The Biggest Question the Warriors Still Haven't Answered This Offseason

The Golden State Warriors are up to 13 players with standard contracts after re-signing Gary Payton II. There is no report of an imminent trade, so this is what their roster will look like, at least at the beginning of the season.

One problem the Warriors have solved this offseason is getting more positional size. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has great size for a forward at 6'9". Lineups that feature Gui Santos (6'7"), Lendeborg and Kristaps Porzingis (7'2") will be huge.

Re-signing Payton and De'Anthony Melton gives the Warriors some on-ball defense, and re-signing Al Horford while extending Porzingis gives the Warriors the type of shooting that's needed in lineups with Draymond Green.

But perhaps the biggest question the Warriors had after Jimmy Butler got injured has not been answered this offseason.

How Will the Warriors Survive Offensively When Steph Is Resting?

The Warriors have had offensive issues with Curry off the court for years, but Butler helped mask them. Here are Golden State's offensive ratings in various situations over the last two seasons, per Cleaning the Glass:

Season	Curry On	Curry Off	Curry Off/Butler On	Both Off
2025-26	119.1	112.2	116.7	110.9
2024-25	120.1	107.0	113.9	104.2

As you can see, the numbers with Curry off were bad, but the numbers with Curry and Butler off were dreadful.

The Warriors needed to add somebody who can be an offensive hub for the second unit, but instead they did nothing close to that.

Not only will the Dubs struggle to stay in games when Curry is off the floor, but a secondary issue is that Curry needs a second high-quality scorer on the court with him at times to deflect some defensive pressure.

So the Warriors can a) expect Curry to be overburdened when he's on the court and b) expect Curry to be overburdened by constantly having to make up deficits caused by the second unit.

That's a lot to ask of any player, let alone a 38-year-old.

Can the Warriors Find a Solution?

The most attainable move that would help the issue is signing DeMar DeRozan.

Though DeRozan has major defensive issues and would probably be overstretched having to be a scorer and playmaker for the second unit, there's no denying that he'd be a big offensive upgrade.

His teams have had positive net-rating swings with him on the court in seven consecutive seasons.

The Warriors can only offer a veteran minimum contract to DeRozan, which hurts their chances in getting him.

DeRozan might be willing to settle for a veteran minimum deal, but one would think if a title contender offers that, he'd sign with the title contender over the Dubs.

Outside of DeRozan, the Warriors would likely have to trade multiple first-round picks for a player who could help run the second unit and assist Curry in the starting lineup. I believe they should do that depending on the player/price, but I'm guessing no big move is coming soon.

How the Warriors Will Make Do

The best-case scenario for Golden State is Porzingis getting in shape and staying healthy.

A championship-caliber roster probably wouldn't have Porzingis as its second- or third-most important offensive player, but he's at least capable of acting as an offensive hub at times.

To illustrate how badly the Warriors need Porzingis' offense, only three Warriors averaged more than 19.3 points per 36 minutes last season. They were Curry (30.9), Porzingis (24.5) and Butler (23.1).

In comparison, the Thunder and Spurs had four players each averaging at least 20 points per 36 minutes.

The other thing the Warriors will have to do is play excellent defense, especially with their second unit.

There are combinations involving Melton, Brandin Podziemski and Will Richard that posted great defensive ratings last year, so that could be a starting point for second-unit lineups.

In any event, Steve Kerr will have to find lineups that allow the Warriors to break even with Curry off the court.

If he can do that until Butler returns from tearing his ACL, the Warriors will be in a much better spot in the standings than they would be otherwise.

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