The Warriors at rotation level: minutes, lineups, load management and an aging core's arithmetic.
When he files: Daily in season, weekly until October.
7 calls resolved. Too few for a hit rate to mean anything, so there is not one.
Golden State's apron-basis team salary is still above the first apron of $209,015,000 on opening night of the 2026-27 season.
Resolves tomorrow
The piece that made itGolden State Has Three Salary Cap Exceptions And Cannot Legally Use Any Of ThemThe $2,221,677 traded player exception from the Trayce Jackson-Davis trade expires unused on February 5, 2027.
Resolves by Feb 6, 2027
The piece that made itGolden State Has Three Salary Cap Exceptions And Cannot Legally Use Any Of ThemJimmy Butler III appears in fewer than 25 regular-season games for Golden State in 2026-27.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itStephen Curry Played Ten Games Without Jimmy Butler Last Season. Golden State Went 4-6.Yaxel Lendeborg averages more than 24.0 minutes per game for the Golden State Warriors in the 2026-27 regular season.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itSteve Kerr Floated A Starting Lineup With A Rookie At Small ForwardStephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis combine for fewer than 200 regular-season games played for the Golden State Warriors in 2026-27.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itSteve Kerr Floated A Starting Lineup With A Rookie At Small ForwardBrandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Will Richard combine for more total regular-season minutes for the Golden State Warriors in 2026-27 than Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis do.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itThe Warriors Are Counting On The Three Men Who Played The Most Minutes On A 37-45 TeamWill Richard starts at least 30 regular-season games for the Golden State Warriors in 2026-27.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itThe Warriors Are Counting On The Three Men Who Played The Most Minutes On A 37-45 TeamThe Golden State Warriors record more than 346 total blocks in the 2026-27 regular season.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itVogel gets the Warriors defense, and its shot blockers played 1,425 minutesAl Horford leads the Golden State Warriors in total blocks in the 2026-27 regular season.
Resolves by Apr 18, 2027
The piece that made itVogel gets the Warriors defense, and its shot blockers played 1,425 minutesAl Horford averages fewer than 21.0 minutes per game across the games he appears in among Golden State's first ten regular-season games of 2026-27, October 21 through November 7, 2026, by the official box scores. If he appears in none of the ten, the call is wrong.
Resolves in 8 days, Nov 8, 2026
The piece that made itKerr wants Green or Horford out there as often as possible. Saturday it was 37 of 48Golden State holds at least one of its next three opponents under 110 points: at the Denver Nuggets on Monday, October 26, 2026, at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, or at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, October 30, 2026. 'Under 110' means the opponent's final score in ESPN's box score, overtime included, is 109 or fewer. If any of the three games is postponed, the claim is judged on the games played; if all three are postponed, VOID.
Resolves today
The piece that made itThe Warriors scored 122 on the night Curry, Green and Horford satYaxel Lendeborg plays more total minutes than any other Golden State player across the Warriors' six home games of October 30 through November 9, 2026 (the Lakers, the Clippers, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando and New Orleans), by the sum of ESPN's box-score minutes. A tie for the most is WRONG. If any game is postponed, the claim is judged on the games played; if all six are postponed, VOID.
Resolves in 10 days, Nov 10, 2026
The piece that made itLendeborg leads the Warriors in minutes, and Sunday starts a back-to-backKlay Thompson does not sign with the Golden State Warriors at any point before Golden State's 2026-27 season opener on October 21, 2026.
The piece that made itGolden State's Best Offer To Klay Thompson Is $2,449,421 And Somebody Else's Roster SpotKlay Thompson is still under contract to the Dallas Mavericks on October 21, 2026, the night Golden State opens its season.
The piece that made itGolden State's Best Offer To Klay Thompson Is $2,449,421 And Somebody Else's Roster SpotAt least one of Brandon Williams, Georges Niang and Dalen Terry is on Golden State's opening-night roster for 2026-27.
The piece that made itKlay Thompson Signed In Miami For More Than Twice What Golden State May Offer AnybodyKlay Thompson's 2026-27 salary, once Miami's cap table no longer lists the signing as pending, is $5,600,000 rather than $6,341,463.
The piece that made itKlay Thompson Signed In Miami For More Than Twice What Golden State May Offer AnybodyYaxel Lendeborg is in Golden State's starting lineup for its 2026-27 season opener on October 21, 2026.
The piece that made itStephen Curry Played Ten Games Without Jimmy Butler Last Season. Golden State Went 4-6.Golden State averages fewer than 16.0 turnovers per game, team turnovers included, across its first five regular-season games of 2026-27, October 21 through October 28, 2026, by ESPN's box-score totals. That is 79 or fewer in the five.
The piece that made itGui Santos has 11 of the 30 turnovers in Kerr's likely starting fiveDraymond Green plays in both of Golden State's back-to-back games: at home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, October 23, 2026, and at the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, October 24, 2026. 'Plays' means any minutes in ESPN's box score for each game. If either game is postponed, VOID.
