MY ACCOUNT
Fresh off their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons, the Golden State Warriors are planning to continue that run of success by bringing all their players back for a run at yet another title.
Championship teams rarely return exactly the same roster the following season and payroll issues need to be considered, but Warriors general manager Bob Myers would like to see the same team on the floor in 2022-23.
With seven free agents and the team already $24.6 million over the tax, Golden State has plenty of work to do this offseason.
The unrestricted free agents are Kevon Looney, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Damion Lee, Gary Payton II and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Looney, Porter and Payton are the key pieces of that group, with Iguodala possibly retiring.
“Our goal, our hope is to bring all those guys back and try to do it again,” Myers said. “They were all great in different ways and all fill different needs for us. A lot of our free agents had big moments in the NBA Finals, which means they’re pretty important.”
Also on Myers’ extensive to-do list is contract extensions for Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, though they might not be settled for a while. Poole had a breakout third season with 18.5 points per game and is up for a rookie extension. Wiggins, meanwhile, is entering the final year of his five-year contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“All these negotiations take on a life of their own,” Myers said. “They’re all different. But I know with a guy like Jordan, usually, those things come down to kind of training camp and end-of-the-line deadline. We’re a long way from figuring out what Andrew wants, but I do know what we want. We want to keep him, and we’re going to make every effort to keep both those guys. They were huge for us.”
One key contributor that is sure to be back for the Warriors is assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who backed out of the head coaching position with the Charlotte Hornets to stay with Golden State.
