For the Golden State Warriors, one of the most pivotal storylines of the early portions of the regular season will be whether the players that stepped up in the midst of the team's injury struggles in 2025-26 are able to carry that momentum into the new campaign.
Brandin Podziemski is obviously a real consideration here as he battles with De'Anthony Melton for a starting role in the Warriors' backcourt. So is Gui Santos, who seemed to take real strides as a versatile, interior scorer for Golden State when he stepped into the starting lineup in February.
But of the two, Santos' continued development certainly makes for the more compelling storyline. Steve Kerr said on Wednesday that Santos is "right there in the mix" for a starting spot between Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Especially if Kristaps Porzingis misses the start of the regular season, slotting him in as an additional perimeter-shooting option next to Yaxel Lendeborg feels like a real contingency plan.
Even if Santos doesn't ultimately start for the duration of the season, though, Kerr seems confident in the young forward's ability to continue developing as a scorer. If that faith proves justified, Santos could be exactly the type of versatile weapon this Golden State rotation needs.
Gui Santos doesn't need to start to provide the Warriors with a major rotational weapon
If there were any silver linings to pull from the end of the Warriors' last campaign, Santos' breakout was certainly one of them. He averaged 15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and four assists while knocking down 34.3% of his attempts from 3-point range over his final 29 games, flashing a rangier and more versatile offensive skill set than anything we saw across his first two NBA seasons.
The Warriors signed him to a three-year, $15 million extension before the season even came to an end—locking down an important rotational contributor at a highly cost-controlled number for the foreseeable future.
There was always a chance, though, that we saw Santos regress into a less dynamic offensive role with reduced minutes in 2026-27. If his 3-point shot is shaky at all, or he appears less confident with the ball in his hands, the Warriors' rotation will suffer for it.
But that doesn't mean he needs to start to be the sort of weapon Golden State requires in the frontcourt.
Sure, it would be nice if the Warriors could depend on a combination of Lendeborg and Santos to strain opposing defenses and stretch the floor on a nightly basis in the starting lineup. But even if the ultimate decision keeps Green at the power forward spot and leaves Santos on the bench, he still has a chance to be a major contributor.
The Warriors, at the very least, need a scorer off the bench that they can trust to take the ball into their hands and put up points consistently. If the strides we saw Santos take last season were real, he should be able to maintain a baseline of activity even in reduced minutes next to players like Podziemski and Horford on the bench.
More importantly, though, Santos' offensive abilities could give the Warriors a sort of flexibility they've been sorely lacking in their rotation in recent years. Kerr can stagger minutes to give Santos some stretches with both Curry and Lendeborg even if he comes off the bench, or he can pair Santos with various players through the rest of the rotation who might benefit from his floor-spacing abilities in the overall offensive flow of the game.
This will, of course, hinge on Santos' ability to carry over the momentum he gained late last season into 2026-27. But if Kerr feels like Santos is making a true push for a starting role, that's a good sign for where things might be headed this season.
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