Warriors' 2026 NBA offseason outlook: Who stays, who goes during pivotal summer? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
A year ago was the Summer of Waiting for the Warriors as Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency took over their offseason. The same situation won’t arise one year later.
“Well, for my personal summer vacation plans it’s very important,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy joked one month ago on May 15. “I don’t want to – I hope I don’t have to be dealing with roster construction to the end of September, but that was a unique situation.
“My guess is it probably won’t happen again in that regard. We have some things to figure out, though. Draft and then obviously Draymond [Green] has his player option, and we’ve got some unrestricted free agents that we’d like to get back. So a busy summer, as always, and then hopefully it ends up shorter than last year.”
Golden State’s busy offseason began once all parties could take a deep breath and not have any emotional decisions after losing in the NBA play-in tournament, including Steve Kerr’s ultimate choice of remaining the Warriors head coach. In terms of contracts and getting the ball rolling there, the offseason began Sunday.
Teams can start negotiating with their own free agents the day after the NBA Finals ends. The Warriors have four unrestricted free agents, three restricted free agents and three with player options. That leaves them with just six players currently under contract, and two of them will start the season rehabbing knee injuries.
Steph Curry is eligible for a contract extension on Aug. 29, which he has stated he wants, and Brandin Podziemski is rookie contract extension eligible to avoid restricted free agency next offseason. A rookie contract extension has to be signed by 3 p.m. PT the day before the 2026-27 regular season starts.
Free-agent negotiations with players not on your own teams begins June 30 at 3 p.m. PT ahead of the July 1 free agency moratorium and teams being able to officially sign free agents on July 6 at 9:01 a.m. PT. There’s business to be done before then, however, throughout the final two weeks of June.
The Warriors for the first time in years are going into the offseason under the luxury cap, with the NBA’s projected salary cap for the 2026-27 season being right around $165 million. The Warriors also should have the $15.1 non-taxpayer midlevel exception to use, but it’s unlikely they can use it and still have the flexibility to fill in their roster and stay under the tax. The NTMLE should be a strong asset to use at their disposal.
Shortly after the 2026 NBA Draft, the Warriors will have a much better idea of their roster and expenses. Golden State has three key players who have to decline or exercise their player options by June 29.
Now that the 2025-26 NBA season has concluded and the draft is one week away, here is a look at the Warriors’ offseason outlook.
NBA Draft
First Round: No. 11 Pick
Second Round: No. 54 Pick
Under Contract
Steph Curry: $62.6 million
Jimmy Butler: $56.9 million
Moses Moody: $12.5 million
Brandin Podziemski: $5.7 million
Gui Santos: $4.6 million
Will Richard: $2.2 million
Player Options
Draymond Green: $27.7 million
Al Horford: $6 million
De’Anthony Melton: $3.5 million
Unrestricted Free Agents
Kristaps Porzingis: Bird Rights
Gary Payton II: Bird Rights
Seth Curry: Non-Bird Rights
Charles Bassey: Non-Bird Rights
Restricted Free Agents
Pat Spencer: Bird Rights
Quinten Post: Early Bird Rights
Nate Williams: Non-Bird Rights
“Let’s see where we go when the trade deadline comes around and into the spring,” Dunleavy said regarding the state of the Warriors and his outlook for the 2026-27 season. “I think the last couple of years we can say we’ve added talent in a good way in February.
“Who knows where we’ll be come April, March, May. … But by the end of the year, if you have Steph Curry on your team, Steve Kerr is the coach and Jimmy Butler is back, in a seven-game playoff series, I don’t want to say we can’t beat anybody.”
