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They fight. They wobble and bobble. They fight some more. And mostly, in this harsh purgatorial interval without Stephen Curry, they lose.
It can be pretty valiant, as it was Sunday in New York, when the Warriors were also without Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Kristaps Porzingis, and Moses Moody, and still took a 21-point lead and still kept the Knicks sweating until the very end.
Or it can be 80% bleah, as it was early last week, when the Warriors played hard but lost on back-to-back nights to two tanking teams.
There is a practical meaning to this, though, beyond the drop to 32-34 and the long slide down the play-in standings. There’s a nitty-gritty reality to all these young and untested players getting so much playing time, while everyone waits for Curry’s return.
The point of it: Which bit players have risen — and which haven’t — to this occasion in specific ways that could pay off for them and the Warriors when Curry’s back and there are bigger games to play?
Also, are any of these guys potential structural pieces for the era when the Warriors simply can’t count on Curry (and Jimmy Butler and Draymond) as much?
Let me note here that Curry definitely seems to be feeling good about a return from his frustrating bout of “runner’s knee.” I saw him in the Chase Center locker room a few days back after a workout and he looked dead-eye serious, like he was about to play Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
And it’s obviously a positive sign that he’s with the team to start this long road trip. I think the whole team feels it. Unless there’s some new setback, Curry’s coming back, maybe by the game against the Nets on March 25, when the Warriors get back home.
Curry last played on Jan. 30, in a loss to the Pistons. Since then, the Warriors have gone 5-12. Obviously, they haven’t had Butler for even longer, and he’s not coming back this season.
Meanwhile, the Warriors’ most reliable remaining veterans — Draymond, Melton, Horford, and Porzingis — have gone in and out of the lineup through this period because of old injuries or minor new ones cropping up.
Which has left gaping holes in everything that the Warriors like to do and have done for years. And every remaining Warrior has gone through new tests every night.
Let’s go through some player-by-player evaluations …
First off: Curry remains great
He turned 38 on Saturday, he hasn’t played in six weeks, and he’s still the sun and all of the stars in this constellation.
You see it in what you don’t see now — Warriors players who get wide open just because the defense is scrambling to chase Curry; the team just understanding that it can win at any time as long as No. 30 is playing.
Beyond missing the 28 games and counting, there’s a tiny bit of statistical slippage for Curry this season, but nothing that can’t be explained by playing so many games without Butler and with very little offensive firepower alongside.
For Curry’s numbers, this seems fairly similar to 2022-23 — when he missed 26 games, the Warriors fell to the 6 seed but upset the 3-seeded Kings in the first round of the playoffs (with Curry scoring 50 in Game 7), then lost to the Lakers.
Will anything like that happen this season? It seems a bit too late for that, and the Warriors are a bit too fragile. But if you’re thinking about next season, I’ll note that the Curry-Butler-Draymond trio played 452 minutes in 30 games this season and had a +6.9 net rating.
I won’t do a separate analysis of Butler, but he also remains good; he was +185 in 38 games this season.
These guys all won’t be great forever, and the Warriors definitely need to consider how they can survive without one, two, or all of them for weeks at a time next season and in the seasons beyond that. But if they can add an even partially healthy Porzingis to that for 50 or so games or can trade Porzingis for somebody good, maybe that’s enough to give some hope for next season.
But the Warriors obviously need other strong players. Let’s start with
Players proving something right now
Gui Santos
If the Warriors awarded a No-Curry Purgatory MVP, it’d almost have to be Santos.
He’s elevated himself beyond his energy guy role in exactly the way the Warriors need right now — transitioning from strictly an opportunity scorer to a necessary scorer, mostly by putting his head down and at least trying to get to the rim four or five times a game. That will only increase Santos’ value once Curry is back.
One measure: Santos averaged 4.7 shot attempts and 6.6 points a game in January; so far this month, he’s putting up 14 shots per game and averaging 15 points.
His field-goal percentage has gone down, unsurprisingly, but the Warriors need this kind of offensive aggression from as many players as is possible right now.
