The Warriors have nine free agents coming off this title year and plenty of incentive to keep a good chunk of them.
The free-agency clock starts at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday. And pressure is on Bob Myers and the front office to glue the best parts of this title-winning team back in place — or find worthy replacements.
Majority owner Joe Lacob has made clear that winning championships justifies a loose budget. So that $400 million payroll Myers, the Warriors’ president of basketball operations, threw out after last season as something of a maximum budget will most likely be within reach heading into the 2022-23 season. The Warriors paid a record-setting $350 million last year and are deep in the luxury tax and repeater tax zone with no reason to cut back yet.
“There is a limit, it’s not limitless,” Myers said. “I would like it to be limitless, but trust me, it’s not. You’ve got to have some constraints on a salary.”
The Warriors have the Core 3 — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — on the books along with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins set (though eligible for extensions). But re-establishing the supporting cast is crucial. Here’s the priority list heading into free agency.
Kevon Looney
The 26-year-old went from oft-injured player to the Warriors’ ironman after playing all 104 games in the 2022 season. That included a pivotal playoff performance in which he gave the Warriors a huge rebounding edge over their bigger, physical opponents.
Looney’s value skyrocketed as he solidified himself as a foundational part of the team. His presumed heir, James Wiseman, their seven-foot No. 2 overall pick, sat on the bench injured for the entire season and still has to earn a spot as a starter in his third NBA year.
And now the Warriors have to make a choice. Do they spend big on Looney or let the unrestricted free agent walk and find a new center market in free agency? Or do they go all-in on a healthy Wiseman season in 2023?
Expect Looney to be a priority re-signing for the Warriors, but other teams with cap space to play with could make his return complicated. The Warriors have Looney’s Bird rights, so they can match whatever offer Looney gets, but a team like the Indiana Pacers, with ample cap space, could technically pump up the offer to a place the Warriors may not feel comfortable matching.
“Thankfully I hope that our players will give us a chance to respond to an offer,” Myers said. “They don’t have to. They don’t owe it to us. But that’s what you get if you win and you create a good environment. You might get a chance to match something.”
Gary Payton II
Payton established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA — quite a journey for a 29-year-old who spent most of his career toiling between the end of the bench and the G-League. It’s a Cinderella story for Payton, who should get paid well in his eighth year in the league.
Payton’s perimeter defense skill is hard, if not impossible to find on the free-agent market. He’s a true difference-maker on defense who became an essential part of Steve Kerr’s playoff rotation and a huge loss when he fractured his elbow during the semifinals. Golden State may make it a priority to keep the gem they discovered for themselves.
Golden State has the advantage of owning Payton’s early bird rights, which means they can offer up to 105% of the average player salary for the prior season. If another team offers a contract the Warriors can’t stomach matching, they may turn to some internal options; Moses Moody showed some scrappy defensive prowess in his minutes this year. But Payton’s return elevates the Warriors’ defense, something they can’t mess with during this contention window.
Otto Porter Jr.
Despite the injuries, Porter turned out to be a perfect fit for this Warriors team. Rare is it to find a big who can shoot, rebound and defend to Porter’s level. A team with Steph Curry needs players who can help space the floor and keep the junky defenses honest — and Porter helped accomplish what not many available players can.
Porter’s downside is that he’s not particularly durable like Looney and Payton. He missed 19 regular-season games and three playoff games with nagging injuries. His injury-plagued career helped the Warriors land him last offseason for the veteran minimum. That also may help the Warriors retain him for the taxpayer mid-level exception they did not use last year, which is around $6 million. But if Porter is fielding bigger offers, it’s unclear how much more the Warriors are willing to pay for Porter. If the price is right, he’s proven to be the perfect piece.
Andre Iguodala
Iguodala, 38, hasn’t said whether he will retire or not after his 18th NBA season. He only played 31 regular-season games and just a handful of games during the playoffs — where his IQ was most valuable — but Warriors coaches and players raved about Iguodala’s impact as a quasi-coach. He has the ear of his teammates in a way other coaches don’t.
If Iguodala decides to play another year, the Warriors could use him in a role similar to the one Udonis Haslem holds with the Heat. Or maybe Iguodala has a healthier season left to give.
Nemanja Bjelica
Bjelica was an essential piece to this run as a veteran off the bench. Though he wasn’t a great defender, the 34-year-old stretched the floor and provided some much-needed size on a Warriors team where that was lacking. Especially during Draymond Green’s two-month absence due to a back injury.
The Warriors would probably be happy to keep Bjelica — he worked well in their system — but they may view that spot as replaceable with other veteran minimum options on the market.
