“We’re gonna find out, I think we can,” said Stephen Curry, when asked recently if the Warriors veteran core can compete for a championship. The acquisition of Jimmy Butler gave the Warriors a boost last year, allowing the team to go on a 23-7 run in the regular season, and reach the Conference Semi-Finals before Stephen Curry’s injury hurt their chances. For the 3-point leader, the “identity” and “the foundation of knowing how to play together towards the end of last season” can help them in the 2025-26 NBA season. Unfortunately, according to an ESPN analyst, the Warriors might need more.

A few hours ago, the crew of ‘NBA Today’, consisting of Chiney Ogwumike, Malika Andrews, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye, hosted a segment. As the conversation shifted to the changes made to the teams in the off-season, Ogwumike highlighted how one should worry about the Golden State Warriors. After all, as the analyst highlighted, “Golden State virtually doing nothing besides Kevon Looney, you know, leaving. And then also the situation with Jonathan Kuminga. You look at 30 teams in the NBA. One of them has like one item compared to so many many transactions. So what will Golden State do? How will they handle this situation?”

While rumors had linked the Bay Area franchise to big names like Al Horford, it “had an unexpectedly quiet offseason”, reportedly making it the only NBA team yet to make any real offseason move. Much of the blame for this goes to the continued issue with Jonathan Kuminga’s ongoing negotiations. After all, as NBA reporter Kurt Helin highlighted, “Golden State doesn’t know precisely what it has to spend until Kuminga’s contract is on the books”.

As of now, the Warriors have only 9 guaranteed contracts locked in for the 2025–26 season, while other NBA teams have reportedly filled the 14th and 15th roster spots and even signed players for training camp invites. Further non-action reduces hope that the Warriors can compete against other big team players.

“We talk about maximizing these stars’ prime. Kevin Durant is in a position where, hopefully, they’re pursuing a championship. LeBron James is in a position to hopefully pursue a championship. Is Steph Curry?” Ogwumike asked. “I know Jimmy Butler, the lack of availability towards the end, you know, with health affected them, but they’re going to need more, and we’ll see if they can get that done.”

Similar to the Warriors, the Lakers brought in a strong offensive force earlier this year by acquiring Luka Doncic. Despite that, the team was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs. In light of this, the franchise resolved its center needs by acquiring DeAndre Ayton. Additionally, Jake LaRavia’s young age and 42% shooting from the arc can benefit both Luka Dončić and LeBron James in the paint. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart can assist in perimeter defense.

With just a few weeks remaining until the 2025-26 NBA season begins, the Golden State Warriors have limited time to make changes. Changes that cannot happen until the Jonathan Kuminga situation gets resolved. If that doesn’t happen soon, then, according to reports, Stephen Curry is likely to step up and get things moving.

Stephen Curry and/or Jimmy Butler might force the Warriors into a Jonathan Kuminga “Resolution” soon

A few hours ago, NBA reporter Jake Fischer hosted another episode of the Bleacher Report’s YouTube show. During the same, he stated that “I think there is some hope that, you know, next week, over the weekend, is when players and teams will start to go back into their respective practice facilities. That maybe, you know, Stephen Curry gets in the building and starts looking around. That Jimmy Butler gets in the building and starts looking around. And they’re like, ‘alright we either want Jonathan Kuminga back or we’ve got to get some kind of resolution’”.

As ‘Blue Man Hoop’ reporter Peter O’Keefe highlighted, the Warriors have “exercised patience” when it comes to the Kuminga situation. They have reportedly turned down sign-and-trade offers from the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings, and have reportedly refused to increase their current two-year $45 million (second year team option) offer. Stephen Curry is reportedly “patient” in situations like these. However, as O’Keefe highlighted, that patience might not remain if Curry has only 8 players to practice with.

A resolution can reportedly open the doors for the Warriors to acquire not only Al Horford but also De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II. Whether that will happen before or after Stephen Curry shows his impatient side is something that remains to be seen.