The Golden State Warriors entered the 2025-26 season with the goal of being a contender for a championship. If not for a Stephen Curry hamstring injury in the second round of last season's playoffs, they may have made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. That's how good the team was in the aftermath of bringing Jimmy Butler in back in February.
But they have not had the best of starts to the new campaign. Everything looked like sunshine and butterflies for the Warriors in their first two games, as they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, but they've encountered difficulties along the way — losing to the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks, the injury-ravaged Indiana Pacers (Curry was present for both games).
And now, they've lost three of their past five games. They are now 7-6 on the season, which is not the ideal start that they must have envisioned heading into the campaign. A strong win over the nascent San Antonio Spurs should infuse the team with good vibes, but still, some problems have to be addressed.
It's not like the Warriors to panic after a slow start. They have bided their time over the past few seasons, only pulling off trades when absolutely necessary. It even pained the Dubs front office to trade away Andrew Wiggins, a beloved member of their 2022 title-winning squad, in the deal that netted them Butler.
This Dubs front office has always wanted to make it work with their core. Thus, no one should expect them to be aggressive on the trade market amid their uneven start.
But if they were to make a move, they should prioritize adding someone more defense-oriented on the wing.
Warriors grab some help from the lowly Pelicans
Warriors acquire: Herb Jones
Pelicans acquire: Moses Moody, 2026 GSW first-round pick
(Trade is only legal after January 14, 2026.)
When the Warriors acquired Butler back in February, this seemed to infuse the team with a jolt of motivation. From the trade deadline onwards, the Dubs put up the best defense in the league, allowing just 109.3 points per 100 possessions. They went 23-9 to end the campaign, and they went from a fringe play-in team to a dark horse contender.
If it weren't for a tailbone injury for Butler and a hamstring injury for Curry, that Warriors squad conceivably could have made it to the Western Conference Finals.
But this season has been a different story. There seems to be a lethargy plaguing the entire team, and it's seeping through in their execution on offense. They have been sloppy with the basketball for long stretches, and they rely so much on the jumpshot that it's difficult for them thus far to find any sort of rhythm — especially with Curry missing a few games here and there with an illness.
The Warriors still pose little threat in the paint, with their big men being ground-bound or spacing options. Butler does his best to chisel his way into the basket, but at 36 years of age, that would take its toll over an 82-game grind. Jonathan Kuminga is experiencing turnover problems, putting a damper on what had been such a strong start to the new campaign for the man with the new contract.
But their offensive issues are very much correctable. Their rank of 22nd in offensive rating (scoring just 113.2 points per 100 possessions) should get better over time, especially once Curry hits his stride this year and so do the likes of Al Horford and Buddy Hield.
Getting it together mentally is also important; falling prey to prioritizing personal agendas will only lead to even worse showings from the Warriors if this persists.
One thing that would help the Warriors is to get player who know their roles and stick to what they do best — hence this overreaction trade for New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones.
Jones has not been very good this season, that should be made very clear. But who on the Pelicans roster actually has been? They've scuffled to a 2-9 start to the new campaign, which is horrific considering how they owe their first-round pick next year to the Atlanta Hawks.
Jones is the exact kind of player any contending team would want on the roster. But with the Pelicans being so far out of the playoff picture, it might make sense for the 27-year-old 3-and-D wing to finally be shopped on the trade market. If that happens, the Warriors should be all over him.
Unlike the other members of the Warriors roster, Jones is a no-nonsense player who will rarely, if ever, do anything that isn't included in his 3-and-D role. In the NBA, it is sometimes more important for an individual to recognize what they cannot do and accept it instead of forcing the issue. Jones understands that, which is why he has thrived for the Pelicans ever since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2021.
Jones will defer to the likes of Curry and Butler, take on the most difficult matchups on the perimeter on a nightly basis, and shoot open shots — that will be all he does, and the Warriors will love him for it.
This not to say that Moody is not a valuable player for the Warriors or that he's to blame for their recent struggles. But Moody isn't exactly someone who's earned the consistent trust of head coach Steve Kerr. He's also shooting over 43 percent from beyond the arc, but his defensive value pales in comparison to that of Jones'.
Jones' Achilles heel once upon a time was his three-point shooting. But even that is no longer the case. He's shooting 44.2 percent from three to start the 2025-26 campaign, as he's no longer someone defenses can dare to shoot from deep.
He might be experiencing some slippage on the defensive end for the hapless Pelicans, but being in a winning environment with winning players around him and an experienced coaching staff leading the way, he should be back to being one of the most disruptive defenders in the league — sparing Butler and Green some of the more difficult perimeter matchups, at least in the regular season.
Improving the defense could also be a way for the Warriors to be able to go out in transition more often and grease the wheels on offense.