That’s what made last month’s three-year, $15-million extension such a no-brainer for both sides. Santos is still only 23 years old and he should be a main-rotation guy for many years, with Curry out and definitely after Curry is back in.
Long-term view: Santos is exactly the kind of player you’d re-sign if you’re planning on Steve Kerr to be the coach into the future, and exactly the kind of player Kerr would want to know he’ll be coaching.
De’Anthony Melton
If he was playing more (he’s missed three of the last five games, including Sunday), Melton might be co-MVP of the purgatory days. Heck, if he’s good and available the rest of the way, he might be the Warriors’ secondary MVP of the season.
It’s pretty amazing, either way, that Melton is a team-best +195 on the season without playing very much while either Butler or Curry were healthy. Which certainly gives Mike Dunleavy and Kerr some agita: If the Warriors could’ve had a healthy Butler, Curry, Draymond, and Melton all together for a long stretch, this team could’ve been interesting into the spring.
Long-term view: Melton’s dynamic play might be moving him out of the Warriors’ price range, unless they get under the luxury tax line and can offer him a big portion of the nontaxpayer midlevel exception. But also, Melton still being unable to play back-to-backs might dampen the market a little.
De’Anthony Melton is averaging a career-best 13.0 points per game this season. | Source: Amber Pietz/The Standard
Moses Moody
It’s obviously not at the magnitude of the Curry void, but you can really sense Moody’s absence over the last six games since he hurt his right wrist. The Warriors just don’t have another versatile wing available right now and it shows.
2 days ago
5 days ago
Friday, Mar. 6
His numbers probably will never jump off the page, but when healthy, Moody gives the Warriors a baseline of shooting (career-best 40.2% from 3-point so far this season) and physical defense.
Long-term view: Moody is signed for two more seasons, at $12.5 million and $13.4 million, and it all fits with the present and the near future.
Al Horford
He’s turned it up over the past few months and is a quality option to close games when Draymond doesn’t have the right matchup at center. Also, if Kerr wants to sic both of them on a play-in or playoff opponent in an April matchup, that sure would be something to watch.
Long-term view: Horford, 39, has been valuable, but how much longer does he want to play here, especially if the Warriors aren’t title contenders? Also, the Warriors already probably have too many key players who are due to miss 25 or more games a season.
LJ Cryer
Two-way players who just got into their ninth career NBA game don’t normally make a list like this. But Cryer is +31 in a very short period, hitting shots, and not looking overmatched (except a time or two when he got stuck defending somebody on the post).
Long-term view: Going into next season, the Warriors might note that Cryer theoretically could provide the wild-card scoring that they hoped Seth Curry would give them here and there this season.
In flux
Draymond Green
The offense is rough to watch these days, especially without being able to work with Curry; but Draymond, in an adjusted role, is still quite valuable. Give Draymond and Kerr credit for figuring this out on the fly — the last few weeks have been a showcase for Draymond matching up and more than holding his own against Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
You need that kind of player in the biggest games. He doesn’t need to play 35 minutes every game, and some games it might be more like 24 to 26. But Draymond as the Warriors’ version of Ben Wallace or Alex Caruso? That can work.
Long-term view: OK, yes, Draymond’s expendable if he can be put into a trade for a superstar. But that wasn’t possible last month and it might not be workable into the future.
Draymond Green is averaging 27.1 minutes per game, his lowest mark since the 2013-2014 season. | Source: Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press
Brandin Podziemski
He’s taken on a lot more offensive responsibility with Curry and Butler absent, and I’ll absolutely give Podziemski credit for it. No hesitation there. He wants this responsibility.
But it’s been a bumpy road, as Curry noted during his NBC in-game interview on Sunday while also praising Podziemski’s upward trajectory as player. Or, as Podziemski showed himself later in the game, when he made several huge buckets to keep the game close then clanked a rushed 3-pointer with a lot of time left that essentially ended things.
I think Podziemski’s essentially proving that he’s got a nice NBA career ahead of him, but not as a lead guard (that 75.6% free-throw percentage so far this season is an anchor), and maybe not as a starter on a good team. Moody is a better option at 2-guard alongside Curry on most nights. So is Melton.
