They say you can’t educate an previous canine new tips.
Don’t inform Steve Kerr and the Warriors.
The last time we saw these guys, it felt like it could be the last time. The future was still very much up in the air heading into the summer time. Kerr was considering retirement. The heart of their galaxy, Steph Curry, was 38 and dealing with a new and doubtlessly persistent knee situation.
Inside a room about the dimension of a broom closet after their play-in elimination to the Suns, Kerr said he was no longer positive he was the proper man for the job. Curry acknowledged there would want to be a “new normal” for himself and totally different expectations for the Warriors. Draymond Green couldn’t say for positive if he’d be back, or if Golden State would need him back.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, heart, reacts after injuring himself during an open NBA basketball observe for followers in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP
The last remaining vestiges of their dynasty were cracking. An period was coming to an finish.
A few months later, they’re working it back again.
For all of the unknowns when they parted methods in April, it was a comparatively quiet summer time at One Warriors Way. Kerr signed up for two more years. Curry signed an extension virtually as quickly as he was eligible. And, after declining his participant choice so that the Warriors could discover other avenues, Green re-upped at the same fee ($27.7 million) when none of these choices panned out.
LeBron James turned down the alluring concept of teaming up with Curry for a higher probability at a championship in Philadelphia. Their high goal this previous commerce deadline (Kawhi Leonard) and the white whale they’ve been after for years (Giannis Antetokounmpo) discovered other locations.
For much of the offseason, Mike Dunleavy Jr. was the only basic supervisor who had yet to make one modification to his roster. And still, when you look on the guests’ bench Wednesday night time inside Crypto.com Arena, the most notable new faces will belong to a draft decide (Yaxel Lendeborg, taken eleventh total) and an assistant coach (Frank Vogel, employed to lead the protection).
Golden State Warriors heart Al Horford talks with ahead Yaxel Lendeborg during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball sport against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
The adjustments that the Warriors believe — nicely, at least, hope — can squeeze the last bit of juice out of the Curry period will be more noticeable on the court docket, between the traces. When Kerr determined to return, he was clear: The Warriors, and himself at age 61, were going to have to evolve.
Chaos no longer works in their favor. The offense will function more set performs and patterns. Sheet music instead of freeform jazz. They turned the ball over more than all but three other groups last season and ranked in the backside half of the league in offensive effectivity.
“It used to be more acceptable because we had more talent than everybody,” Kerr said. “But that hasn’t been the case now for a while. The league has changed. … We are no longer in that position. That’s been really exposed the last couple of years.”
Last season ended with 37 regular-season wins, the No. 10 seed and an elimination in the second play-in sport. Kerr has described it on a number of events as a “transition” 12 months.
This 12 months, “I feel like we’re leaning all the way into the things that we’re trying to do,” he said.
Knowing they have to survive with out Jimmy Butler or Moses Moody until at least the new 12 months, “We were presented an opportunity to reimagine things, revamp things,” Kerr said. “I think we have a cleaner, clearer picture of what our identity is gonna become.”
Golden State Warriors ahead Draymond Green reacts toward referee Intae Hwang during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball sport between the Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
STARTING 5
Can the Warriors keep afloat until February?
That’s about when the Warriors can expect Butler and Moody to return from their respective knee accidents. And the greatest probability to improve their roster at the Feb. 11 commerce deadline. The outcomes of these three variables will in the end determine where the Warriors are left standing when issues are said and performed. But they have to play nicely enough with out them to put themselves in place for it to matter when their high two wings return — and, for that matter, for it to be value Dunleavy’s while to swing a commerce at the deadline. “Our job,” Kerr said, “is to get this team clicking, building momentum.”
Is Yaxel Lendeborg prepared to contribute instantly?
Lendeborg isn’t like any other latest Warriors rookie — they drafted him eleventh total realizing full nicely that they were going to rely on him to get to where they need to go. He won’t want to twist Kerr’s arm for taking part in time — expect to see the 6-foot-9, 241-pounder in the beginning lineup on opening night time. Kerr has gone as far as to say the 24-year-old could be the Warriors’ greatest basket-getter in the minutes Curry isn’t on the ground. They’ve informed him they want him to be aggressive on the offensive finish of the ground, and it would appear that he’s been receptive to the message. After being held to six factors on 1-of-6 taking pictures in his preseason debut, Lendeborg averaged 19 factors while going 22 of 36 from the ground over his ultimate three exhibitions. Now, the Warriors want him to do it when the video games rely.
Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski is guarded by Portland Trail Blazers heart Branden Carlson during the second half of a preseason sport at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. Getty Images
Will Brandin Podziemski stay up to his $110M extension?
Besides Lendeborg, Podziemski might be the Warriors’ most necessary participant. The events agreed to a five-year, $110 million extension shortly before the season started, a reward for Podziemski overperforming expectations as the nineteenth total decide in 2023 but also a signal of the Warriors’ perception that there’s another stage his sport can attain — presumably the bridge to a post-Curry world. While Curry’s still around for now, absent any main offseason acquisitions, with out Butler or Moody and with an otherwise aged roster, Golden State will want Podziemski to take that next step beginning on opening night time.
