Steve Kerr Comments Should Mean End of Warriors Tenure for 2 Veterans

In his exit interview on Friday, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said something that could guide several offseason decisions.

"We need some younger legs for sure," Kerr said.

“I think the last couple of years, frankly, have been difficult with the age, the collective age of our team—the injuries,” Kerr added. “I think we had like six guys this year who either couldn't play back-to-backs or were on minutes restrictions, often at the same time."

Realistically, the Warriors will enter next season with some older players on the roster. Draymond Green (36) and Al Horford (39) have player options, Stephen Curry (38) and Jimmy Butler (36) are under contract, and Kristaps Porzingis (30 with major injury/illness history) is too important to not re-sign.

But the Warriors can say goodbye to two veterans to give Kerr a bit more collective youth.

Seth Curry and Gary Payton II Could Be Gone

Between the two, Seth Curry is the obvious one to let walk.

With Butler and Moses Moody out for at least half of next season, the Warriors need players with good health track records.

Curry (35) played just 10 games last season. It would be malpractice to use one of their 15 standard contracts on any free agent who had that much trouble staying healthy last year.

Payton isn't as obvious.

The 33-year-old played in 73 games this past season, which was second on the team. At the veteran minimum, that's very valuable.

The Warriors have to ask themselves if it's likely he'll be that healthy again, or if the combination of his age and health track record suggest he'll miss a lot of time.

Payton missed 60 games in 2022-23, 38 in 2023-24 and 20 in 2024-25. The Warriors should be able to find a younger player for cheap who can replace his production and has a better chance to get through the season without a significant injury.

Warriors Need Hits from Draft and Free Agency

It's obvious that the Warriors can get younger by using their draft picks. They have two of them (Nos. 11 and 54). I outline here how they can acquire a second first-round pick.

But whether the Warriors make two or three draft selections, they need to hit in free agency too.

ESPN's Anthony Slater said Wednesday on 95.7 The Game that the Warriors need more "mid-prime players."

Some potentially bargain-bin free agents who qualify are Jordan Goodwin (27), Keon Ellis (26), Josh Okogie (27) and Collin Gillespie (26).

Last year, the Warriors used their mid-level exception on Horford. This offseason, expect them to use it on a mid-prime player.

They should also give out at least two veteran-minimum contracts to mid-prime players.

The roster could look something like this, assuming the Warriors fail to re-sign De'Anthony Melton (27) after he declines his player option:

Veterans: Curry, Butler, Green, Horford, Porzingis
Mid-prime: MLE signing, 2 vet minimum signings, Moody (24), Santos (24)
Players on rookie contracts: Brandin Podziemski (23), Will Richard (24), No. 11 pick, No. 54 pick

It doesn't have to look exactly like this for their standard contracts (this projection has the minimum of 14 instead of the max of 15). But it's clear that the Warriors should avoid having more than five players in the "veterans" category to avoid having a repeat of last season's issues.

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