Rewind the clocks by even two or three seasons and the 2025-26 Golden State Warriors would be dominating the NBA. Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry are two of the best postseason players of their generation, Draymond Green is still an All-Defense level player, and Al Horford refuses to lose the war with Father Time.
The harsh reality facing the Warriors, however, is that all four of those players are at least 35 years of age— a truth Steve Kerr appears to be coming to terms with.
The Warriors are a team that no one wants to encounter in the playoffs, but the regular season is a different challenge entirely. An 82-game schedule can be brutal on prime-year players, let alone individuals in their mid-to-late 30s who are still being tasked with putting a team on their back.
That's unfortunately reared its head in recent seasons, as the Warriors struggled prior to the Butler trade in 2024-25 and are an underwhelming 11-10 through 21 games in 2025-26.
Thankfully, Kerr is acknowledging the need to prioritize depth and the fresher legs on the roster for the sake of putting together an adequate regular season. Golden State is experienced enough that it doesn't necessarily need home-court advantage in the playoffs and has the talent level to justify its confidence.
As far as navigating the regular season is concerned, however, Kerr is leaning on his up-and-comers in a way he never has before.
Steve Kerr finally giving up-and-comers a chance to help Warriors win
In 2024-25, Butler averaged 32.7 minutes per game with the Warriors, while Curry checked in at 32.2 and Green registered 29.2. Early in 2025-26, Butler is down a full minute to 31.7, Curry is down 1.2 to 31.0, and Green has remained under 30 at 29.1.
Horford, meanwhile, is averaging 21.8 minutes per game after playing 27.7 during the 2024-25 season with the Boston Celtics.
That alone offers reason for optimism, as Golden State has seemingly accepted its mortality. The bigger development, however, is how many promising players are seeing their minutes increase as their margin for error increases and their upside becomes easier to tap into.
Brandin Podziemski is up from 26.8 minutes per game in 2024-25 to 28.3 in 2025-26. Moses Moody has made an even bigger jump from 22.3 to 26.1, while Pat Spencer has doubled his playing time from 6.4 to 12.8, and Quinten Post is beginning to be featured in a consistent manner down low.
Post is admittedly averaging 0.3 fewer minutes per game, but he's played at least 22 minutes in three of his past five appearances, and never dipped lower than 17 in any of those outings.
Warriors saving older stars from wear and tear, potential fatigue injuries
It's an admittedly frustrating process for Kerr to see through, as the veterans simply give him the best chance to win. Fatigue and injuries are factors that can't be overlooked, however, and both are more likely to occur in players in the stars' age range.
Equal in importance is the simple fact that the Warriors need to improve the depth chart, have limited trade resources, and can benefit long-term from developing talent internally.
Will Richard is a shining example of how taking a chance on a young player can pay off. The rookie is averaging 18.4 minutes per game and providing value on both ends of the floor, alleviating pressure from both Butler and Curry with his shooting, defense, and expanding scoring arsenal.
It may not be the formula that the Warriors were hoping to utilize in 2025-26, but giving the young players a chance to show what they can do may very well save the stars from disaster.