The Golden State Warriors can finally take a breather — but only for a little while. Their turbulent 2025-26 season has come to an end. It felt long overdue.
Golden State was injury-ravaged and bogged down seemingly the entire year. All hope flew out the window Jan. 13, the day star wingman Jimmy Butler tore his ACL.
It didn’t stop there. Steph Curry was next. Then it was Al Horford. Then it was Moses Moody.
And then the season was over.
Sure, Curry gave Dubs nation a glimpse of the dynamic past with a 35-point masterclass at the Intuit Dome on Wednesday. But 48 hours later, the old, aging Warriors returned. Ugh.
The season ending meant the door to an offseason of uncertainty officially opened.
Steve Kerr gathered with his fellow heirlooms of the dynasty as the game was decided Friday night. He put one arm around Curry and the other around Draymond Green and let out a few words that signaled the end of an era. It was enough to jerk real tears among the Dubs homers.
Besides Kerr, Curry and Green’s future being widely unknown at this point, there is also the recently-acquired Kristaps Porzingis.
He’s been a Warrior for just over two months, but there sure seems to be a possibility his tenure won’t extend beyond that.
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“A busy offseason for the Warriors,” Curry said with a wistful smile after Golden State’s season-ending loss Friday.
Busy indeed.
Curry is destined for his age 39 season with the Warriors seemingly not in a position to contend for a title. Green’s name has been the subject of a major transaction for years. Kerr’s future is uncertain. And now, Porzingis is in line for a new contract — whether he gets that from the Warriors or elsewhere.
Porzingis has fared well in his short time in Golden State. There is evidence that he can be a fixture of a contending Warriors team in the future, but bringing him back would mean returning an expensive player with an injury history. Ah, yes, he is also in his 30s.
Even if both parties desire to move forward together, it’ll be tough to make ends meet. According to HoopsRumors.com, Porzingis will be left with no choice but to take a very generous paycut if he wants to stay in the Bay.
“If Porzingis wants to remain with Golden State, he’ll likely have to accept a large reduction in salary,” the source wrote. “He made $30.7MM this season in the final year of an extension he got from Boston, but the Warriors won’t be in position to pay him nearly that much. They’re also facing other roster decisions such as a potential extension for Curry and the possible trade of Green or Jimmy Butler in pursuit of a superstar.”
Star Makes Comments on Potential Future with Warriors
Money can make the biggest difference in a player deciding where he wants to play — but not always.
It is true Porzingis has shown he fits well next to the pieces on Golden State’s roster. The 31-year-old big man showed impressive synergy with Curry in the very time they shared on the court, but that isn’t surprising considering both players’ ability to stretch the floor.
Beyond the harmonious on-court fit, Porzingis has enjoyed being a Warrior.
“I do love my time here, honestly,” he said in an interview with the California Post. “Not one bad thing I can say about the organization, the team, the teammates. I really love it here, I really do. As I said before, I haven’t had a good year. If I had a good year, I think I’d have a more clear picture of what I want to do. Because I’ve had an up-and-down year like this, this is an offseason in my career that I think I’m just going to take a step back, look at the whole picture and then see what’s the best direction for me.”
Is Porzingis worth north of a $30 million price tag? Sure. Does Golden State believe he is worth that much? Perhaps.
But is the franchise even able to throw that much at him given the complexion of its financial situation? Now that’s the biggest question of them all.
Had the Warriors had some roster stability to count on beyond this offseason, perhaps Porzingis doesn’t wait long to receive a new contract offer. But with major questions tethered to the team and its star’s futures, no decision will be made easy this offseason.
At this point, it feels like the Warriors will either look totally different in October or close to exactly the same.
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