The piece that made itHorford played both nights of no back-to-back last season, and Friday starts one
Golden State is 2-3 after five games, four of them on the road, and plays its next six at home: the Lakers on Friday, October 30, the Clippers on Sunday, November 1, Phoenix on Monday, November 2, then Miami, Orlando and New Orleans through November 9. Sunday and Monday are the second back-to-back of the season. On the first, October 23 and 24, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Brandin Podziemski did not play the second night and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg played 37 and 36 minutes. By ESPN box scores Lendeborg has played 168 minutes in five games, 29 or more in every one, the most on the team. He carried a foot listing into Wednesday's win at Minnesota and played 35 minutes.
Golden State opened 2026-27 at 0-3: 127-105 at the Lakers on October 21, 111-108 to Memphis on October 23 and 131-122 at Phoenix on October 24. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford played the first two and sat the third, the second night of a back-to-back, with Brandin Podziemski, who played only the Memphis game. By ESPN box scores the Warriors shot 41 percent in each of the two games the veterans played and 22 of 77 from three; on the night they sat the club shot 45 percent and 17 of 39. Opponents shot 136 of 253, 54 percent, across the three games. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg led Golden State in minutes all three nights, 102 in total, with 29 against the Lakers, 37 against Memphis and 36 at Phoenix. The club is at Denver on Monday, and ESPN's injury notes of October 25 list Gui Santos questionable with left knee tendinitis, Brandon Williams and Charles Bassey probable, and none of the four veterans on the report.
Golden State lost its opener 127-105 at the Lakers on October 21 and plays four games in six nights from Friday: Memphis at Chase Center on October 23, at Phoenix on October 24, at Denver on October 26 and at Minnesota on October 28. The first two are the season's first back-to-back. Kristaps Porzingis is not expected around the team in the immediate future, the club said Wednesday, and ESPN reported the Warriors are exploring trades for him. Charles Bassey did not play Wednesday with a knee injury. That left the center minutes to Draymond Green, 21, and Al Horford, 17, with two-way big man Graham Ike playing 12, while Walker Kessler scored 26 points on 12-of-12 shooting for Los Angeles. Across Golden State's 16 back-to-backs in 2025-26, by ESPN game logs, Green played both nights of eight, Stephen Curry both nights of five and Horford both nights of none. Golden State opened with all 15 standard roster spots filled, Brandon Williams among them, and sits $347,568 under the second-apron hard cap, by Spotrac.
Steve Kerr made turnovers the subject of Monday's film session after counting about 90 through four preseason games; the box scores give 84. Through five games Golden State has 104, 20.8 a game, against 115 by its opponents. Last October the club had 110 in five exhibitions, then averaged 16.4 across its first five regular-season games and 15.7 across 82, team turnovers included, by ESPN's box scores. This fall the offense is new, which Kerr cited for holding off. Among the five Kerr is leaning toward for October 21, Gui Santos has 11 turnovers in 86 minutes across four games, after five in 71 minutes in last year's preseason and 1.5 a game last season. Podziemski has five, down from 14 last October, and Green three, down from 14. Kerr described Santos's place in that lineup as size and playmaking. Portland visits Chase Center on Friday for the last exhibition; Yaxel Lendeborg rolled his left ankle Tuesday and returned.
The Warriors announced Wednesday that Kristaps Porzingis, who missed training camp and the first five preseason games, met with general manager Mike Dunleavy and Dr. Rick Celebrini at the practice facility on Tuesday and will remain out indefinitely due to the same health-related matter, but will be around the team. The club said it will give an update on a potential resumption of practice, playing status or timeline when available and appropriate. ESPN's Anthony Slater reported he is not cleared to practice. With Green and Horford resting in Tuesday's preseason game against the Lakers in Las Vegas, Charles Bassey started at center beside Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Yaxel Lendeborg and played 27 minutes with 12 rebounds, and Graham Ike played 12, in a 101-89 win. The season opens October 21 at the Lakers, with a back-to-back on October 23 and 24.
Steve Kerr said after Monday's practice that he is leaning toward starting Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green on October 21, with Al Horford off the bench, as reported by Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. His reason was Horford's minutes: about 20 a game is the limit, and he wants Green or Horford on the floor as often as possible to anchor the defense. Saturday against Sacramento was the only preseason game Horford has played as a reserve. By NBA.com's substitution log, Green or Horford was on the floor for 37:32 of 48 minutes, both for 6:10, and neither for 10:28, of which Charles Bassey covered the last 8:09. Horford averaged 21.6 minutes across 45 games last season by ESPN's game log, 20.0 across the first 30, and did not play both nights of any of Golden State's 16 back-to-backs. The second and third games of the season are a back-to-back. Kristaps Porzingis is expected at Chase Center on Tuesday to meet the performance staff, and Kerr could not say whether he will be available for the opener. Horford is not traveling to Tuesday's game in Las Vegas, which Kerr called planned maintenance.
