What’s next for Warriors after Brandon Williams signing? Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler headline biggest questions

A lot has happened with the Golden State Warriors over the last year, but very little has actually changed.

The goal for quite some time has been to surround Stephen Curry with capable, championship-like talent and always be in the mix to add another superstar. Well, the Warriors have certainly been in the mix for superstars as of late — Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis, to name a few.

Giannis was at the top of Golden State’s list, and they made a strong push for him before the trade deadline in February, offering virtually anything the Milwaukee Bucks wanted, except Curry. He ended up going to the Miami Heat in a trade before the 2026 NBA Draft in June.

LeBron was the Warriors’ top free-agent target, with Draymond Green attempting to recruit him in person on vacation and Steph speaking with him on the phone multiple times. He decided to join the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.

Despite the organization’s efforts to pursue these top-tier players, nothing has really gone Golden State’s way lately, including in terms of injury luck this past year.

Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL that he is still recovering from and will miss the first few months of the 2026-27 season with, Moses Moody’s return from a torn left patellar tendon is unknown at this time, and Curry’s knee health limited the team’s chances of competing at the end of last season.

On paper, the Warriors believed that they had a unique roster that could compete with the best in the Western Conference at full strength. That is why, after failed attempts to add high-level talents this offseason and coming up empty, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and his staff decided to run things back.

Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Green all returned on new contracts, and Golden State could have over $100 million in cap space entering next offseason. That will be dependent on whether Curry accepts a new contract extension at the end of August.

But first, the Warriors actually did make a new addition late in free agency on Tuesday when they agreed to terms on a minimum contract with Brandon Williams.

What does Brandon Williams signing mean?

One of the key areas Golden State needed to address this offseason was finding a way to add another dynamic ball-handling guard who could fill key minutes off the bench, whether Curry plays or not. That is why the Warriors held interest in Brandon Williams and came to terms with him on a one-year, $2.6 million contract on Tuesday.

Interest in Williams was first reported by ClutchPoints on July 31, along with Golden State’s interest in bringing back Payton.

Aside from bringing more guard depth alongside Curry, Melton, and Brandin Podziemski in the backcourt, Williams’ high motor and speed off the dribble are something the Warriors have not had at the point guard position in quite some time.

The lack of playmaking in the backcourt and ability to have players who can create one-on-one opportunities for themselves off the bench is something that has limited the offense behind Steph. Bringing in Williams allows Golden State to now diversify its offensive attack, which was one of the main talking points between head coach Steve Kerr and management when he signed a new two-year deal.

Unlike many players who sign late in August or in September for an end-of-bench role, Williams will be a key part of the Warriors’ rotation, sources told ClutchPoints. As the 2026-27 season progresses, it would not be surprising if he were one of the first names off the bench every night.

Last season was a career year for Williams with the Dallas Mavericks, as he averaged 13.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 23.2 percent from 3-point range. He is a much better perimeter shooter than his averages may suggest, and Kerr’s staff is prepared to work on his perimeter game heading into the new season.

In two games against the Dubs last season, Williams averaged 22.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 72.7 percent from the floor.

Signing Williams to a standard deal takes the Warriors to 14 players under contract with $2.8 million to work with under their second apron hard cap. While LJ Cryer, who is signed to a two-way contract, was a potential candidate to take one of the final two regular roster spots, he will likely remain in his current two-way spot to begin the 2026-27 season.

As for targets to round out their 15-man roster heading into training camp, Golden State is continuing to evaluate the market for wings and forwards for depth purposes, sources said.

Kelly Olynyk remains a stretch big man the team has long held interest in, but the Warriors will more likely sign a player for extra depth behind Butler and Moody, both of whom will miss at least the first few months of the 2026-27 season as they recover from their respective knee injuries.

The two names who have been the most frequently mentioned to fill this final roster spot after signing Williams: Dalen Terry and Georges Niang.

It is very possible that both players get training camp invites and fight it out in the preseason for the final roster spot, but they each have been in contact with Golden State in recent weeks, sources said.

Neither player is eligible to fill the team’s remaining two-way contract spot, which will likely go to undrafted big man Graham Ike or second-round pick Lajae Jones. Unless he is the one to get the 15th roster spot over Niang and Terry, Jones will begin his Warriors tenure on a two-way contract.

