Five issues Warriors hope to solve over final 27 games of 2025-26 NBA season

SAN FRANCISCO – With realistic projections placing the Warriors no higher than the NBA play-in tournament, well below their preseason ambition, it seems wise for them to consider the more significant value of their final 27 games.As in a runway to 2026-27.The playoffs remain the goal, but Stephen Curry’s uncertain availability makes that, at least for now, an immense challenge. If he misses another week or two, how much of a playoff push can his teammates make?And at what cost?Looking at the final 27 games through sober eyes, that gives Golden State enough time to address a few issues and answer questions bound to loom large in the coming weeks and even larger going into summer. Here are five:How do the Warriors manage the rest of Curry’s season?There was hope that Curry could return Thursday night, 20 days after he limped into the locker room on Jan. 30. Not happening.“He’s been on All-Star break, but he had someone with him, working with him, the last couple of days,” coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday. “He came back today, and he just wasn’t quite feeling right. These guys know when they’re right and when they’re not, and he knew it wasn’t the right thing to go back into a full practice.”“Runner’s knee” can be a stubborn ailment, with most of those afflicted needing “a month or two, according to the world-famous Cleveland Clinic.Curry is the team’s offensive engine, and his absence subjects it to more stalls. Each game he misses, and each loss without him, chips at the importance of the season.The health of the most valuable player in franchise history is paramount. If he needs to be shut down, it’s the responsible thing to do – no matter his protest.Which has greater value: Kristaps Porzingis, or his expiring &dollar;30.7 million contract?The intuitive answer is his contract. Porzingis has missed more than 100 games since the 2022-23 season. That’s about 30 more than Anthony “Street Clothes” Davis. The Warriors can use his contract as a bridge to reach someone who might have a better health history and can bolster their frontcourt.That contract gives Golden State options, which is why acquiring Porzingis was a low-risk, high-reward move.But the Warriors now have two months to evaluate him and his fit with the mainstays on their roster, most crucial being Curry. If Porzingis can pause his history of assorted aches, pains and illnesses and play 20 or more games, that could be influential when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.On paper, KP fills several needs. If the Warriors like him and he likes them, he should be available for something well below his current salary.How much more does Draymond Green have to give?At 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, Draymond frequently engages opponents four to six inches taller and 30 to 40 pounds heavier. He has bent more of his bones, spilled more of his blood and scraped more of his skin than anybody in the NBA over the past 12 seasons.It shows. Draymond’s success in his prime was a product of his combination of intellect, anticipation, leverage and most devastating, sheer speed. Against opposing centers, he was a jackrabbit outrunning giraffes and elephants.That prime is a memory. Draymond turns 36 in two weeks. The intellect still is there, as are the anticipation and leverage. Though he occasionally can dial up his old giddy-up, it’s not nearly as consistent as it once was.The Curry/Green pick-and-roll, once magical, remains useful but not as dangerous as it was during the dynasty years.Green holds a player option for next season. Meanwhile, the Warriors should place his overall game under the biggest microscope of his career.Is Brandin Podziemski a keeper?The third-year guard this season became the team’s most polarizing player. A good player prone to ups and downs – like many his age – Podziemski made the mistake of saying he wanted to “be better” than the team’s generational icon.Anyone who pokes Beyoncé knows the beehive will come out stinging. Any non-star vocalizing that he aims to be superior to Steph can expect a collective eye roll from Dub Nation.Kerr believes in Podziemski and has given him more freedom than any young player since early Draymond. Sometimes, BP flourishes and sometimes he fumbles.“He’s a player who has impacted winning for us for three years, and I think that will continue,” Kerr said. “He’s still finding his way; he wants to be great. He at times is too ambitious. And I talked to him about that.”Podziemski is eligible for a rookie scale extension in July. The Warriors must decide whether to pay up, as they did with Moses Moody 18 months ago, or let him roll into restricted free agency in July 2027.How badly do they want to re-sign De’Anthony Melton? The Warriors like Melton a lot. Kerr likes him. Curry might be the head cheerleader.Melton also likes the Warriors. When they traded him two weeks after he sustained a partially torn left ACL in December 2024, there was an implicit belief that he would return. He wanted a reunion as much as they did.He returned on a two-year contract worth &dollar;6.5 million, with a player option in Year 2 that would pay roughly &dollar;3.45 million. He’s already has outplayed that, is expected to decline his option and test the market.Because he brings value on offense and defense, Melton can expect considerable interest around the league. Is he willing to give the Warriors a sweetheart discount? Probably depends on how close they come to what he can get elsewhere.The Warriors know that if Melton should leave, they’d have to seek someone who brings the same level of skill and audacity. That will not be easy.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Five issues Warriors hope to solve over final 27 games of 2025-26 NBA season

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