Keep up to date on the latest Warriors news this free agency period.
It’s one of the most fun times of year on the basketball calendar: the start of NBA free agency. The Golden State Warriors are one of the most intriguing teams in the league as we begin the offseason in earnest. Not only are they trying to get back to the top of the mountain after winning a championship a little over a year ago, but they have a new GM trying to take them there. They also have a franchise icon whose statue will one day live outside of Chase Center entering free agency for the first time. Oh, and in case you missed it, they pulled off one of the biggest, and perhaps the most surprising move of the offseason with a blockbuster draft day trade.
It’s gonna be a wild time, so I wanted to put a tracker up so you can keep track of all the Warriors moves over the coming hours, days, and weeks.
As a reminder, the Warriors currently have 10 players under contract: returning starters Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney; 12-time All-Star Chris Paul; defensive ace Gary Payton II; third-year pros Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody; and incoming rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. has already stated that the Warriors are unlikely to start the season with all 15 roster spots filled, presumably for financial reasons and to leave the door open for a move down the road. So for all intents and purposes, they have four roster spots to fill, plus a trio of two-way contracts.
Warriors free agency tracker
Here you’ll find every update on the Warriors free agency period, with the most recent news at the top.
Sacramento bows out
The Sacramento Kings were seen as one of the primary suitors to sign Green, with numerous reports that they would make a run at him. But after re-signing former Warrior Harrison Barnes, the Kings no longer have the cap space necessary to add Golden State’s defensive star. This move strongly points towards Green returning to the Dubs: not only does it take one of his top suitors out of the running, but Sacramento moving so quickly on Barnes might suggest that they didn’t feel Green signing with them was an actual possibility. The sentiment around the league remains that Green will re-sign with the Warriors, and this move points to that.
Read about it on Golden State of Mind.
Summer League roster announced
The Warriors announced their Summer League roster which, in addition to Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, features Lester Quiñones and Gui Santos. Summer League rosters are interesting because a lot of teams choose their two-way contracts in part based on how a player performs in Summer League, both in games and in practice.
Read about it on Golden State of Mind.
Lamb and Jerome renounced
The Warriors did not give qualifying offers to free agents Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome, which makes them unrestricted free agents. The Warriors can still re-sign either player for a slightly-lower price tag, and reports say that there is some level of interest in doing that.
DiVincenzo enters the market
To the surprise of no one, guard Donte DiVincenzo opted out of his contract with the Warriors, and enters unrestricted free agency. This is no surprise, since DiVincenzo’s option was for $4.7 million and he played himself into a much larger contract. The Warriors only hope at retaining him was that he’d want to take a massive discount, and that just doesn’t happen with players chasing their first big payday. We’ll see where he ends up but, unfortunately, it won’t be in San Francisco.
Read about it on Golden State of Mind.
Grizzlies interested in Green
One of the funnier free agency reports is that the Memphis Grizzlies wanted to make a run at Green, though trading for Marcus Smart presumably ended those thoughts. The Grizzlies didn’t have the cap space to sign Green without doing some gymnastics, but the thought of a team that Green has trashed at every opportunity, whose fans hate him, signing the four-time All-Star is pretty funny.
Read about it on Golden State of Mind.
Dray expected to stay
Marc Stein reported that the Warriors are expressing strong confidence that they will re-sign Green to a multi-year deal.
Read about it on Golden State of Mind.
Dame wants Dray
The Portland Trail Blazers have been linked to Green for almost a year now, so it wasn’t surprising when news broke that their superstar, Damian Lillard — who has a good relationship with Dray — was pushing hard for the Blazers to land him.
Read about it on Golden State of Mind.
Draymond opts out
Green opted out of his $27.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season. This doesn’t mean that he’s getting ready to leave. It might mean that he wants to test the market to leverage the Warriors, or it might just mean that he wants to effectively restructure his contract rather than sign an extension.