Getty D'Angelo Russell and Steph Curry will team up with the Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors roster for the 2019-20 season will look a lot different with the addition of D’Angelo Russell. Kevin Durant is headed to Brooklyn, and the Warriors will also be without Klay Thompson for at least a portion of the season.
The Warriors acquired Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham in the sign-and-trade for Russell. Golden State ended up moving both players to the Timberwolves as part of the deal. The Warriors were also able to re-sign Kevon Looney, but lost Jordan Bell via free agency.
Here is an updated look at the Warriors roster and projected starting lineup. Keep in mind the roster will look differently after free agency concludes.
Golden State Warriors Projected Starting Lineup & Roster
C: Kevon Looney (FA), Damian Jones
PF: Draymond Green, Jonas Jerebko, Allen Smailagic, Marcus Derrickson, Eric Paschall
SF: Jacob Evans, Alfonzo McKinnie, Damion Lee, Klay Thompson*
SG: Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole
PG: D’Angelo Russell, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook
*Thompson is expected to miss a good portion of the season.
The Warriors still have some work to do, specifically adding a wing player to pair with Russell and Curry while Thompson recovers from injury. The challenge is the Warriors are right at the tax apron, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Once the roster is finalized, Golden State will project to have $138.5M in salary, $430K below the tax apron. The salary factors in the new contract of Kevon Looney, second round picks- Eric Paschall and Alen Smailagic, along with three minimum free agent contracts. Golden State is prohibited from exceeding the $138.92M hard cap.
Looney was such a meaningful signing that ownership met with the free agent center.
“To show how serious Golden State was in re-signing Kevon Looney, team co-chairman Joe Lacob, Director if Player Personnel Larry Harris and Kirk Lacob were present at Looney’s meeting with the Warriors Sunday, per source,” NBC Bay Area Sports Logan Murdock tweeted.
The Warriors Could Look to Trade D’Angelo Russell
Russell has not even played a game for the Warriors, but there are already rumors that the team will look to trade him. The New York Times’ Marc Stein reported that the Warriors “will trade” Russell at some point.
“De’Angelo Russell does not fit there whatsoever. They just did not want to see Kevin Durant walk out the door with no compensation. … They will trade him. It’s just a matter of when,” Stein reported on The Dan Patrick Show.
It is all a bit of conjecture at this point as the Warriors will have to wait the allotted time to trade him since they just signed him to a new contract. The Warriors will start the season with Russell in the lineup, but it will be interesting to see if they consider trading the guard when Thompson returns.