What Expiring Contracts Will Most Affect the Warriors After 26-27?
The Warriors enter the upcoming NBA season with hopes of repeating their 2025 playoffs run and even better. They are set to bring back several players, along with a couple of external additions like Brandon Williams. Golden State has grown to have a well-respected front office, and a responsible organization always looks out to the future while making the most of the present. The 2022 NBA Champions did well to sort out their roster construction well before the season’s tipoff, something they didn’t wrap up until the last minute in 2025-2026. Once this campaign eventually reaches its conclusion, Golden State will have a clean slate to work through.
Outside of Gui Santos, Moses Moody, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, no other members of the current squad have a contract beyond 26-27. Their aging core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler could theoretically all walk. If the Warriors choose to do a complete rebuild, therefore not re-signing some or any of those heavy contracts, the fans from the Bay will see a new era in the blink of an eye. Curry, who has played all 17 of his years with Golden State, is surely the biggest question mark from all the expiring contracts, but also the most complex. The two-time MVP can take a one- or two-year maximum deal as he might contemplate retirement, can take less money to help the team restructure, or can take his talents elsewhere.
Butler and Green may be a little easier for the Warriors to cut ties with. The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year will have become 36 years old by the time negotiations begin, assuming that will occur after the regular season and playoffs. His statistical output has steadily decreased over the last few years, and as much as his off-court impact as a culture-setter helps, there is a threshold an athlete still needs to cross in their on-court contribution. Butler, on the other hand, seems not to have let age affect his numbers, but his recent injury certainly will. Against his former team, the Miami Heat, Butler tore his ACL in a gruesome fashion last January and hasn’t played since.
Most of the decisions revolving around every other role player will be heavily influenced by their play from the upcoming year. Obviously, an agreement will have to be reached on both finances and length, but Golden State may not necessarily stay loyal to anyone else. This is particularly important for guys like Brandin Podziemski, from whom the Warriors have long waited to take a large leap but have yet to see a significant improvement. The topic of contracts heading into 27-28 may not concern many right now, but it will eventually become the most entertaining subject for this organization.
