop in the New Year?<\/p>\n

The Warriors are 7-11 in clutch games this year, almost always closing with Green at center. Their falters almost always come back to turnovers, and their successes almost always come at the hands of Curry and Butler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A team with such closers should be better in late-and-close games. The Lakers, for example, have a 10-0 clutch record this season. It\u2019s why they\u2019re in fifth place and Golden State is in 10th.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a couple bounces go the Warriors\u2019 way, and a couple of Curry 3s stay down instead of rim out, maybe the Warriors flip their clutch fortunes and rise up the standings. They\u2019ll surely have chances to do so.<\/p>\n

Outs<\/p>\n

Jonathan Kuminga\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are fans of Kuminga in front offices around the league. His current string of DNPs likely doesn\u2019t change the way they view him. The Warriors should hope to pit them against each other and contrive some sort of mini bidding war.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, a pessimistic scout\u2019s evaluation of Kuminga might go something like this:<\/p>\n

Kuminga hasn\u2019t yet shown the ability to lock in defensively, rebound consistently, shoot it from the outside, or dribble through traffic. He\u2019s at his best with the ball in his hands, but only when he insists on attacking the rim instead of settling in the midrange. It\u2019s tough to play him next to another forward who can\u2019t stretch the floor because of spacing concerns. You need to give him a bunch of minutes so he can find a rhythm. Oh, and he\u2019s not exactly an iron man.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trade suitors, get in line! Doors open Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

\"AJonathan Kuminga is eligible to be traded starting January 15. | Source: Amber Pietz\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Complaining about the schedule\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors had a hellacious schedule to begin the season, did you hear? Twelve of their first 17 games at home. A back-to-back every week. Matchups with the Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, Lakers, and Rockets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was brutal, no doubt. We covered it.<\/a> The team griped about it. The worst is over now. And not only that, it\u2019s coming around.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors sat their vets on Friday because they have three games in four days. But January is a cakewalk for them, and they should know it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Golden State doesn\u2019t leave the state of California for three weeks to start 2026. They have two matchups against the tanking Jazz, another against the putrid Mavericks, and two more easy matchups with Sacramento and Charlotte.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just January. The Warriors had five back-to-backs in the first five weeks. They only have seven more for the rest of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They\u2019re still old, and they\u2019ll find pockets to manage injuries and rest their vets. But they no longer have the right to complain after getting through their early grind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turnovers\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors are 5-14 on the season when they turn the ball over more than their opponent. The vast majority of their losses, then, can be explained simply by them playing like a bunch of bozos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sure, some of the turnover issues are personnel or scheme-based. A lack of shooting in certain lineup combinations can tighten spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But really, it\u2019s needless one-handed passes, illegal screens, picking up dribbles too early, leaving your feet in the lane without a next plan in place, not giving a teammate an outlet against a trap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bozo stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Buddy Hield\u00a0<\/p>\n

He plays through injuries, is beloved in the locker room, always makes himself available, works on his craft as much as anyone and made himself a legend in last spring\u2019s Game 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this is not Buddy Hield\u2019s year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s out there to knock down shots, and he simply hasn\u2019t done that. Hield is shooting 32.3% from deep this season, a career-low by an astounding 3.9 percentage points.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kerr yanked the 3-point specialist from his rotation in the last week of 2025. It doesn\u2019t look good for Hield in 2026 \u2014 as a Warrior, at least.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AWarriors guard Buddy Hield has struggled since the start of the 2025-2026 season. | Source: Amber Pietz\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Brandin Podziemski, lead initiator\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the second straight season, the Warriors were excited to see what Brandin Podziemski could do with more ballhandling opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the second straight year, the results have been underwhelming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just not the strength of Podziemski\u2019s game, at least not yet, to engineer an organized, efficient offense in the halfcourt. He does so many things well on the court, but running high pick-and-rolls isn\u2019t one of them. Breaking down his man and touching the paint with a purpose isn\u2019t, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Podziemski is at his best getting off the ball early in a possession and trusting that he\u2019ll eventually get it back in a position to attack a closeout. He\u2019s adept at running through catches and is an excellent catch-and-shoot marksman when he\u2019s confident and in rhythm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Per Cleaning The Glass (opens in new tab)<\/a>, his net rating as a shooting guard is +5.1 this season. That sinks to -0.5 as the point guard. He has only played 38% of his minutes next to a point guard, but expect that number to increase in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3786],"tags":[7,479,164,4025,4024,6,66,932,255],"class_list":{"0":"post-514400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golden-state-warriors","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-golden-state","10":"tag-golden-state-warriors","11":"tag-goldenstate","12":"tag-goldenstatewarriors","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-steph-curry","16":"tag-warriors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115832582713906577","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}