What to know about the Warriors’ pivotal summer: Free agents, biggest need, key dates and more
The Warriors are heading into a big offseason with several big questions looming.
The Warriors are at an impasse.
With the NBA Draft less than a month away, it’s still unclear who will be the one calling the shots for the upcoming season.
General manager Bob Myers’ contract expires at the end of June, and his imminent decision on his future could cause a ripple effect for the organization.
The two-time NBA executive of the year is one of the most respected voices in the organization and has mastered the art of managing personalities. Myers has a close relationship with coach Steve Kerr, who’s signed through next season. He also has earned the trust of the team’s dynastic nucleus of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
“He’s so important to everything that we do,” Green said of Myers back in March. “I watch this league, GMs don’t keep a pulse on the team like Bob keeps a pulse of this team, maybe two other GMs in the league right now would come down to the bench and say something. And that’s also someone who I have the utmost respect for.”
Green told ESPN that Myers’ decision could be a factor in his own decision over his future with the Warriors. Green has a $27.6 million player option for next season.
Myers has yet to meet with reporters since the season ended, in part, because he spent time last week in Chicago at the NBA Combine for the Warriors. Owner Joe Lacob also declined this news organization’s interview request through a team spokesperson.
While Myers’ future remains the biggest question mark for the Warriors and Green’s decision a close second, there’s a lot riding on this offseason as the Warriors look to retool their roster and reestablish their championship culture that was cracked this season.
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s to come:
Quick recap: The Warriors finished a bumpy regular season sixth in the Western Conference with a 44-38 record. They managed to beat the upstart Sacramento Kings in a thrilling seven-game series in the first round, but bowed out in the Western Conference semifinals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2.
Offseason outlook: Cost-cutting measures could be coming for the Warriors, especially if Green picks up his player option.
The new collective bargaining agreement, which will go into effect July 1, will bring down the hammer on high-spending teams, such as the Warriors, making it increasingly difficult to improve their teams.
With the Warriors looking at a bill for next season that could skyrocket well over $400 million between payroll and tax penalties, something will likely have to give. That could mean moving Jordan Poole or other young players to clear up some space to sign veterans this offseason to better put the Warriors in position to win now.
Finances (via SpoTrac.com):
Active payroll with player options: $210.7 million
Distance over projected salary cap: $80 million
Under contract (10): Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins
Potential free agents (7): Draymond Green (unrestricted — $27.6 million player option), Donte DiVincenzo (unrestricted — $4.7 million player option), Andre Iguodala (unrestricted), JaMychal Green (unrestricted), Ty Jerome (restricted), Anthony Lamb (restricted), Lester Quinones (restricted)
2023 draft pick: No. 19 (traded second-round pick — No. 49 — to Pelicans for Alen Smailagić in 2019)
Biggest need: A frontcourt player who can stretch the floor.
Golden State signed JaMychal Green to a veteran minimum last summer hoping he could fill the void left by Otto Porter Jr. Green showed flashes of doing just that, including in Game 2 of the second round against LA, but he wasn’t the consistent stretch-four contributor the team had hoped he would be.
Key dates:
June 22: 2023 NBA Draft
June 29: Player option deadline
June 30: Myers’ contract expires; NBA teams can begin negotiating with free agents
July 6: NBA teams may begin signing free agents to contracts
July 7-17: Las Vegas Summer League
Extension watch: Klay Thompson remains extension-eligible as he enters the final year on the five-year, $190 million contract he signed with the Warriors in 2019. Back-to-back major injuries made him unavailable for the better part of the first three years of his current deal. But he proved in his first full season back that he can still play at a high level.
Thompson led the league in 3-pointers and helped shoulder the scoring burden felt by Steph Curry’s absence during the star’s injuries this season. In 69 regular-season games, Thompson averaged 21.9 points, second to only Curry on the Warriors, while shooting 43.6% from the field and 41.2% from deep.
The four-time NBA champion flamed out during the Western Conference semifinals — perhaps a byproduct of the grueling and lengthy season catching up to the 33-year-old. But he’s still an integral part of the Warriors’ success and a guy the team will want to keep in its corner moving forward.
But everything has a price, and Thompson could be eying another big deal. For Thompson to come back to Golden State beyond this season, though, he’ll likely have to take a pay cut, similar to what Andrew Wiggins did a year ago.