How Warriors’ offseason deals with four returning players were graded by ESPN originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors haven’t signed anyone new this offseason, but ESPN doesn’t view the contracts they’ve handed out in a negative light.
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As the team missed out on big fish like LeBron James this summer, Golden State re-signed Kristaps Porziņģis, De’Anthony Melton, Al Horford, Gary Payton II and Draymond Green ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season and is running it back with the same squad that finished its last campaign as a play-in tournament participant.
While that certainly isn’t music to Dub Nation’s ears, ESPN handed out grades for four of those five signings — a majority of which are favorable.
Draymond Green
Terms:One year, $27.7 million
Grade: C
“Before the offseason began, the expectation was that Green would play out the 2026-27 season on a $27.7 million deal. He had a player option for that amount and likely wouldn’t have received any more on the open market as a 36-year-old with more value to the Golden State Warriors than any other team.
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That expectation changed for about a month, after Green declined his player option to give the Warriors the financial flexibility to pursue free agent LeBron James. But after James went to Philadelphia 76ers rather than northern California, it made sense for Green to re-sign with the Warriors for the same one-year deal he declined a month earlier. Because the baseline for these free agent grades is a ‘C,’ and because Green stuck with the baseline expectation entering this summer, that’s the logical grade to give this deal.” – Zach Kram
De’Anthony Melton
Terms:Two years, $11 million (player option in second year)
Grade: A
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“Last summer, Melton signed a two-year deal with the Warriors, with a player option in the second year. He opted out and is going the same route this summer, just with a slightly higher price tag following a strong comeback season from a torn ACL in November 2024.
“Regardless of whether the Warriors’ star ambitions pan out this summer, Melton will be an excellent fit on their roster as a do-it-all guard with a knack for forcing turnovers. He doesn’t need the ball to contribute, and if his 3-point shot bounces back with more time removed from his injury — he was at 29 percent last season, a big step down from his previous 37 percent career mark — he’ll thrive playing off Stephen Curry (and LeBron James?).
“The Warriors had a plus-3.9 net rating with Melton on the court last season, which ranked second on the team behind Jimmy Butler III. Still only 28 years old, he’s squarely in his prime.
“Perhaps he’ll turn in another solid season and do the ‘opt out and re-sign’ dance with Golden State once again next summer.” – Kram
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Kristaps Porziņģis
Terms:Two years, $40 million
Grade: B-minus
“This is a low-floor, high-ceiling play for a veteran team that’s angling to become one of the lowest-floor, highest-ceiling squads in the league.
“Porziņģis’ floor is tied entirely to his availability. The 30-year-old center is still an effective player if he’s healthy, but that’s a mighty large ‘if’ at this point: He played just 42 games for the Boston Celtics in 2024-25 and 32 combined games for the Atlanta Hawks and Warriors last season, because of an illness that Boston’s doctors reportedly diagnosed as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
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“He also never played more than 29 minutes in a game with Golden State and averaged a career-low 24 minutes per game over the whole season, as the Hawks and Warriors sought to manage his stamina.
“But Porziņģis averaged 25 points per 36 minutes when he was able to stay in games, right in line with his other recent averages. And his decline in efficiency (58 percent true shooting, his first time below 62 percent in four years) was likely tied to his inability to develop a rhythm, with so many long absences throughout the year. …
“But for now, committing up to $20 million per year — only $3 million is guaranteed for the second season, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater — is a questionable move for a team that hopes to finish the offseason with a crowded cap sheet. There’s a world in which Porziņģis, Horford, Green and [Anthony] Davis all take turns missing games and form a sort of super-center Voltron when they’re available; there’s also a world in which the Warriors miss out on Davis and end up paying Porziņģis about $1 million per game because he plays so infrequently.” – Kram
Al Horford
Terms:Two years, $14 million
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Grade: B-plus
“Al Horford got off to a very slow start in Golden State last season, to the point that it seemed as if the veteran big man might be done as an NBA rotation player. Amid various absences, he averaged just 5.6 points per game on 45 percent true shooting before Christmas.
“But he soon rediscovered his typical form and averaged 9.3 PPG on 59 percent true shooting from Christmas through the end of the season — right in line with his 8.8 PPG and 60 percent true shooting from his final two seasons in Boston. He was also one of Golden State’s best performers in the play-in round.
“So don’t close the book on Horford’s career just yet. He is 40 years old now, and he might need plenty of rest throughout the regular season — he hasn’t played 70 games in a season since 2017-18 and appeared in only 45 last year — but he can still play 20 productive minutes per game, supplying savvy defense, offensive spacing and positional flexibility.
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“It’s not easy for the Warriors to find role players who belong in their read-and-react system, but with his unselfish play and basketball intellect, Horford is a strong fit.
“Horford is replacing his $6 million option for 2026-27 with a new two-year contract worth just a bit more than that per year. At some point, he’ll inevitably slow down for good. But this is a low-dollar, low-risk deal for Golden State, and Horford seems to have enough left in the tank to make it worth the Warriors’ while.” – Kram
