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Another season has passed, and Stephen Curry is inching closer and closer to the age of retirement without winning his fifth ring and cementing his claim as arguably the greatest point guard in the history of the NBA.
The Golden State Warriors did try their best to put together a contending roster around Curry as evidenced by their blockbuster trade for Jimmy Butler, but in the end, injuries doomed the Dubs' championship hopes in 2025 as they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round in five games.
Head coach Steve Kerr was very hopeful regarding the Warriors' chances of competing next season even if they mostly run back the Curry-, Butler-, Draymond Green-led core.
But there is some wiggle room for the Dubs to maneuver, with Jonathan Kuminga, who was resurgent to end the playoffs, heading into restricted free agency — opening up the possibility of a sign-and-trade that could bring back a valuable contributor.
In the end, the Warriors played at a 62-win pace in the regular season with Butler in the active lineup. So it's not as if it's a pressing order of business for the Dubs to overhaul their roster as they had a chance to go all the way had they managed to stay away from the injury bug during the playoffs.
But with the margins between the contending teams being razor thin, it can't hurt if the Warriors set their sights on upgrading their roster even further. Here are a few trade targets that the Dubs could work towards in what is shaping up to be a pivotal offseason yet again.
Warriors to pull off Giannis Antetokounmpo trade?
One thing has to be made clear right from the jump: the Milwaukee Bucks will not be trading Giannis Antetokounmpo away unless the two-time MVP himself storms into the front office and demands it so.
Antetokounmpo is under contract until at least the 2026-27 season, with a player option for the 2027-28 campaign; thus, even with the Bucks' bleak future outlook, they would much rather keep their franchise cornerstone even if there are reports that he's open to a move away from the Cream City.
But if Antetokounmpo demands a trade, which could very well be within the realm of possibility considering that it's highly unlikely for the Bucks to contend for a championship due to their players' lack of trade value as well as their lack of draft capital — both of which have been exacerbated by Damian Lillard's Achilles injury that could force him to never be the same caliber of player ever again — then perhaps that could get the ball rolling for the Warriors.
If Antetokounmpo becomes available for trade, it's simply due diligence for the Warriors to give the Bucks a call. There may not be a realistic pathway to an Antetokounmpo acquisition for the Dubs as they simply can be outbid by teams such as the Houston Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder, just to name a few.
They will have to dangle Jimmy Butler as the centerpiece in any Antetokounmpo trade scenario, and it won't be the best look for the Warriors if they decide to trade Butler not even a year after getting him on board.
But Antetokounmpo is still playing at an MVP level, and pairing him up with Stephen Curry would make the Warriors the arguable title favorite for next season. Alas, this appears to be nothing more than a pipe dream.
Cam Johnson replaces Jonathan Kuminga
The Brooklyn Nets have been floated around as a potential major player in free agency, but with the team lacking a franchise cornerstone and this year's free-agent class not exactly being the best, they may not have the capacity to pull off what they did in 2019 when they brought Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in.
What the Nets could do is perhaps tempt Jonathan Kuminga with a huge contract and a chance to be the man on his own team. Brooklyn doesn't need to give up anything to try and get Kuminga, as they can simply tender a huge offer sheet that the Warriors will be wary to match.
But maybe both teams can decide to work together with the Nets giving noted sharpshooter Cam Johnson to the Warriors in exchange for the 22-year-old forward.
As the 2024 NBA playoffs showed, the Warriors' spacing became abysmal at times, especially when Curry was out injured. The Butler-Kuminga pairing became the Dubs' last resort, as their lack of proficiency from beyond the arc made their fit on the court iffy at best.
With Johnson coming in, in this hypothetical scenario, the Warriors will have three snipers (Curry, Johnson, and Buddy Hield) who couldn't be left alone from beyond the arc at any time. That should grease the wheels of their offense that sputtered so often during this year's playoffs.
The major question mark with Johnson is his health; he's missed 49 games over the past two seasons with an assortment of injury problems, and with Curry and Butler being injury risks of their own, the Warriors may not want to up their risk profile even further. But if Kuminga's eyes wander, they may be left with no choice.
Dubs acknowledge that size matters, target Goga Bitadze
Moses Moody is a front office favorite and is not likely to go anywhere, especially if the Warriors brass still believes that the strong end he had to the 2024-25 regular season will be more of the norm for him moving forward rather than the outlier. Nonetheless, Moody is looming as a major trade chip for the Dubs after he had a stinker of a playoff run.
The Orlando Magic, a team that has poor spacing due to their lack of reliable three-point shooters, could perhaps find it acceptable to dangle Goga Bitadze and 2024 first-round pick Tristan da Silva to bring Moody on board.
Bitadze is signed to a team-friendly deal until the 2026-27 campaign, while da Silva, a versatile 6'8″ wing, could end up being a Steve Kerr favorite due to his unselfish and solid play off the ball.
