Winners and Losers from Warriors' Play-In Game Loss to Suns

The Golden State Warriors were eliminated from the play-in tournament with a 111-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday.

It's never a good sign for Golden State when Jalen Green (36 points) outscores Stephen Curry (17 points) by 19 points.

Most of the Warriors' rotation players didn't play well, but it wasn't all bad for the Golden State franchise.

I have three winners and two losers from the Dubs' season-ending loss.

Winner: Warriors' Draft Positioning

Before the play-in tournament started, some speculated the Warriors would be better off losing. Others even said they should purposely lose.

I wasn't one of thoese people, but the draft-positioning argument has its merits.

Had the Warriors toppled the Suns, they would have picked 15th in the 2026 NBA draft. With the loss, now the Warriors are likely to pick 11th.

That difference of four picks could be valuable, but the real prize would be moving up in the draft lottery. They have a 9.4 percent chance of moving into the top four, and a 2.0 percent chance of getting the first pick.

If they get into the top four, the possibility of landing a star in a trade goes up, though I suspect Joe Lacob and Co. would rather keep the player (likely AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer or Caleb Wilson) as a bridge to the future. There is merit to either decision, but either way, it would be a win for the Warriors franchise.

Loser: Warriors' Options with Porzingis

With Kristaps Porzingis, the Warriors are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

They can't afford to lose a talent like him for nothing, so they will likely try to re-sign him in the offseason. But if they bring him back, they need him to be available for next season's stretch run and playoffs, and there's no reason to suggest that he can stay on the court for an extended stretch.

Porzingis left Friday's game early in the second half as a team-worst minus-22 in 15 minutes. The ankle soreness he was battling after the Clippers game was likely the reason.

Expect Porzingis to get re-signed and plenty of offseason quotes about how the Warriors can keep him on the court to follow. But the truth is his history with illnesses and injuries strongly suggests no performance staff can keep him on the court consistently.

Winner: Melton's Free-Agent Pitch to Warriors

De'Anthony Melton was the Warriors' best player on Friday. He had 16 points, three assists and just one turnover, and overall he played impactful defense, helping to limit Devin Booker to 5-of-12 shooting.

What stood out most was how Melton's secondary ball-handling gave the Suns problems. He attacked their pressure defense and got into the lane in a way no one else other Stephen Curry did, and he had better results than Curry once he got there.

It goes without saying that the Warriors would love to have him back. If they can get him for the taxpayer mid-level exception of about $6 million, they would be thrilled.

But he might demand more than that, in which case the Warriors would need to have the cap flexibility to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception that's worth up to $15 million.

Expect him to use this play-in game as one of many reasons he's worth more than $6 million.

Loser: Warriors Offense with Draymond Green

The Warriors had all sorts of offensive issues on Friday, and it would be unfair to say they were all related to Green.

But as the Suns hounded Curry with almost no consequence, it was hard not to wonder again if the Warriors can have a viable offense against great defenses with Green on the court.

It's difficult to score efficiently in 2026 with a player who doesn't shoot threes, doesn't finish well inside and doesn't take care of the ball well (Green had five turnovers Friday).

In Green's defense, he had some great passes that led to him getting six assists, and he adds value as a screener for Curry that doesn't show up in box scores.

Green should be back next season, and he'll likely continue to be valuable on the defensive end. We'll see if the Warriors find better ways to work around his offensive limitations.

Winner: Goodwin's Free-Agent Market

Jordan Goodwin is a great story.

He played four seasons at Saint Louis and frankly wasn't much of an NBA prospect with his offensive inefficiency. But he had two skills that gave him a chance—outrageous rebounding numbers for a guard and great defense.

Goodwin went undrafted in 2021, and coming into this season he played 150 games across four seasons with the Wizards, Suns, Grizzlies and Lakers.

The way the Suns got Goodwin back was clamining him off free-agency waivers this offseason.

He ended up playing 70 regular-season games for the Suns with great defense and rebounding, but more importantly, he made 112 three-pointers on 37.1 percent shooting.

In Friday's game, he had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds and six(!) steals.

Goodwin is not under contract next season. Every contender should want him, and it's obvious someone will be willing to pay more than the veteran minimum to get him.

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