The Golden State Warriors are getting close to wrapping up the roster for the coming season, with some hope being held out that the team can lure 41-year-old superstar LeBron James to the Bay Area to finish out his career alongside friend and fellow Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. If not, the Warriors could seek to make one last upgrade with a veteran like DeMar DeRozan, but for the most part, Golden State will be looking at much the same team as it had to close the year in 2025-26.
But the Warriors did make a major acquisition in using the No. 11 overall pick to bring in Yaxel Lendeborg, the Michigan star whose size (6-foot-9, 240 pounds) and versatility on both ends should make him an ideal player alongside Curry.
And when it comes to making decisions for the future of the roster, team general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has used Curry’s presence as his guide.
Mike Dunleavy Jr.: Stephen Curry ‘Extended This Thing Out’
On Tuesday, Dunleavy spoke with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin in a televised interview from the Las Vegas summer league and Dunleavy was clear that Curry, even at age 38, is the driver of this roster.
His message on the roster was, simply, that as long as Curry is there, the Warriors need to get the right supporting players: “Credit to Stephen, he has extended this thing pretty far out. So we just keep building a team around him and it’s fun, it is a fun thing to do, just surrounding him with the right type of players to get through, whether we’re drafting guys, signing guys, trading for them. I’d say for the most part it is easy as long as he keeps playing well.
Stephen Curry, Other Warriors Had Knee Issues Last Year
Of course, one big issue for Dunleavy, Curry and the Warriors has been health, and that will continue to be the case heading into next season. Curry himself had a knee issue late last year that cost him most of the second half, and he can only hope it does not flare up again.
The Warriors will open the year with two starters on the shelf because of knee injuries–Jimmy Butler, who is out as his torn ACL heals, and Moses Moody, who tore his patellar tendon in March.
Neither has a firm return timeline, but it is unlikely the Warriors see either before Christmas. The Warriors are not expected to trade Butler, but have weighed the possibility of trading away Moody.
Warrior Getting Steve Kerr Back
One of the complaints that Warriors coach Steven Kerr had by the time last year’s 37-win debacle had unfolded was the fact that Golden State was trying to juggle too many injuries and too many elderly players who could not play consistently. The team’s current state does not bode well in that regard, but Kerr has agreed to come back and coach the team again–mostly, as he has said, to finish out with Stephen Curry.
But Kerr also wants to coach, Dunleavy made clear.
As Dunleavy said: “The biggest thing was Steve’s desire to do it. As the season ended and we took some time, got away, Steve came back and started talking about it, it was clear he had a deep passion to be a coach. And from that point on it was just a matter of figuring out what we needed to do to improve our team and keep this thing going. It is great to have him back, he is someone who makes my job easier.”
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