The Warriors Have No Way Out If This Roster Breaks
Above the second apron with Butler and Moody out for months and Porzingis missing with no timetable, Golden State can only wait on health, not fix this roster.
Golden State's payroll sits at $223.3 million, above the NBA's second tax apron, with no practical way to add help in-season. That math turns every injury update into the real story of this preseason.
The Second Apron Leaves No Room
Golden State's payroll is $223.3 million across 17 contracts, above the NBA's $221.7 million second apron and past the $200.4 million luxury tax line. Stephen Curry ($62.6M), Jimmy Butler III ($56.8M), Draymond Green ($27.7M) and Kristaps Porzingis ($19.5M) make up most of that number. Teams above the second apron cannot aggregate salaries in a trade, which rules out packaging several smaller contracts for one difference-making addition. Whatever stands on the floor by opening night in Los Angeles is close to the team this front office is stuck with for the season.
Three Rotation Pieces Are Already Out
A knee injury has sidelined Jimmy Butler III, with a projected return of January 2, 2027. Moses Moody's own knee injury, on the left side, points toward a return around December 1. Kristaps Porzingis has been missing since Anthony Slater reported September 28 that he is out indefinitely, cause undisclosed, and no timetable has followed. That is three rotation wings gone before the preseason even finishes, on a roster that, by the math above, has no real way to replace any of them.
An Extension Still Missing Its Numbers
Stephen Curry's two-year extension was finalized September 25, HoopsRumors reported, but no salary or option terms have come out since. Those numbers will decide exactly how far above the second apron this roster sits once the deal takes effect, and for now nobody outside the organization knows them. It is one more unresolved figure sitting on top of a payroll that already has no slack in it.
So Is This the Team Golden State Is Stuck With?
For now, yes. The second-apron math blocks the kind of trade that could bring in a wing while Butler and Moody recover, and Porzingis's absence has no date attached to it at all. Golden State chose continuity after finishing 37-45 last season with that -0.5 net rating, betting the same group could be better healthy than it was hurt. That bet is already being tested before the October 21 opener at the Lakers, and the test has nothing to do with trade rumors. It comes down to how many of these contracts are actually standing on the floor.
Why can't the Warriors just trade for help if someone gets hurt?
Their payroll is $223.3 million, above the NBA's second apron, which blocks trades that aggregate multiple contracts into one incoming salary. That leaves little practical way to add a rotation piece in-season.
When will Kristaps Porzingis play this season?
There is no date. Anthony Slater reported September 28 that Porzingis was out indefinitely with an undisclosed health issue, and no timetable has been reported since.