Golden State lost its preseason opener to the Clippers, 104-101, in Honolulu on Sunday, October 4. The five Steve Kerr named on October 1, Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Yaxel Lendeborg, Draymond Green and Al Horford, started and played three minutes and 14 seconds together before the first substitution, per the NBA's play-by-play. Curry, Green and Horford played the first half only, at 12:58, 13:52 and 15:42. Lendeborg played 18:44, the most minutes of the 18 Warriors who appeared, and started the second half with Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, Gui Santos and Charles Bassey. He had four points on 1-of-6 shooting, a game-high nine rebounds and three assists. Kerr said afterward that Lendeborg was good and needs to be more aggressive. When Kerr named the five, he said he did not know whether it would start on opening night, and the reason he gave was Horford's age and minutes. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody did not play. Five preseason games remain before the October 21 opener at the Lakers.
Golden State blocked 346 shots in 2025-26, 4.2 a game, 26th in the league, and pulled down 31.0 defensive rebounds a game, 25th. It also finished second in steals and sixth in turnovers forced. Three men who are still under contract blocked shots at better than 1.5 per 36 minutes last season: Charles Bassey at 2.52 on 100 minutes, Al Horford at 1.89, Kristaps Porzingis at 1.62. They played 1,425 of the team's 19,805 minutes, 7.2 percent, across 65 games. The next rate on the list is Draymond Green's 0.81. Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis, third and eighth on the team in blocks, are gone, and with the other departures go 75 of the 346 blocks and 578 of the 2,540 defensive rebounds. The three players added since are a rookie forward, a power forward and a guard. Frank Vogel was announced as associate head coach on September 17 and Steve Kerr says he is turning the defense over to him. Vogel's twelve seasons as a head coach produced three defenses that finished first in the league and two that finished third. Camp opens in Hawaii on September 29. Two takes filed.
Steve Kerr told the Tom Tolbert Show on Friday that Golden State tried to get younger this offseason and could not, that nothing offered to the club made sense to him, and that depth is now the answer. He said the back end of the roster, including the two-way players, has to hold the fort until Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return in the second half. Golden State's published schedule lists 80 regular-season games with dates, and 47 of them fall before February. The men Kerr named already carried the largest share of last season's minutes: Brandin Podziemski led the team at 2,333, and Gui Santos and Will Richard were fourth and fifth. Stephen Curry was sixth and Butler eighth. That arrangement produced 37 wins and 45 losses. Butler turns 37 on September 14 and is listed OUT. Two takes filed, on minutes and on Richard's starts.
Steve Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area on September 3 that he would not predict a record, and in the same conversation named the lineup question he has to answer in camp: Yaxel Lendeborg at small forward, Draymond Green at power forward, Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford at center. Kerr also said out loud that he cannot count on his older players for 82 games. Those four played 171 of a possible 328 last season, when Golden State went 37-45. Jimmy Butler, who turns 37 on September 14, is not expected back until the second half; Moses Moody is not expected back until 2027. Two takes filed, on Lendeborg's minutes and on how many games the four veterans reach.
Golden State's 37-45 season splits four ways by who was available. With Curry and Butler both playing, the Warriors were 20-13 across 33 games. With neither, they were 10-24 across 34. The condition they open the 2026-27 season in, Curry available and Butler not, happened ten times last season and produced a 4-6 record. Butler is not expected back before early 2027 and Moody has no club timeline, which leaves 31.1 minutes a night at small forward and 25.7 at guard to be covered by Gui Santos, Will Richard, Brandin Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton and a rookie the club drafted eleventh. Two takes filed, on Yaxel Lendeborg's opening-night role and on how much of the season Butler plays.
Every club is granted a non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $15,044,000, and only clubs under the first apron may spend it. Miami sits $10,441,543 below the line, had $8,979,000 of the exception left after Tim Hardaway Jr., and signed Klay Thompson out of the remainder on Sunday night. Golden State sits $7,424,590 above the line, was limited to the smaller taxpayer portion, and put all $6,064,000 of that into De'Anthony Melton on July 31. What is left in the Warriors' hands is the veteran minimum at $2,449,421, less than half of the lowest reported figure for Thompson's first year.
Brett Siegel reported August 14 that Warriors team sources would welcome Thompson back with open arms if he secured a buyout and reached free agency. That is one source on the Golden State half of this, and the condition attached to it has not started: Dallas wants a trade, and Thompson has not asked for a buyout. Golden State sits $7,424,590 above the first apron, which leaves the veteran minimum as the only contract it may legally write, at a cap charge of $2,449,421. A fourth rule bars an apron team from signing a player waived during the season whose pre-waiver salary beat the non-taxpayer mid-level, and Thompson's beats it by $2,416,317.
Golden State's cap page shows a non-taxpayer mid-level of $15,044,000, a bi-annual of $5,477,000 and a $2,221,677 trade exception from the Trayce Jackson-Davis deal, all marked available. All three are barred by the same fact: the Warriors are $7,424,590 past the first apron. The tools that remain are minimum contracts, a third two-way slot, and the under-15 rule that caps two-way players at 90 combined active games.