Warriors Drop in NBA Front Office Rankings After Trade Deadline

It's been a long time since the Golden State Warriors front office was ahead of the curve.

That sentiment was reflected in front office rankings from CBS Sports' Sam Quinn.

Quinn does two rankings per year: one after free agency, and another after the trade deadline. The Warriors were 14th after free agency, but in his latest edition, they dropped to 17th.

Quinn's Justification for the Drop

Quinn mentioned Jonathan Kuminga just once in his Warriors write-up. It was a damning mention, as he wrote: "They mishandled Jonathan Kuminga in more ways than we can cover. It was never clear how close they ever got to moving either in any sort of aggressive, win-now move, but almost anything that might have been on the table probably would have been better than the way things played out."

But this drop was about more than just that.

Quinn mentioned that the acquisitions of Buddy Hield and Al Horford did not pan out (though Horford can change the narrative with a strong post-All-Star break), and he added that Brandin Podziemski has plateaued since his rookie year.

He also wrote that the losses of Jerry West, Bob Myers and Travis Schlenk have left the Warriors without the type of cutting-edge thinking that great front offices have.

My Take: If Anything, Quinn Is Being Nice

Coming off their 2022 championship, the Warriors should have prioritized the present with Stephen Curry still at the peak of his powers. Instead, they put a worse roster around him for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons while choosing not to trade for a second star. That was especially damning at the 2024 trade deadline when they had Chris Paul's expiring contract as a money-matcher.

Then at the 2025 trade deadline, they made a great move dealing for Jimmy Butler, but they were still clearly one quality player short of title contention. They could've packaged Kuminga, salary filler and picks for that final piece, but instead they kept Kuminga again, and the result was the drama-filled last year in which no one won.

The Warriors have had some successes from their recent second-round draft picks, but aside from that, the front office has done almost nothing well. The James Wiseman and Kuminga picks overshadow the returns of their other recent first-round picks, and the Dubs have mostly had major issues finding wings and centers on the free-agent market.

Golden State's decision to hold onto its first-round picks this trade deadline makes sense. Butler's season-ending ACL tear and Curry's nagging knee injury suggest this is not their year. But that doesn't excuse the Warriors from not making trades for more impactful players over the last three years.

The Warriors are about to enter a fascinating offseason in which they have to navigate a) Draymond Green's future (he has a player option), b) the free agencies of Kristaps Porzingis, De'Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Al Horford and Quinten Post, and c) a draft in which they have a first-round pick that will likely land in the teens.

Considering the Warriors have struggled to put a title contender on the floor in the present while also completely whiffing on finding impact talent for the future, it's hard to have much confidence in team governor Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to make the right decisions.