The Warriors still don't have roster, and that's starting to matter

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With less than three weeks until training camp opens, the Warriors still don’t have a roster. 

There’s no need to dance around it: this is not ideal. 

Golden State has nine players under contract, well short of the required 14 of 15 spots. Jonathan Kuminga’s contract stalemate has held up business all summer and could continue to do so until the days leading up to the Oct. 1 deadline to accept the qualifying offer. His restricted free agency combined with the Warriors’ cap situation has made them the only NBA team yet to complete a standard roster transaction this offseason. 

The Warriors will obviously field a roster. That’s not a real concern. Once Kuminga returns, either on the qualifying offer or on a different contract, the Warriors have been long expected to sign free agents such as Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton. Gary Payton II could also return. 

Despite the deals the team has lined up, this limbo period still has ramifications. The longer the Kuminga situation remains unresolved, the less time the Warriors’ eventual signings will have to settle in before camp.

These weeks leading up to training camp are when players start to trickle back to the facility and ramp up. Trainers check up on their health. Coaches get updates on players’ offseason progressions and start preliminary discussions about rotations. New teammates might get the chance to familiarize themselves with each other on and off the court. 

It’s a valuable time. The Warriors’ roster stagnation disrupts it. 

Meanwhile, free agents potentially vying for training camp invites including Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Dalano Banton have stopped by Chase Center for workouts recently, per sources. That’s typical for this time of year, but usually there would be more clarity on the types of opportunities possibly open. 

Yet that’s in the background right now. If the Kuminga staring contest continues — and continues to pause other business — the Warriors might not finalize their roster until shortly before training camp. Players might have to travel to the Bay, take their physicals, hold their introductory press conferences, and complete other onboarding tasks in a whirlwind. 

Starting training camp on a rushed note can’t be great for the team that probably practices less than any other. Realistically, the Warriors will have a handful of practices to start camp, maybe a few more once preseason games begin, and then hardly any during the regular season. 

Those don’t sound like the best conditions for an aging team with (presumably) several key new pieces to gel quickly and hit the ground running. 

“It’s different, for sure,” Steph Curry said of the summer’s uncertainty last month at his Curry Camp. 

“My confidence is built on the identity we were able to create over the last third of the regular season last year and the playoff tourney. We have a really good team. We do know we need some pieces to help us get to the next level. I think the veteran presence we have — me, Jimmy, Draymond — we know how to prepare through that uncertainty and be able to hit the ground running in training camp knowing we should have some movement by then.” 

The two-time MVP is correct to note the veteran group’s ability to withstand change. Butler didn’t miss a beat last year while joining the team midseason. He barely knew any plays and the team still finished the year 23-8. With a more traditional offseason to prepare, the Warriors could even build on that surge. 

But this hasn’t been a traditional offseason.  

In his end-of-season press conference, general manager Mike Dunleavy said the team wanted to figure out Kuminga’s future “sooner rather than later.” The opposite has come to fruition, and uncertainty this close to the season started is a consequence of inaction.