Can Steve Kerr get his stars to take care of the basketball?
It would get a little awkward sometimes, according to Curry. He and Green would be at the entrance of the room during a movie session when an particularly egregious turnover they were accountable for would come on display screen with out a peep from Kerr. Those days are over. The advantages of the managed chaos that created the Warriors’ lovely model of basketball no longer outweigh the prices, which means Curry and Green will be held to the same customary as everybody else in the locker room. It’s taken some time to take impact: On common over 5 preseason contests, Golden State turned the ball over more than 20 occasions per sport.
What will the Warriors do with their ‘flexibility’?
There’s at least one upside to the Warriors’ quiet offseason, according to Dunleavy. “We’ve maintained some flexibility,” he said. “We have a whole bunch of assets.” Eventually, the Warriors will have to money these in. They have an additional $10 million to play with, thanks to the generosity of Curry, plus more than $100 million in expiring contracts, including $20 million owed to Kristaps Porzingis that seems to virtually be earmarked to match salaries in a midseason blockbuster. They should get Butler and Moody back around midseason, but they shouldn’t be the Warriors’ only additions.
Golden State Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg shoots over Portland Trail Blazers’ Toumani Camara during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball sport at Chase Center in San Francisco, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. Getty Images
BUZZER BEATERS
Newcomer to Watch
Brandon Williams brings an solely novel aspect to the Warriors: velocity. Kerr said the diminutive level guard is most likely the “most explosive” participant he’s had at his disposal since Leandro Barbosa. He’s also going to be requested to play an outsized position in relation to the nonguaranteed $2.6 million deal he signed over the summer time — backup level guard and the major ball handler when Curry is off the court docket, which will be more usually than in the previous as he manages his knee situation. Williams, 26, is coming off his greatest season as a professional, averaging 13 factors and 3.9 assists in a career-high 66 video games (15 begins), and Kerr said he believes he “has the talent to solidify himself and be a 10-year, 12-year NBA player.” But that may hinge on his skill to take higher care of the basketball: In 5 preseason video games, Williams had more turnovers (15) than assists (11).
Most Important Decision
How the Warriors maintain Steph Curry wholesome. It began over the summer time, the course of of overhauling Curry’s legendary coaching routine to take away any pointless stress on the knees that pressured him to miss virtually half of last season. “A new normal,” Curry termed it, heading into his age-38 season, his 18th in the NBA on the legs that, 12 months after 12 months, log more mileage than anybody else in the league. The seemingly ageless, invincible Curry stared mortality in the eye last season. An overuse harm to the physique half that gets used more than any other in the NBA — runner’s knee, a situation usually reserved for long-distance runners that can become persistent if not allowed to heal correctly. Curry launched an underwater treadmill to his cardio over the summer time to restrict the pounding on his joints. He’ll work with Dr. Rick Celebrini on an in-season restoration program. Curry lately said his knees were feeling “great.” But it’s October. Get back to us in April.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry dribbles previous Portland Trail Blazers’ Ja Morant during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball sport at Chase Center in San Francisco, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. Getty Images
Good Days to Come
It’s not 2022 again, but the circumstances aren’t all that totally different. The Warriors’ window was thought-about closed, Curry and Green previous their prime, and look where they ended up. The parallels even go as far as the supporting piece acquired the earlier season whose availability is instantly called into query heading into opening night time. Andrew Wiggins finally overcame his issues over the COVID-19 vaccine and went on to become an All-Star and an NBA champion. Maybe Porzingis finds a remedy for his mysterious sickness and can do the same.
Bad Days Ahead
Unfortunately, it’s not precisely laborious to make the case. The Warriors barely snuck into the play-in last season. They’re lacking their high two wings, one of whom is also their second-best participant, until most likely February. Their greatest participant is 38 with a bum knee, his sidekick is nowhere close to as efficient as he once was and their supporting forged consists of a 40-year-old who doesn’t play back-to-backs and an infirmary case masquerading as a large man. The home of playing cards wasn’t that tall to start with, and it’s already starting to wobble.
Don’t Be Surprised If
Draymond Green falls out of the beginning lineup. The 36-year-old started to present his age last season, a step slower on protection and more passive than ever before on the other finish of the ground. Now, the Warriors are asking him to make arguably the largest adjustment of anyone in their transfer to a five-out offensive system. If Al Horford stays wholesome and Lendeborg is prepared for primetime, Green could be on the outside wanting in.
Story That Won’t Go Away
Where in the world is Kristaps Porzingis? Even Warriors brass weren’t conscious of the Latvian’s whereabouts weeks after the relaxation of the workforce had reported for coaching camp. Dunleavy was stunned as anybody when the 7-footer called to inform him less than 24 hours before the begin of camp that an “illness” would stop him from attending. He lastly stepped foot in the Warriors’ constructing eight days before their season opener, but the episode should serve as a wakeup call that the well being points that have plagued Porzingis for much of his profession are far from behind him, despite Dunleavy expressing optimism about his availability when he re-signed him to a $20 million extension for this season. Porzingis could play a large half in figuring out how far the Warriors can go. Or, that position could be performed by the chip they’re in a position to purchase utilizing his contract to match salaries in a midseason commerce.
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