Warriors’ top trade, free agent targets after drafting Yaxel Lendeborg

The Golden State Warriors franchise is clearly on the downturn, as the past few seasons have not been kind to them. They entered the 2025-26 season as a dark horse contender after their brilliant showing the previous season in the aftermath of the Jimmy Butler trade. But then the Warriors faced a plethora of injury woes, with Stephen Curry missing so much time due to a knee injury and Butler tearing his ACL, dooming the Dubs to a campaign in which they missed the playoffs after winning just 37 games.

This gave the Warriors the opportunity to draft in the lottery for the first time since 2021, and with the 11th overall selection of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Dubs selected Yaxel Lendeborg out of Michigan. Lendeborg is expected to be ready from day one, as he is older than his 2026 draft peers — even being fourth-year guard Brandin Podziemski’s senior.

The selection of Lendeborg means that the Warriors are simply not punting on the 2026-27 campaign. They acquired someone they think would be a ready-made contributor at the NBA level, and this suggests that they’re going to go for it next season.

There was a heated moment prior to Lendeborg’s selection between owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. that suggested that there might have been a trade that was on the table for the 11th overall pick. And perhaps this was a trade for a win-now player, but at a prohibitive cost that made the Warriors walk away.

Considering the current state of affairs for this Warriors franchise, here is one trade target and three free agents that they could target to aid their contending cause for next season.

Warriors swing for the fences with Kawhi Leonard trade

The Warriors have always been an active presence on the trade market these past few seasons, and Butler’s injury meant that Golden State needed to take action lest they run the risk of letting Curry’s final years as a superstar go to waste in a mediocre team.

What made a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade that much more appealing was that it would have relieved Curry of the burden to carry the team, perhaps easing the wear and tear on the Warriors legend’s knees.

The Dubs have also been mentioned in potential talks for New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, and on paper, Murphy looks like a solid fit in the Golden State system. He’s also only 26 years of age, and his contract is a bit of a bargain, with $87 million left in the three years of his current contract.

The problem is that the Pelicans have been asking for a king’s ransom in exchange for Murphy, and that is simply a price that the Warriors cannot pay. Murphy is absolutely worthy of multiple first-round picks when taking into account how much Desmond Bane and Mikal Bridges went for, but Golden State’s future is already hanging in the balance, and they cannot afford to mortgage their picks for a someone who won’t vault them to the top of the contending picture.

Suffice to say, Murphy is not enough of a game changer for the Warriors to give up three or four picks to the Pelicans. Kawhi Leonard is the kind of star the Dubs need to make a legitimate splash.

Leonard is always going to have plenty of question marks attached to him. Is he ever going to be sustainably healthy? He did play 65 games last season, but his history of knee problems is going to make any team wary.

Will the NBA finally drop the hammer on Leonard with regards to his purported under the table deal with Aspiration, one that presumably violates the CBA? And will Leonard even want to sign a contract extension should an interested party actually strikes an acceptable deal with the Los Angeles Clippers?

But the Warriors are in no position to be picky. If Leonard publicly declares that he wants to leave the Clippers, the offers for him are going to fall in value. And that could open up the opportunity for Golden State to swoop in for him.

Leonard has a history of being an elite playoff performer, and this past season, he showed that he still has it — averaging 28/6/4 on 50/39/89 shooting splits.

Acquiring Leonard will be tricky for the Warriors since Leonard, per reports, is only open to a potential contract extension with either the San Antonio Spurs or Toronto Raptors, his former teams, in the event of a trade. But if the price has dropped low enough, the risk in trading for Leonard could very well be worth taking on for the Dubs.

Dubs’ free agent targets

Kristaps Porzingis

The Warriors acquired Porzingis in the trade that sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks, and he played 15 regular season games for them and he suited up in both play-in tournament games. Porzingis’ illness remains a tricky one to navigate, and it’s not quite clear just how much of an impact he’ll be able to make next season.

Nonetheless, the Dubs can at least sign Porzingis to a one-year deal to keep their cupboard bare for the 2027-28 season and beyond, presumably opening up the opportunity for a huge splash in free agency when the likes of Nikola Jokic, Donovan Mitchell, and Karl-Anthony Towns potentially hit the open market.

Simone Fontecchio

Fontecchio’s play style has always felt as though it was destined to be utilized in the Warriors system one day. He’s an unselfish team player, a willing passer and mover off the ball, and he can space the floor at a high level. This past season with the Miami Heat, Fontecchio shot 37.5 percent from deep on 1.8 attempts per game.

He is not a game changer by any means, but for a team in need of forward depth, Fontecchio should come in handy. And he shouldn’t cost too much on the open market as well.

Harrison Barnes

Barnes fell out of favor in the Spurs rotation during the 2026 NBA playoffs, although one would think that the team would want to bring him back for his veteran leadership and regular season contributions. But in case the Spurs don’t bring him back, the Warriors could give Barnes the opportunity for a homecoming.

He knows Kerr’s system, and he’s a much-needed 3-and-D wing for a Warriors team starved of such players.

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