Stephen Curry is really trying to be patient. But sadly, there isn’t much time left to wait. He is 38, and his championship window is aggressively closing. You’d have expected Golden State to go big this offseason… instead, they’ve been scarily quiet. This apparent priority shift brings two words no basketball fan wants to hear to the forefront.

“Dub Nation had been warned that 2026-27 was lining up as a “gap year,” Monte Poole of NBC wrote. “The offseason focus would be on internal development rather than external additions. Do not expect gifts in July. None came.”

In May, after a 37-45 season, General Manager Mike Dunleavy told reporters their top offseason priority “is to take care of the ball, limit turnovers.” There was no acknowledgment of the team’s lack of athleticism and length. Back then, it was easy to think the Dubs might not have wanted to reveal their trade strategy so soon.

Turns out, there was none… after their LeBron plan tanked, of course. Poole noted why little has changed on Golden State’s roster since free agency opened.

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“Wouldn’t the Warriors respond to such a disappointing season by scouring the trade market?” Poole wrote. “Even if it meant parting with some future draft capital. While window-shopping around the league, however, Dunleavy & Co. quickly discovered potential trade partners were unimpressed with the available options on the roster. The bulk of the roster consists mostly of replaceable talent.”

The Warriors have run back nearly the same group that finished last season in freefall. Golden State registered five wins in its last 20 regular-season games. They are betting on Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford to stay healthy for 50-60 games, a risky wager given last year’s injury toll.

Meanwhile, De’Anthony Melton returns for his first fully healthy offseason in three years, and Gary Payton II was brought back more for culture than production. The lone new face is rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg, described as carrying a ready-to-contribute skill set despite having no actual NBA experience.

Although Kerr has spoken positively about his newest player, acquired via the draft, he addressed his team’s offseason activity (or lack thereof), saying, “[Sometimes] not making a move can be the best thing to do for your future”

Golden State’s pursuit of LeBron James, seen as its best shot at transforming the roster, fell through when James signed with Philly. It certainly did not ease Dub Nation’s tensions, as that happened after the Warriors dropped their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, AD, Jaylen Brown, and Kawhi Leonard.

Why the Warriors might be digging their own grave

The Warriors’ bet on internal development looks risky given how last season unraveled. Golden State opened 2025-26 with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler as its two healthy stars, but the structure collapsed the moment either got hurt.

Butler tore his ACL on January 19, ending his season. Curry missed weeks with lingering lower-body injuries. Moses Moody went down with a torn patellar tendon on March 23. The results were stark: the Warriors were 12-26 after Butler’s injury, 9-18 in games Curry missed, and just 3-7 in their final 10 games without Moody, a stretch that left Steve Kerr coaching what Poole called “a bottom-five NBA roster.”

Curry himself publicly acknowledged reality not too long ago.

“You hope that they both come back healthy, and we can play at a level that keeps us relevant and competitive and builds a foundation so that we can figure out what it looks like,” Curry said of Butler and Moody. “But that is the situation. We don’t live in any alternative universe.”

Entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, Curry doesn’t have the luxury of treating a gap year as a minor setback… But reports do suggest that the Warriors have no intention of losing the legendary sharpshooter so soon.

“What the terms of a new extension look like for Curry will be completely up to him, as the Warriors are prepared to offer their star whatever he wants. If Steph wants the full $136.7 million through the 2028-29 season, he will get that. If he wants to take a discount to help the team, GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. will have no problem with said deal,” according to insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.

Unlike LeBron, Curry has stayed at just one NBA team his whole life. It is difficult to see the 38-year-old make a shock move to another franchise at this point. But hey, who anticipated LeBron joining the 76ers and suddenly turning it into a super team?

Let’s be clear. The Warriors are not a bad team. But they aren’t necessarily good either. And that’s been the case for a few years now. Here’s how the starting lineup looks with their only bright spark, Yaxel Lendeborg, in it.

Curry, Podziemski, Lendeborg, Green, Porzingis.

Lendeborg undeniably made a good first impression at the Summer League. He finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 94-90 Golden State win over the Memphis Grizzlies, winning MVP honors for the Championship game.

He will turn 24 once the season begins, but basing all your hope on him to firstly help the team sustain 75% of the regular season without Jimmy Butler and then make a deep playoff run does looks like a reach…

Whether that gamble pays off or simply costs Curry one more year of a career running out is the question hanging over their season before it even begins.