Warriors Offseason Primer: Free Agents, Draft Capital, Salary-Cap Space, Trades

The Golden State Warriors have entered the offseason with one question hanging over everything.

Will Steve Kerr be coaching to the Warriors next year?

That's Golden State's first order of business. Once that is decided, we can proceed to all the other things listed in this offseason primer, including free agents, draft capital, salary-cap space and potential trade pursuits.

Free Agents

On the last day of the regular season, the Warriors had 18 players under contract. Of them, 10 can become free agents this offseason.

Three have player options they can decline to test free agency. They are Draymond Green, Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton.

Kristaps Porzingis headlines the seven others. Porzingis is headed toward unrestricted free agency, but it's important to note that the Warriors have his Bird rights, which means they can go over the salary cap to re-sign him.

Gary Payton II, Seth Curry and Charles Bassey will be unrestricted free agents, while Quinten Post, Pat Spencer and Nate Williams will be restricted FAs.

Green is just about guaranteed to be back. The Warriors will probably prioritize getting a deal done with Porzingis early in free agency, and how those negotiations go will impact what they decide to do with Melton and the rest.

Draft Capital

The Warriors have two picks in the 2026 draft. The placement of their first-round pick won't be set in stone until the NBA Draft Lottery on May 10. Golden State is likely to pick 11th, but it has a 9.4 percent chance of moving into the top four.

The Warriors' 2026 second-rounder is set at 54th overall. They acquired it by trading Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Raptors at the trade deadline.

Golden State has full ownership of its 2027, 2028, 2029, 2031 and 2032 first-round picks. It also owns its first-round pick in 2030 it if lands between pick No. 1 and No. 20. The pick will go to the Mavericks if it lands between 21 and 30.

Aside from the aforementioned 2026 second-rounder, the Warriors don't have a second-round pick they can outright trade through 2032.

Salary-Cap Space

In a literal sense, the Warriors will have no salary-cap space this offseason. With their six players under standard contracts making $144.4 million and Draymond Green expected to make close to $20 million, they are already at the salary cap of $165 million.

This is the case for most teams as well, which is why players tend to sign contract extensions with their current teams instead of entering unrestricted free agency.

With that said, the Warriors could have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of up to $15 million, which could be of interest to LeBron James. Of course the four-time MVP is worth much more than that, but it's possible no contender will offer him more than that.

If James isn't an option, Golden State can offer its mid-level exception to Melton.

For more on the Warriors' ability to keep Melton and Porzingis, read here.

Once the Dubs use their mid-level exception, their best offer to free agents will be a veteran minimum contract.

Potential Trade Pursuits

The Warriors will surely call the Bucks about Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason, but once it becomes obvious that the Bucks want a package with young talent the Warriors don't have, there a few players they can pivot to.

Kawhi Leonard is the headliner. Here is an excerpt from the reporting of ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater regarding Golden State's trade deadline pursuit of Leonard.

"Some within the Warriors organization believe a Leonard trade was close. Others were skeptical. On the Clippers side, it was a steadfast no from Ballmer, who wields the ultimate hammer.

"Either way, sources said there's an expectation the Warriors could reengage the Clippers on Leonard's availability this offseason."

Outside of Leonard and Antetokounmpo, it's all quiet on the trade front for now.

But there are two types of situations the Warriors should have their trade eyes on.

The first is the star player on a team that seems to be building around an even younger core. That's why Zion Williamson might be a name to watch for the Warriors.

The second is a playoff team that feels like it has hit its ceiling and needs to a shakeup. For example, if the Cavaliers don't make it to the conference finals, they might decide it's time to trade Jarrett Allen to break up the Allen-Mobley frontcourt.

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