Warriors Notes: Curry, Butler, Williams, Niang, Nelson
The Warriors had a busy Tuesday, reaching a deal with free agent guard Brandon Williams and then officially signing free agent forward Georges Niang to a minimum-salary contract. While those two players appear likely to be the team’s 14th and 15th men to open the regular season, Golden State still has a little more offseason work to take care of.
For starters, two-time MVP Stephen Curry will officially become extension-eligible this Saturday. Team sources tell Anthony Slater of ESPN that the two sides are expected to engage in discussions and that there’s mutual interest in keeping Curry in the Bay Area for the rest of his playing career.
Still, there’s no rush to reach an agreement right away, as Curry will remain eligible for a new deal all the way until his current contract expires on June 30, 2027. The star guard will be eligible for a maximum deal of $136.7MM over two years.
The Warriors also still have one two-way contract slot to fill alongside LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons. According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the expectation is that either second-round pick Lajae Jones or Summer League standout Graham Ike will get that spot. If the team wants to sign both players to two-way deals, it would probably mean waiving Leons, but there has been no indication to this point that his spot is in any jeopardy, Siegel writes.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Siegel’s check-in on the Warriors also covers Williams’ probable rotation role and Jimmy Butler‘s recovery from a torn ACL, among other topics. Sources have told ClutchPoints that Butler hasn’t experienced any setbacks during his recovery process, and Siegel notes that there have been some hints that he’s a little ahead of schedule, though he cautions that it’s probably unrealistic to expect the veteran wing back on the court before early 2027.
- In a pair of stories for NBC Sports Bay Area, Dalton Johnson examines what newcomers Williams and Niang will bring to the roster, observing that Williams had two of his best games of the season against Golden State in 2025/26, racking up 45 total points and making 16-of-22 shots from the floor (72.7%) on December 25 and January 22.
- The Warriors’ summer moves earn them a grade of C-plus from Zach Kram of ESPN, who identifies Brandin Podziemski as the club’s most significant X factor in 2026/27. Also within ESPN’s Warriors offseason review and season preview, Slater wonders whether the 2027 trade deadline might be an eventful one for the team.
- The Warriors will honor the late Don Nelson will a “Nellie” band on their jerseys during the 2026/27 season, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). Nelson, who passed away earlier this month at age 86, was Golden State’s head coach from 1988-95 and again from 2006-10 and was also the Warriors’ lead basketball executive during his first stint with the team.