4 Golden State Warriors who shouldn’t return next season

After losing 4-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West Semifinals, the Golden State Warriors are no longer the reigning champions and will have plenty of work to do this summer. The Warriors struggled through most of the 2022–23 season, and despite knocking off the third-seed Sacramento Kings in the first round of the NBA playoffs, they never seemed like a team that was going to successfully defend their title. Now, after being bounced in the second round by the surging Lakers, Golden State finds themselves at a crossroads.

With the Warriors deep into the luxury tax, they may be limited in what they can do this summer. They could bring most of their team back next season, tweak the roster where they can, and hope for a better outcome. Given how many games players like Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins missed, had they played more, then Golden State may have been a higher seed and could have advanced further in the playoffs.

That probably would have helped, but it may not have solved all of their issues. On the other hand, Golden State had a surprisingly clear path back to the Finals and another championship after several of the NBA’s top teams were upset in the playoffs, only for them to fall to the Lakers. Additionally, their two best players are nearing their mid-thirties, and as Curry and Klay Thompson age, they will both likely miss more games.

The Warriors will eventually have to rely less on their best players, perhaps as soon as next season, and they could make significant changes to the roster this summer to improve the team around them. With that being said, let’s take a look at four Warriors who shouldn’t return next season.