Without question, Gui Santos should be an important piece for the Golden State Warriors this season.
His path to a starting spot is likely blocked off by the arrival of Yaxel Lendeborg, who seems slated to be paired with Draymond Green in the Warriors' frontcourt at least until the return of Jimmy Butler—which is anticpated around mid-season. Lendeborg has the defensive versatility and the offensive polish to be an immediately impactful starter in a Golden State frontcourt that desperately needs one.
That doesn't mean that Santos can just be forgotten, though. He elevated his game last season in the Warriors' depleted rotation, showing an ability to create his own shots on the interior and hit his perimeter looks consistently enough to remain a floor-spacing threat. He'll need to serve as a primary offensive option off the bench for the Warriors this season if they want to put together any kind of consistent scoring front.
But their signing of Georges Niang, even on a partially-guaranteed, veteran minimum contract, makes things slightly more complicated. Niang will have an immediate rotational role because of his consistent perimeter shot, and that leaves Santos with a clear mandate.
If he's going to be the Warriors' primary answer off the bench in the frontcourt, he's going to need to hit his shots from beyond the arc at a consistent rate.
Gui Santos should still be the Warriors' primary bench weapon, but there's a path for Niang to eat into his minutes
Santos has much higher upside than Niang—full stop.
Niang didn't appear in a NBA game last season as he rehabbed an injury, and it's unclear what he still has left in the tank as a rebounder and an interior scorer. But if there's one thing he can do, it's hit his shots consistently from the perimeter. Niang is a 39.9% 3-point shooter, and he sunk 40.6% of his perimeter attempts in his last full NBA season in 2024-25.
That type of skill set, no matter where it falls in the rotation, is always going to be attractive to Steve Kerr.
It's not a matter of Niang surpassing Santos on the depth chart entirely. But when the Warriors ultimately get Butler back, there will be a competition for minutes in the frontcourt. There's a chance Green gets moved to the bench at that time, or it could leave Lendeborg eating into Santos' role as a bench scorer.
If Santos isn't able to hit his 3-point shots consistently early in the season, the Warriors could cede some of his opportunities at the four to Niang, which would put him in even further jeopardy when the rotation becomes whole again.
Santos certainly has the requisite upside from beyond the arc. He hit his perimeter shots at a respectable rate of 35.1% last season, and that number stayed relatively steady even when he took on higher volume in the final months of the campaign.
At the very least, Santos' role isn't entirely secure heading into 2026-27. If he wants to carry over the momentum he gained toward the end of last season, he's going to need to remain a versatile and viable offensive threat off the bench for Golden State.
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