Report: Three Warriors starting lineup spots considered ‘wide open’

Report: Three Warriors starting lineup spots considered ‘wide open’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With Klay Thompson now out of the picture, the Warriors will focus their lineups and rotations around Steph Curry and Draymond Green moving forward.

Aside from the two Warriors veterans, the rest of Golden State’s starting lineup for the 2024-25 NBA season is up for grabs. The three remaining spots in the starting lineup — and the rotation — will be considered “wide open” heading into training camp, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews reported Wednesday, citing sources.

Two players Golden State is depending on to make significant strides next season are its 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, who now are eligible for rookie contract extensions.

Both young players are poised to take on bigger roles with the Warriors, along with second-year players Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, who all are now expected to remain on the roster following plenty of offseason trade speculation.

But nothing will be handed to them, a source told Andrews, and a spot in the first-five lineup alongside Curry and Green is fair game to all on the roster.

The Warriors made a few offseason additions this summer, including De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson.

Kuminga and Moody, who are entering their fourth NBA season, are both eligible for five-year extensions. The deadline for each contract extension is the final day before the start of the 2024-25 season, typically in October. If neither sign an extension, they will become unrestricted free agents after the 2024-25 season.

Kuminga is eligible to sign a five-year extension worth up to $224 million, while Moody’s deal could range from $11-13 million per season, Andrews notes, adding that conversations about those players’ extensions haven’t been at the forefront for the Warriors yet, but general manager Mike Dunleavy said, “That stuff will pick up.”

“We want those guys here,” Dunleavy said. “We believe in them, we drafted them.”

Dunleavy and the Warriors believe in the young duo, now it’s up to Kuminga and Moody to prove they belong in the starting lineup as a new era of Warriors basketball begins.

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