And even on a second unit, Podziemski’s probably best with another main initiator alongside, either Butler or Melton; notably, Melton and Podziemski have a +14.6 net rating in 406 minutes together this season.
Long-term view: This should be another interesting rookie-extension negotiation this offseason. I don’t know if Podziemski’s worth much more than the three-year, $39-million deal that Moody got in October 2024, but I’m positive that he will want more. I also am relatively sure that the Warriors won’t want to pay Podziemski anything near the $123 million they paid Jordan Poole in October 2022.
So is everybody OK with no deal next cycle, some tensions growing, and this going to restricted free agency in July 2027? (Yes, that always goes well!)
Kristaps Porzingis
I don’t want to litigate this forever, but yes, it was worth trading Jonathan Kuminga — who wasn’t going to play for the Warriors anymore, I think he made that pretty clear — for the chance that Porzingis can get healthy again quickly and do some things for the Warriors.
Kuminga might be great in Atlanta. So far: Same sort of starts and stops that he went through a dozen times with the Warriors.
Porzingis, who looked pretty bouncy on Friday in the loss to Minnesota, is still worth the shot. Even if it doesn’t work out perfectly.
Long-term view: If the Warriors can’t or don’t want to retain Horford next offseason, I think they’ll want to keep Porzingis — unless he’s a big part of a blockbuster sign-and-trade package (which I don’t see happening).
Of course, the Warriors need to see Porzingis play semi-regularly through the rest of this season to picture him as their starting center next season. And even then, I don’t know what kind of contract makes sense here. Certainly not a long-term contract at his current $30 million a year. Maybe two years, $42 million?
Kristaps Porzingis has appeared in four games since the Warriors acquired him ahead of the trade deadline. | Source: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Gary Payton II
A bit surprisingly (to me), he’s been necessary and solid in the games without Curry, when GP2’s value had before now seemed entirely tied to playing with Curry.
He’s been good. The Warriors just need a veteran who defends multiple positions, runs the floor, and knows where he’s supposed to be on offense (and can tell the young guys where they’re supposed to be).
Long-term view: But also, GP2 is a team-worst -105 so far this season. There’s probably a running clock on how long it’s wise for the Warriors to keep saving a roster spot for someone else whom opponents don’t defend.
Pat Spencer
Long-term view: A lot of teams have third-string point guards who can’t do as many things as Spencer can. But none of them, including the Warriors, do very well when their PG3s are forced to play a ton.
Some turbulence
Quentin Post
If there’s one thing Kerr doesn’t love to see from young centers, it’s bobble-hands in traffic. And Post’s got that going on — through Sunday night, when he was briefly open for a game-tying 3 but couldn’t hold onto the pass from Santos.
If I did this list a year ago, Trayce Jackson-Davis would’ve been right here for exactly the same reason.
Post has a leg up on TJD because he’s been a reliable plus player this season (+81 so far), and because he can hit the 3. But Post’s been in a shooting slump for a while. Even after going 4-for-10 from deep on Sunday, Post is shooting just 27.3% from 3 in March, after making only 28.8% in February.
Long-term view: Post will be a backup center in this league for years. Will it be with the Warriors? We’ll know a lot more this summer, when he’ll be a restricted free agent. No, I don’t expect that he’ll get a big offer from another team. I don’t expect the Warriors to offer him a very big deal, either.
Will Richard
Richard was surprisingly valuable — as a second-round pick — right off the bat, which probably was always due to reverse itself over the course of a long season.
He’s long and athletic. He battles on defense and for rebounds. He can get hot from 3 (though not lately). But Richard’s NBA role will be limited until and unless he figures out how to get to the rim on a couple of dribbles. With Curry, he can stand in the corner and fire up four or five open 3s a game. Without Curry, it’s mostly just standing around and immediately passing it because he’s guarded and doesn’t want to dribble.
Long-term view: Richard is in no roster danger next season because wing shooters are always valuable and he’s very cheap. And he has plenty of time to get better.
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