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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Golden State Warriors were one of the frontrunners to land LeBron James. Steph Curry and Draymond Green both have a strong relationship with him, and Steve Kerr coached him on Team USA during the 2024 Olympics. It's also a short flight from Los Angeles, where his family lives and where he's spent the last eight years. Yet, instead of teaming up with Curry and Green in the Bay, James opted to head back out East and join the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now, the Warriors are left empty-handed, looking for another way to improve their roster and stay competitive in a loaded Western Conference next season. There's already been some speculation that they could explore the trade market, potentially making a move for either Trey Murphy III or Klay Thompson. But to save assets, Golden State might want to stick to free agency — especially if they can land one of the following players on the cheap.
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DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is one of the best mid-range scorers of all time — he ranks 16th on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He's now a free agent after being waived by the Sacramento Kings, and he still put up 18.4 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds across 77 games last season. He's a SoCal guy, so staying in-state might intrigue him, and he's still an efficient scorer at 36 years old, shooting 49.6% from the field last year, on over 13 attempts per game.
DeRozan's not a deep threat like Thompson, but the Warriors already have that with Curry. He's still elite one-on-one and could provide reliable scoring in high-pressure moments. Once Jimmy Butler gets healthy, a starting lineup of Curry, DeRozan, Butler, Green, and Kristaps Porzingis is legitimately compelling, plus you'd still have Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Al Horford off the bench.
Bradley Beal
Beal missed almost all of last season after a hip injury required season-ending surgery, but he was once one of the best 3-point shooters and scoring guards in the NBA. In 2021, he made third-team All-NBA after averaging 31.3 points — second-most in the league — along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 48.5% from the field and 35% from deep.
Beal's 33 years old, so slightly younger than DeRozan, and like DeRozan, still searching for a ring — but arguably an even cleaner fit. Beal is a better perimeter shooter who can space the floor, with a career 3-point shooting percentage of 37.6%, on 5.7 attempts per game, the type of player we've already seen work well playing next to Curry and Green.
Bennedict Mathurin
Bruce Brown or Gary Payton II would be the cheaper options, but Mathurin offers a much higher ceiling. He'd add scoring punch on the wing, some much-needed youth (just 24 years old), and an aggressive downhill mentality to a roster that's starting to show its age. Splitting last season between Indiana and the Clippers, he still managed 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists a night across 54 games.
Mathurin is relentless getting into the paint, collapsing defenses in a way that gives Golden State a foul-drawing weapon they're otherwise missing outside of Curry. He's proven he can catch fire for 20-plus points in a hurry, which would be huge for keeping things afloat whenever Curry sits. He's not new to big moments either — he played a big role for Indiana during their 2025 Finals run. The biggest obstacle is that he's a restricted free agent, making a sign-and-trade deal the only realistic path.
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