If there was a common theme from press conferences held by Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Steve Kerr on Friday, it was the desperate need for the Golden State Warriors to limit turnovers next season.
Was that a signal that the Warriors will target a veteran backup point guard this offseason? That's exactly what they need to help address their turnover woes, while also being a move Stephen Curry would love to reduce the reliance on the 2x MVP.
Warriors may have signalled move for backup point guard
Pat Spencer has been a fantastic story for Golden State, including in games earlier this past season with Curry on the sidelines. However, the Warriors need a more proven option rather someone who's still played just over 100 NBA games, and who played the majority of the year on a two-way contract.
Brandin Podziemski and De'Anthony Melton were both tasked with increased offensive usage during Curry's absence, but it's become clear that both are better utilized as combo guards playing alongside on-ball stars.
Speaking of stars, the need for a better backup point guard would be reduced if Jimmy Butler was healthy and available, but alas the 6x All-Star is likely to miss the start of next season which means the Warriors need another proven player to run and help generate offense.
Kerr & Dunleavy both said interesting things today at their pressers.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) May 15, 2026
Dunleavy banged away on needing to cut down on turnovers.
Kerr talked about this "inflection point" for the franchise & emphasized that the team can't build a roster full of guys who need tons of time off.
Who the answer should be isn't abundantly clear, particularly given there aren't too many appealing options in free agency, at least not at the minimum or near-minimum contract level Golden State are likely to be shopping in.
That means the Warriors may have to take a calculated risk on the trade market to acquire a proven backup point guard, or potentially look at a talented player who could play behind and learn from Curry as the 11th overall pick in next month's draft.
Warriors have been plagued by turnover issues for years
Golden State have regularly been one of the worst turnover teams in the league during the Kerr era, with much of it often being placed as a bi-product of the high motion, high ball movement offense.
The Warriors have ranked in the bottom nine for turnover percentage in three of the past four years since winning the 2022 championship, while recording the most turnovers in 2022-23 and the third-most this past season only behind the Portland Trail Blazers and Brooklyn Nets.
Once upon a time the Warriors were so talented and so great that they could withstand their turnover woes and still be successful, but that's unfortunately no longer the case and proves this is an area they simply must address going forward.
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