Try as they might, the Golden State Warriors have failed to make a big move to bolster their roster this summer. They nearly pulled off a trade for Paul George, only for that deal to fall through and now another Warriors all-star trade target, Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz, is off the market until next season.
Striking out on both doesn't leave them with many options, and the few that they do have don't reportedly interest them, with New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram and Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine not on their radar, according to ESPN's Kendra Andrews. If they aren't on their radar, then that leaves Golden State with a roster that doesn't appear to be much better than last year's team that missed the playoffs.
Letting longtime Warrior Klay Thompson leave and waiving Chris Paul was meant to give them more flexibility and it does but they haven't been able to do much with it to improve their roster. That potentially makes next season a transition year but it's unclear what comes next.
Do the Golden State Warriors have any other options to improve their roster?
Short of another star becoming available, the Warriors could and should look to make smaller deals to improve their roster. They have already added Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and De'Anthony Milton, giving them capable rotation players, while it looks like they will be leaning on their young core going forward.
Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis will likely continue to start for the Warriors next season and play a much bigger role, while Jonathan Kuminga will presumably be relied upon as the team's second option behind Steph Curry. With Kuminga reportedly wanting a rookie max that is worth $224 million, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, he will have to show and prove that he can help carry the Warriors next season.
He did show that he was capable of an increased offensive role, with him averaging 18.3 points on 54.3% shooting from January 1, 2024, until the end of last season. Still, an aging Curry and Draymond Green mean the Warriors have a lot of question marks and without another star to help carry the load, they will have to rely on relatively unproven players. Considering that they aren't significantly better than they were last season, they face a similar outcome without a major move.