The Golden State Warriors made some major changes to their roster this offseason, but they did not add any star talent.
Golden State lost sharpshooter Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal, but it attempted to replace him by adding De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield.
The Warriors also pursued star Paul George in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers before he eventually signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
With the Warriors striking out on the star front, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater believes that they could end up making a “significant” trade during the 2024-25 season.
“They’ll make a significant trade: In a slightly upgraded form, the Warriors have the same problem as a season ago,” Slater wrote. “They have plenty of rotation-level NBA talent but not enough top-end scoring or creation next to Stephen Curry. I imagine they’ll win enough games to stay in the playoff mix, tick off a couple of capable players who are buried in the rotation and then, once January or February nears, find a consolidation trade that better balances the roster and rotation.
“They have the first-rounders, flexible contracts and young talent to get a deal done. They say they’ll be aggressive. Curry will exert some polite leverage if he knows there is an upgrade out there that is reasonably available. Another aspect to watch is Jonathan Kuminga’s contract talks. If he extends in October, collective bargaining agreement rules make him nearly impossible to trade until next summer. If he doesn’t (my current guess), he remains an obvious and appealing trade piece.”
A former lottery pick, Kuminga really came into his own in his third season for Golden State. In the 2023-24 campaign, he averaged 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc.
The Warriors would love it if Kuminga and former first-round pick Brandin Podziemski blossomed into star players alongside Curry, but that may be an unlikely scenario for Golden State.
Curry is still in the prime of his career, as he was an All-Star and All-NBA player in the 2023-24 season before he put on a show in the Olympics over the summer to help Team USA win the gold medal.
If the Warriors feel that they are a player away from giving Curry a chance to compete for a fifth NBA title, it’s possible they’ll pull the trigger on a move during the 2024-25 season.
One key for Golden State will be the health and play of forward Draymond Green, who was suspended during the 2023-24 season.
The Warriors were 33-22 last season when Green played (11 games over .500), but they were just 13-14 without him (one game below .500).
Ultimately, Golden State ended up getting into the play-in tournament, but it was eliminated by the Sacramento Kings.
The Warriors should be an interesting team to watch in the 2024-25 season as they try to build a winning core around Curry even though Thompson is no longer on the roster.
