July is annual moving month in the NBA, 31 days of recruitment and negotiations, with many deals discussed and a few consummated. Except for the Warriors, who approached July 2026 with barely a whisper and nothing close to a roar.
It is profoundly disappointing. To their credit, though, they indicated 46 days earlier that this could be the case.
General manager Mike Dunleavy put Dub Nation on alert on May 15. Golden State’s offseason priority, he said, was to curb its maddening habit of self-destructive turnovers. To be less reckless. Smarter with the basketball.
“The top priority is to take care of the ball, limit turnovers,” Dunleavy said on the afternoon it was announced that Steve Kerr would be returning as head coach.
“And then after that, we’ll try and get better in every which way.”
As if that alone would be enough for the Warriors to make a full recovery from a 37-45 season that ended with an NBA play-in tournament dud. It was difficult to believe such a soft vision would suffice under CEO Joe Lacob, whose ambition is unlimited. Dunleavy surely was underplaying his hand. They would bait hooks, chase stars and peer under stones to improve the roster.
Wouldn’t the Warriors respond to such a disappointing season by scouring the trade market? Even if it meant parting with some future draft capital. While window-shopping around the league, however, Dunleavy & Co. quickly discovered potential trade partners were unimpressed with the available options on the roster.
The bulk of the roster consists mostly of replaceable talent. The Warriors needed a couple younger but established veterans to support the aging core. They needed, one would think, to address the acute shortage of elite athleticism.
“In the grand scheme of things, not a lot about the roster,” Dunleavy said of last season. “This just isn’t about the roster, frankly. I don’t think we came up short because of the talent on the roster. It was injuries and things we could control.”
Injuries brought an abrupt halt to the momentum generated while winning nine of 12 as the calendar flipped to 2026. Jimmy Butler III sustained a season-ending torn right ACL on Jan 19. Stephen Curry was sidelined 11 days later with runner’s knee. Moses Moody missed the final 10 games after sustaining a torn patellar tendon on March 23.
Golden State opened the 2025-26 NBA season with two elite talents, Curry and Butler, on its roster. The surrounding talent was, on its own, barely competitive. The Warriors were 12-26 – 11th in the Western Conference standings – after Butler went down. They were 9-18 without Curry and 3-7 over the final 10 games without Moody. Kerr spent the second half of the season coaching a bottom-five NBA roster, getting sporadic appearances from Kristaps Porziņģis and rare glimpses of Al Horford.
But Golden State, it must be said, spent the first three months dancing on the edge of mediocrity – before the injuries struck. The Warriors were 25-19, eighth in the West, before Butler left the lineup. A play-in tournament team.
Which is why the front office took measures to improve the roster, most notably a tepid effort to recruit LeBron James.
“Do we need to get better roster-wise? I think so,” the GM acknowledged in May. “But we didn’t get to a point where we played a team where the roster is better than ours. For that reason, we were more focused on the stuff that we can control.
“We’ll always look to be better, talent-wise, roster-wise, all that. But . . . the discussions weren’t really about that. It was more with the team that we have. How can we be better? And what are the things we need to do to build on for long-term success?”
Dub Nation had been warned. The priority was internal development rather than external additions. Do not expect gifts in July.
And none came.
The Warriors were instead content to bring back Porziņģis and Horford, hoping their bodies allow them to suit up for 50-60 games each. They brought back De’Anthony Melton, hoping his first healthy summer in three years can launch him toward 70 games, which also is a reasonable goal for Curry. They brought back Gary Payton II because he has a unique set of skills and is great for the culture.
The only new face with a chance to immediately improve the roster is forward Yaxel Lendeborg. He brings the spirit of a veteran, but it’s best to remember that he is a rookie.
The Warriors anticipate evaluating the first half of the season while awaiting the midseason returns of Butler and Moody. Meanwhile, Dunleavy & Co. still have some latitude with the roster. But it’s hard to fathom striking gold in August or September.
Dub Nation had been warned that 2026-27 was lining up as a “gap year.” The offseason focus would be on internal development rather than external additions. Do not expect gifts in July. None came.
Austerity always is disappointing, as it lays a welcome mat for ennui.
