Sometimes you just gotta hope for the best, I suppose. That's the attitude I take every time I order Taco Bell at 1 AM without thinking of how I'll feel the next morning, and it's also the attitude the Golden State Warriors appear to be taking regarding their bench unit for the 2025-26 season.
It's August 26th, most free agents have been signed, and the Dubs bench looks... inexperienced? Shaky? Questionable? Whatever adjective you prefer, it's not the most confidence-inducing bunch. There's talent, certainly. Moses Moody has slowly but surely come into his own during his three seasons in the league and Brandin Podziemski was brilliant in his rookie season before a bit of a sophomore slump. Gui Santos and Trayce Jackson-Davis do all the little things you want bench guys to do.
But is there enough firepower in that unit for this to be a championship caliber team? In 2025, does the Curry-Green-Butler trio get you far enough on its own that somewhat neglecting the bench in the summer doesn't bite this team?
I don't think so. Some night Podz will go off. Some nights Moses Moody will shoot the Warriors into games. Some nights, hustle plays from TJD or Gui will provide huge momentum swings. But if this team wants to be taken seriously as a contender in the West, this bench is not even close to where it needs to be from a personnel standpoint. The Oklahoma City Thunder have four bench players who would make a case for being the best player in the Warriors' second unit. That's not good.
Al Horford would change things, but how much?
The Warriors still appear to be in the mix for veteran big man Al Horford, who would potentially become the starting center for the Warriors, and push Draymond back into the power forward spot, Jimmy Butler to small forward and either Buddy Hield or Brandin Podziemski to the bench.
Adding Horford would be a nice pickup this late in the summer, but signing him only to lose Jonathan Kuminga (which is what I believe will happen) doesn't do much for the depth. One guy in, one guy out. Contenders have wells of productive players coming off the bench, and we saw that difference in last year's playoffs. OKC and Indiana both won series because Mark Daigneault and Rick Carlisle had confidence in whichever bench player they needed on a given night. When it comes down to it, will this current unit instill that same confidence in Steve Kerr?
Warriors still need to make multiple bench moves this offseason
There may not be a team that hopes to contend in 2025-26 with as many questions still needing answers this offseason than the Warriors. Of course, the stalemate between Kuminga and the front office is holding things up, but even outside of that, this team has multiple roster spots it needs to fill. But is there enough talent out there on the open market?
Cody Martin and Al Horford would both be nice signings for this team. Go get them, then find a way to bring Malik Beasley to the Bay, and suddenly this bench could be looking a little more deep playoff run ready. Plus, it would considerably lower the anxiety that the current strategy of "hope one of the young guys goes off tonight" is bound to produce in fans.