The Golden State Warriors just signed a guard who can give their offense something it badly needed. There is only one problem: he was also the NBA’s worst three-point shooter among players who took at least 150 attempts last season.

Brandon Williams shot 23.2% from deep for the Dallas Mavericks in 2025-26, going 36-for-155. Yet Dallas was 4.9 points per 100 possessions better on offense with him on the floor. He also drew 7.5 free throws per 36 minutes, giving Golden State a type of rim pressure it has lacked behind Stephen Curry.

That is why the Warriors’ one-year, $2.6 million agreement with Williams is more interesting than the contract itself. Golden State spent much of the offseason chasing a much bigger answer, including an effort to bring LeBron James into Curry’s final championship window. Instead, its first outside free-agent addition is a 26-year-old guard who could fix one of the team’s biggest problems if his shooting does not make him impossible to play.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Williams agreed to the one-year minimum deal through his agents, Derek Lafayette and Curtis Lawrence. Williams averaged 13.0 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes across 66 games for Dallas last season.

Williams is Golden State’s first external free-agent addition of the offseason, and the timing matters. The Warriors entered the summer trying to maximize Stephen Curry’s championship window, but their biggest move never came. Instead, their first outside addition addresses a much smaller but very real roster problem.

Golden State lost reserve point guard Pat Spencer to Phoenix, leaving the second unit without a true penetration-first distributor behind Curry. Brandin Podziemski and De’Anthony Melton could handle the ball, but both were better suited to secondary playmaking than taking on the full job of creating offense.

Williams gives them that option. He attempted 462 two-point shots on 617 total field-goal attempts last season and shot 55.2% inside the arc. More importantly, he drew 7.5 free throws per 36 minutes, or 9.8 per 100 possessions. For a Warriors team that has traditionally relied heavily on jump shooting, that gives Steve Kerr another way to create points.

Williams is not the only roster move Golden State has made to strengthen its depth. The Warriors also brought back Deivon Smith, who played a key role in their Summer League championship run and scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and added three assists on 9-of-14 shooting in the title game.

Smith also spent last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He is expected to compete for one of Golden State’s two-way spots, giving the organization another young guard who already knows its system.

The contrast with the rest of Golden State’s summer is hard to miss. Draymond Green declined his $27.7 million player option in June to help create room for the Warriors to pursue LeBron James. Green later returned on a one-year, $27.7 million deal after that pursuit ended, while James chose Philadelphia and signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the 76ers.

Every Warriors move this summer ultimately comes back to Curry. He is entering the final season of his current contract, and Golden State has continued building around him rather than breaking the roster apart. The Warriors’ latest roster moves also come amid questions surrounding Curry’s future.

Williams’ value is much simpler: he gives Kerr another way to create offense when Curry is on the bench.

Warriors Fans Have Plenty to Say About the Move

The reaction to Williams says a lot about where the Warriors are right now.

“Warriors finally signed someone new.“

The reaction captures how quiet Golden State’s summer had been. Williams is the team’s first external free-agent addition, while the franchise has largely relied on keeping its core together and adding pieces around it. That makes a one-year minimum deal feel like a bigger event than the contract itself suggests.

For another fan, the signing was a reminder of how different this summer was supposed to look.

“Went from trying to get LeBron to this.“

The contrast is hard to miss. Golden State created room for a potential pursuit of LeBron James, but James ultimately chose Philadelphia. The Warriors instead ended up using their first outside free-agent move on Williams, a guard who addresses a roster need rather than transforming the team around Curry.

Others ignored the names Golden State missed and focused on what Williams can actually do.

“Brandon Williams is a great pickup for the Warriors. He’ll juice the second unit with his speed. Teams who needed another PG missed out there.“

There is a real basketball reason behind that optimism. Williams attempted 462 two-point shots last season and shot 55.2% inside the arc while drawing 7.5 free throws per 36 minutes. Golden State lost Pat Spencer to Phoenix, and Williams gives the second unit another guard who can attack the paint rather than relying entirely on Podziemski or Melton to create offense.

Another reaction took a different view.

“They’re allowed to do that? Sign a guy who wasn’t on the team last year?“

The joke works because Williams was the Warriors’ first external free-agent signing of the summer, something that felt noteworthy only because of how little outside movement Golden State had made before him.

Then came the reaction that tied Williams directly to Golden State’s biggest priority.

“STEPH, YOUR HELP HAS ARRIVED.”

The reaction may sound exaggerated for a minimum-contract signing, but the need behind it is real. Golden State’s offense scored 119.3 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor last season and 108.6 when he sat, a 10.7-point drop. Williams cannot replace Curry, but he can give the second unit another player who can create offense when the team’s best offensive engine is on the bench.

Why Golden State Took the Gamble

Williams’ biggest strength is his ability to attack the basket. He drew 7.5 free throws per 36 minutes, which ranked 12th in the NBA, and his 9.8 free-throw attempts per 100 possessions matched Corey Maggette’s 2009-10 mark with Golden State.

That does not make Williams a perfect fit. His shooting can still create spacing problems, especially on a team that needs room for Curry. But Golden State only had to commit for one season at the minimum, making the risk easier to take.

Williams also showed last season that he can handle a larger role when circumstances require it. Dallas turned to him after Kyrie Irving suffered a torn ACL and D’Angelo Russell fell out of Jason Kidd’s rotation. Williams finished the season averaging 13.0 points and 3.9 assists in 66 games, including 15 starts.

Dallas eventually moved in a different direction with Irving expected to return and the franchise preparing around top draft pick Cooper Flagg. That left Williams available, giving Golden State a chance to add a guard with recent experience in a larger role without spending more than the minimum.

Golden State also was not the only team that saw something in Williams. Reporting from HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Cyro Asseo indicated that Boston, Phoenix and Dallas explored adding him during free agency.

That does not guarantee he will work in Golden State, but it does show that the Warriors were not the only team that saw value in what he brings.

Smith’s return fits the same approach. He averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists with Santa Cruz last season before scoring 21 points with nine rebounds and three assists in the Summer League championship game. He will now compete for a two-way spot alongside LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons, giving Golden State another young guard to develop while Williams takes on the more immediate role.

The gamble is straightforward. Williams has to make his rim pressure and shot creation valuable enough that defenses cannot simply ignore him on the perimeter. If he does, Golden State has added a useful second-unit guard without making a major commitment.

For all the jokes about Golden State going from LeBron to Brandon Williams, the signing is not really about replacing a superstar. It is about giving Curry enough help to keep the Warriors competitive in the final stretch of his career.

Williams does not have to be the answer. He just has to make sure the Warriors are not asking Curry to be the answer to everything.