Warriors poised to take a step back as free agency opens

Ahead of Steph Curry’s age-36 season, the Golden State Warriors appear to have bumped into a worst-case scenario summer.

The team is prepared to lose franchise legend Klay Thompson in free agency, according to multiple reports. They also waived Chris Paul on Sunday after being unable to find a way to use him in a win-now trade.

Upgrading the roster — one that missed the playoffs in 2023-24 — without Thompson will be difficult. As flawed as he is, the shooting guard made the fourth most 3s in the league last year, at a 38.7% clip.

Improving becomes doubly challenging without having the option of using Paul’s $30 million non-guaranteed contract in a trade.

That leaves the Warriors with Curry and Draymond Green in the twilight of their primes. There will be ample opportunities for their young core of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis to take steps forward. And the departure of Paul and presumed exit of Thompson resets their payroll.

The Warriors are set to get out of the luxury tax for the first time since 2020 — a stated goal of owner Joe Lacob — but won’t have the cap space to sign an impact free agent. To acquire an All-Star, they’ll have to send away one of the young players the organization covets.

“It would just have to be something that we felt unequivocally changed the direction of our franchise,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said of packaging young players in a trade. “We like those guys and think they’re going to be really, really good, but it would have to be something that makes us a lot better than that.”

Golden State projects to have a payroll around $146 million without Paul, meaning they’ll have the $12.8 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception available, plus the $4.7 million bi-annual exception. They can also potentially sign-and-trade Thompson or dip from their young core to acquire a different veteran, but the paths to replace Thompson and Paul are effectively closed.

With Paul and Thompson last season, the Warriors paid the highest luxury tax bill ever, only to miss the playoffs as the 10th seed in the West. Unless the Warriors reconcile things with Thompson at the 11th hour or use him in a sign-and-trade, they are on the verge of letting two veterans walk for nothing in return.

Thompson, a four-time NBA champion, is expected to work with Golden State to facilitate sign-and-trade options, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Curry, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr had publicly expressed a desire to keep the dynastic trio together for the rest of their careers, but every indication points to that era being on the brink.

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