The Warriors\u2019 quiet 2026 NBA offseason already has led wandering eyes towards the summer of 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Draymond Green on Tuesday returned to the Warriors on a one-year, $27.7 million contract<\/a>, which is the same deal he turned down in opting out of his player opinion to open more financial flexibility in the team\u2019s pursuit of LeBron James. Once Green\u2019s new contract and De\u2019Anthony Melton\u2019s two-year, $11 million contract<\/a> with a player option on the second year becomes finalized, the Warriors will be hard-capped to the second apron.\u00a0<\/p>\n They technically have three spots available, not including second-round pick Lajae Jones, to fill out on minimum contracts.\u00a0<\/p>\n James was the big fish this offseason that couldn\u2019t be reeled in<\/a>. The free-agent market is barren<\/a>, and the Warriors\u2019 salary cap situation only allows for cheap deals signed on the dotted line. As the Warriors continue to hold onto their draft picks, running a 37-win team back with reasons for optimism and arguments for the other side on nearly every player is as much about clearing the books for next summer as anything else.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bringing back Green, plus having Jimmy Butler\u2019s $56.8 million contract he\u2019s under this season, gives the Warriors $84.5 million in expiring contracts between the two of them. The trend goes much further than just those two.\u00a0<\/p>\n Along with Butler and Green, Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski also are on expiring contracts. Curry becomes extension eligible on Aug. 29. The last time he was extension eligible, Curry took some time and he signed a one-year extension instead of the two years he was eligible for. Podziemski is up for a rookie contract extension he can sign until 3 p.m. PT the day before the regular-season opener. Butler can be extended starting in February of 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n Green is the only of the three who can\u2019t be extended. He did not receive a full no-trade clause in his new contract, but playing as a one-year Bird Rights player essentially functions the same and any trade would need his consent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, back to the Warriors and next offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Warriors only have three players who have guaranteed contracts for the 2027-28 season: Moses Moody ($13.4 million), Yaxel Lendeborg ($6.4 million) and Gui Santos ($5 million). Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is has a $20 million player option, Al Horford has a $7.1 million player option and Melton has a player option projected at $5.75 million. Will Richard\u2019s $2.5 million on his third season is non-guaranteed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Golden State is projected to have the most salary cap space in the league next offseason with just three guaranteed contracts currently signed.<\/p>\n So, why 2027?\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside their own building, Curry, Butler and Green can all be unrestricted free agents, with Curry the most likely off the board because of his extension. Outside the building, there\u2019s a long list of enticing players who are set to be unrestricted free agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kawhi Leonard is part of that list. So is Michael Porter Jr., Tyler Herro, RJ Barrett, Zach LaVine, and some strong role players like Donte DiVincenzo, Lu Dort, Keldon Johnson, Davion Mitchell and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n The real interest is in those who have player options for next offseason in the chance they get turned down and the Warriors are an enticing enough destination for a slew of star names. Those star names include the likes of Nikola Joki\u0107, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Kyrie Irving, Brandon Ingram and others. James does have a player option, but he\u2019s stated Philadelphia will be his final destination.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the problem is, free agency doesn\u2019t work like that any more. These types of star names rarely make it to the open market, and it\u2019s often about the move before the move, a la the 76ers trading for Jaylen Brown in order to sign James.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s up to you to believe the Warriors will seal the deal with one of the above names or a different disgruntled star who wants out. The laundry list of vanishing names the Warriors have been attached to in recent years will sway you away. The Warriors will rightly argue they added a star in Butler 18 months ago in what was a great trade where only one first-round pick was moved to Miami. That also was a fairly riskless move, where the only real risk was age and injury concern, which blew up one year later.<\/p>\n The reasons for optimism from the roster the Warriors are bringing back in 2026-27 starts with hoping Curry plays more than 43 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s hoping Green\u2019s flashes in matchups against Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Leonard and some other stars can be sustained for longer periods, and he doesn\u2019t get as turnover happy. It\u2019s hoping Rick Celebrini has Porzi\u0146\u0123is’ health under control, that Melton can play back-to-backs and Horford is the player he was starting on Christmas. It\u2019s hoping Butler returns from injury as close to his past self, and Moody too. It\u2019s hoping Lendeborg really is Day 1 ready and other young players can follow his lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n And much of what\u2019s happening now looks to be keen on keeping tabs ahead of what\u2019s possible to happen a year from now.<\/p>\n