A day before media day, the Warriors finally got things done. On Sunday, the front office reached an agreement with three free agents and one of their draft picks — all before Wednesday’s qualifying offer deadline for restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. One might say they have begun the critical week with great effort. After Kevon Looney’s departure, there was a big hole to fill, and after weeks of no announcement, we finally got one in the form of Al Horford.

The former Celtics big man was one of the first pieces of the domino in terms of the Warriors’ front office making additions. With just 9 players on the roster before Sunday, it was important to add some depth. The Big 3 of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler already had championship aspirations with a depleted squad. After Sunday, where can they position themselves? “So, that’s the big thing for Golden State now. It’s getting through the gauntlet of the Western Conference healthy while still maintaining playoff positioning, still being in the mix,” analyst Trevor Lane explained the approach as the Golden State gets commitments from Al Horford, Gary Payton II, and De’Anthony Melton.

Apart from them, they also have Will Richard, their 56th pick of the draft, on a four-year contract. Now, it’s a step in the right direction. In terms of mindset, Lane said, “They’re not going to worry that much about their seeding. They’re the six seed, if they’re the two seed, if they’re the eight seed. Yes, they would prefer to avoid the play in, but they’re not going to worry too much about exactly where they fall.”

Look at last season, the team missed out on the top 6 spot, meaning they had to face the Grizzlies twice in the Play-in Tournament. Winning that, they confirmed their #7 status and faced the #2 Rockets. The Warriors, despite the aged Big 3 of Curry, Butler, and Green, were able to beat the Houston team 4-3. The team looked poised after the first game of the second round. But an injury to their leader, Chef Curry, derailed those hopes.

Without Steph, the team would lose 4 consecutive games. Learning from last season’s defeats, Lane predicts that the team would prefer being healthy and not being too bothered about their standings during the regular season. “It’s going to be can we get all these guys healthy and then let playoff Jimmy, play off Al Horford, Steph Curry, Draymond, and let these guys do what they’re going to do. Just can we get them to the postseason in one piece? That’s going to be the big challenge for the Golden State Warriors.”

Stephen Curry’s 37, Jimmy Butler’s 36, Draymond Green’s 35, and now Al Horford at 39. The average of their 4 starters comes to 36.75, so should the aspirations be tempered?

Stephen Curry has his eye on the championship

Last February, the Golden State traded for Jimmy Butler, and then went on a 23-7 finish to close out the season. Their defense jumped from ninth to first. Naturally, the addition of Horford will be huge. As the 39-year-old remains a very durable center, having played in at least 60 games in 10 of his last 11 seasons.

Now that is a positive sign for a team that is already high on its chances. A few weeks ago, it was Draymond Green and Butler working out together. The two veteran forwards practiced posting up, corner shooting, and even showcased savvy moves inside the paint before getting the buckets. Once the intense workout was done, Green was loud and sent a clear message to the other 29 teams: “We about six weeks out…right..where I need to be baby…we getting that b____ this year.”

Butler, who shared this post, had the caption that aligned with Green’s intentions: “whatever @money23green said on the last slide.” The biggest morale booster was Stephen Curry’s reaction. In the comment section, he had no words, but expressed his desire, “👀🙌🏽.” With the added depth and lessons from last season, surely the Warriors will be looking to contend again.