The Golden State Warriors have a lot of work to do in their aspirations to return to the top of the Western Conference, but their path towards that goal may be hindered by the roster constraints they face this offseason.
While Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office will explore different trade and free agency scenarios to improve the roster around the veteran trio of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, don't expect the Warriors to be in the market for a blockbuster move in the coming weeks.
Financial restrictions impact the Warriors ability to make a big move
This time last year Golden State were in the market for another star -- someone they hoped would take the offensive burden off Stephen Curry. They went heavily after Paul George and could have landed the 9x All-Star if it weren't for the L.A. Clippers unwillingness to take back matching salary.
The Warriors then moved their attention to a month-long pursuit of Lauri Markkanen, only for that to ultimately result in the Finnish forward remaining with the Utah Jazz on a new contract.
The Warriors finally got their hands on said star in February when they traded for Butler, handing the 35-year-old a fresh two-year, $111 million contract extension in the process. It's that Butler deal that now prevents Golden State from launching another huge trade this offseason, with Dunleavy confirming as much during his pre-draft press conference on Monday.
“It’s just almost impossible for us to add players in the salary range of guys we were looking at last summer since we’ve added Jimmy," Dunleavy said.
Even if the Warriors wanted to include Butler and his salary in a trade fora player they deemed an upgrade from the 6x All-Star, they can't legally do that until August 6 by which time it will have been six months since his arrival to the Bay.
Golden State's ability to acquire a real difference-making player will most likely stem from a potential Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, yet even then it's complicated given only 50% of the young forward's contract counts as outgoing salary.
The Warriors could use Kuminga and the mid-tier contracts of Moses Moody and/or Buddy Hield to reach a player making $25-30 million, but that's realistically as high as they can go and even then it will be difficult to pull off.
The idea of simply 'running it back' is a thought that scares a lot of Golden State fans given how competitive the Western Conference will be next season. Based on Dunleavy's comments and the state of the payroll, the Warriors will have to be very creative within limited means to ensure that won't be the case.