If the team wants to keep Ike and sign him to a two-way contract, they would either need to sign Jones to a standard deal or waive Malevy Leons if Jones takes the final two-way contract spot. There have been no indications to this point that Leons is in jeopardy of losing his spot.

Will Stephen Curry extend his contract?

Now this is the big question remaining this offseason for Golden State. Curry is now 38 years old and is nearing the end of the line in his career, but he is far from done, and the word surrounding those close to Steph for years has been that he wants to get to at least 20 years in the NBA.

The 2026-27 season will be his 18th with the Warriors, and with the way he has looked on the court when healthy, it’s not hard to imagine Curry could take a page out of LeBron’s book and just keep playing until he wakes up one day and decides he’s done. After all, a shooter never loses his touch.

Many have questioned whether the Warriors’ inability to surround Curry with championship-level talent in recent years since their miraculous 2022 title run would result in him wanting to finish his career elsewhere. All of that talk is “nothing but nonsense,” as one team source said while laughing when asked about whether Steph could leave.

Even owner Joe Lacob has called all these Curry trade talks nothing but “clickbait.”

The Warriors are Steph’s organization, just like how Dirk Nowitzki will always be remembered in the same sentence as the Dallas Mavericks, Tim Duncan with the San Antonio Spurs, and Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers. Curry will be on Golden State’s roster to begin the 2026-27 season, he will be on the roster to end the season, and he will retire in a Dubs uniform.

Whether or not he signs a contract extension before the new season begins is the major question in San Francisco at the moment.

Curry will become eligible for a two-year, $136.7 million contract extension beginning on Aug. 29. From the Warriors’ point of view, they will be presenting their superstar with any deal he wants and looking to lock him in for the immediate future.

At the same time, Golden State’s management is not worried about the idea of Steph taking his time and potentially even pushing off contract talks until next summer, when he would be an unrestricted free agent. From an organizational standpoint, this is obviously not an ideal scenario, but it could ultimately be favorable if Curry is willing to take a discount on a new deal.

Jalen Brunson recently took a discount to help the New York Knicks form a championship-contending core around him, and Victor Wembanyama declined the full max contract extension he could’ve received this summer, declining roughly $50 million to help the San Antonio Spurs financially down the line. Even Draymond was willing to take a pay cut this summer to land either LeBron or Davis.

The Warriors are open to any deal Curry wants, and both sides will be on the same page about the future, whether he takes an extension now or waits to sign a new deal until next offseason.

When will Jimmy Butler be back?

Jimmy Butler returning to the court and actually playing at the All-Star level he was before his ACL injury may very well make or break Golden State’s season. When healthy and on the court, Butler has made a huge difference for the Warriors, as they’ve won 46 of their 68 regular-season games with him.

If Butler can get back on the floor before the trade deadline, which appears very likely at the moment, this organization will be able to figure out their plan heading into the trade madness and what their playoff outlook is. At the same time, when Butler returns is still a question mark, and the team has been very quiet when it comes to putting a real timeline on his recovery status.

Even so, sources have told ClutchPoints that Butler has not had any setbacks or limitations to this point in his recovery process. There have been minor hints that he is ahead of schedule and could return to the court sooner than many would’ve initially expected, but again, Golden State has not officially put a firm date on a range of when he could return.

Obviously, the hope is that Butler will continue to progress in his rehab and take major steps forward that could eventually lead to Christmas Day against the Denver Nuggets being his season debut. That seems to be the earliest date mentioned in conversations as a “hey, you never know” type of target date, but nothing is definitive, and Butler still has a lot of work to do before progressing to the next stage of his on-court rehab.

The best estimate one could give at this time for Butler’s return would realistically be sometime in January or February 2027. Whether or not he returns sooner will be fully dependent on his progress and the Warriors’ medical staff consistently evaluating him early in the season.

And if the Dubs get off to a hot start and are exceeding expectations, Butler’s eventual return won’t be rushed. Patience has been the mindset of this organization throughout what has been an underwhelming offseason, and that will continue to be the mantra with Butler heading into the 2026-27 season.

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