A loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Eastern Conference Semifinals sent the Golden State Warriors into the 2025 offseason with another disappointing result. As the 2025 NBA free agency period approaches, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is tasked with keeping his aging roster in title contention.

Golden State made a splash at the 2025 trade deadline by landing Jimmy Butler , a move that immediately turned its season around. However, three months later, it provides a significant roadblock in free agency. Once acquiring Butler, Dunleavy immediately extended him, giving the 35-year-old over $100 million over the next two seasons.

Butler's extension gives him an annual salary nearly equal to that of Stephen Curry. The Warriors owe Curry and Butler a combined $113 million in 2025-2026, and another $118 million the following year, according to Basketball Reference. Add that to the $52 million they owe Draymond Green over the next two seasons, and Golden State is on the books for $284 million for their top three players through 2027.

Even with their financial limitations, the Warriors continue to find a way to defy expectations. The last time they were counted out, they brought their seventh championship trophy back home in 2022. Dunleavy has clear roster needs to address and not a lot of flexibility, making the 2025 offseason his toughest since taking over as Warriors general manager in 2023.

C Brook Lopez

The Warriors' biggest need entering the 2025 NBA free agency period is crystal clear. Losing Curry against the Timberwolves hurt, but their lack of size was evident all season. They made up for it in the regular season with a fast-paced small-ball approach, but when times got tough, a 35-year-old Green can no longer lock horns with the best big men in the league in a seven-game series by himself.

Luckily, with center being one of the cheapest positions in the modern NBA, the Warriors' cap concerns should not be too much of a hurdle. The 2025 free agency center market is thin, but Dunleavy will still have his options. Coming off his seventh season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brook Lopez is Golden State's best bet.

Even at 37, Lopez still has a lot left in the tank. He is not the type of big man to be a threat in transition, but Lopez is the perfect type of stretch-five that the Warriors have never truly had. The former All-Star sank 37.3 percent of his three-pointers in 2024-2025, the second-highest clip of his 17-year career.

While a sharpshooter on offense, Lopez also has the rim-protecting skill set to round out the Warriors' defense. His physical frame aligns with the tone Green and Butler set on that end of the court much better than Quinten Post or Trayce Jackson-Davis ever could. The unique three-and-D center is only two years removed from an NBA All-Defensive first-team nod.

C/PF Naz Reid

Coming off a career-high 14.2 points per game in 2024-2025, Naz Reid is due for a payday in the 2025 offseason. The Warriors cannot match the numbers many other teams might offer him, but they can give him a featured role on a championship-level team.

As he wraps up the final guaranteed year of his current deal, Reid has a $15 million player option for the 2025-2026 season. So far, the “belief” is that he remains in Minnesota , according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. His impending decision will likely depend on how the Timberwolves' season ends in the 2025 playoffs.

Reid could certainly opt in or restructure his deal to sign up for a seventh season in Minnesota. But with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert in town, he remains limited to his sixth man role. If he seeks a bigger role on a championship-caliber team, the Warriors can offer him his best landing spot in 2025 NBA free agency.

If it is not Lopez, Reid is just as good, if not a better fit, for the Warriors. The 6-foot-9 utility weapon shot 37.9 percent from deep in 2024-2025 after hitting them at a 41.4 percent clip in 2023-2024. Aside from his scoring numbers, Reid also posted a career-high 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his sixth season.

Still just 25, Reid would be a uniquely young and athletic presence on an aging Warriors team. As good as he is behind the arc, he would add a new element to the offense as an athletic rim-runner. His versatility in pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop sets pairs nicely with the playmaking of Curry, Butler and Green.

SF Khris Middleton

Second only to center, the Warriors desperately need to add another scorer in the 2025 NBA free agency window. Once Curry went down, Golden State painfully learned that Butler's days of carrying a team deep into the playoffs are long gone. If it wants to remain in the title conversation, the team has to add another scorer to the mix.

Their budget prevents them from adding a third star, but Mike Dunleavy could find his answer in three-time All-Star Khris Middleton. Ahead of his age-34 season, Middleton is far from the All-Star talent he once was , but is still capable of contributing to a championship team. He has a $34 million player option with the Washington Wizards in 2025-2026, but if he desires another ring, he could easily opt out and seek a change of scenery.

At this point in his career, Middleton is best as a high-level sixth man capable of running a second-team unit. He would thrive in that role for Golden State, which needs his skills as an isolation scorer off the bounce. The Warriors are not an isolation-heavy team, but they gravely need a shooter like Middleton who can create his own shot.

Given his age, Middleton should not have too high a price tag in free agency. He would cost Golden State whatever is left of its cap space, but the impact he would bring to Steve Kerr's offense would be worth the expense. There might not be a better team to utilize the remaining years of Middleton's career.

C Steven Adams

Adding a floor-stretching center like Lopez or Reid seems up the Warriors' alley, but Golden State has recently preferred a bruising, physical presence in the middle. There is no shortage of such players in the league, but arguably the most physical center in the NBA, Steven Adams, will be available in free agency.

Adams spent his 2024-2025 season working behind Alperen Sengun on the Houston Rockets, but he has otherwise been a career starter. He is not the scorer that a player like Reid is, but when given the minutes, he is a nightly double-double threat.

As one of the best screen-setters in the league, Adams' frame is ideal to pair with a player whose game revolves around as much off-ball movement as Curry. The Warriors love running dribble handoff sets with their big men, which Adams is also versed in. Before joining the Rockets, he averaged just under 3.0 assists per game in his two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The athleticism or shooting will not be there, but the Warriors need an imposing paint presence. Adams, who should be available in free agency for pennies on the dollar, will be one of the best value adds on the market. As a native of New Zealand, Adams might fancy a move out to the West Coast. He would just have to get past his decade-old beef with Green .

SG Alec Burks

Not many budget scorers are available in free agency, which could limit Golden State's search for a supplementary bucket-getter. A player like Middleton, who earned $31 million in 2024-2025, would be ideal, but could be out of their price range. In that case, someone like Alec Burks, who has served a similar role for countless teams around the league, might be a more realistic target.

After spending his first seven years with the Utah Jazz, Burks has bounced around with seven different teams in as many years. One of those teams was the Warriors, for whom Burks played 48 games in 2019-2020. Golden State struggled with injuries that year, but Burks averaged a career-high 16.2 points per game before he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Five years later, the Warriors are in an entirely different state ahead of the 2025 offseason. However, their need for his skills is still there. An underrated volume scorer, Burks can always lead a second unit and put up 20 points on any given night.

Though his 34th birthday is approaching in July, Burks is still improving 14 years into his career. He shot a career-high 42.5 percent from deep with the Miami Heat in 2024-2025 . Miami seems keen on re-signing him and is historically fond of its role players, but Burks' well-traveled history suggests there is a good chance he will be back on the move.

When Burks was last with the team, Mike Dunleavy was not in his current role but still with the team as assistant general manager. Burks' familiarity with Dunleavy and the organization is still there. He is not a player that Golden State can turn to on every possession, but he is an ample offensive threat who can alleviate enough pressure off Curry and Butler's shoulders. The Warriors have to give him a call in free agency.