The Warriors’ roster picture is changing in three different directions at once.
Miles Kelly, who led Golden State in preseason scoring, was waived after a 28-point night in a loss to the Trail Blazers. Tyler Burton was brought in on a non-guaranteed deal. Brandin Podziemski, meanwhile, just agreed to a five-year, $110 million extension. And Kristaps Porziņģis remains a variable, with his return to team activities still unclear even as he is expected to be at Chase Center on Tuesday.
Kelly’s exit is the most immediate surprise. He had been the Warriors’ preseason scoring leader, and his 28 points against Portland included six 3-pointers. That kind of production did not keep him on the roster bubble for long, though, as Golden State moved on and added Burton instead.
Burton arrives with a different profile. He averaged 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 10 games with the Grizzlies last season, and the Warriors signed him to a non-guaranteed contract. That detail matters in a preseason setting where every spot is still being sorted out and nothing is locked in for long.
The bigger commitment came with Podziemski.
Golden State and Podziemski agreed to a rookie extension worth $110 million over five years, a deal that places him firmly in the team’s long-term plans. Since entering the league in 2023, he has averaged 11.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while posting a 53.7% effective field goal percentage. He also played all 82 games last season, starting 43 of them, which helps explain why he has become such a stable piece for the Warriors whether he is in the opening five or coming off the bench.
That extension also arrives at a moment when the rest of the roster is still being sorted out around him.
Porziņģis has missed the first two weeks of preseason while dealing with a private health issue, and it is not immediately clear when the Warriors expect him back on the court. He is expected to be at the practice facility Tuesday afternoon and will be at Chase Center for the game against the Lakers in Las Vegas, but that does not yet answer the larger question of when he will actually return to action.
Steve Kerr said he is leaning toward starting a smaller lineup in Porziņģis’ absence. That would be a notable adjustment for a team that traded Jonathan Kuminga for Porziņģis in February and then re-signed him to a two-year, $40 million deal this summer. Porziņģis was expected to be the team’s starting center for the 2026-27 season, but his availability remains unsettled.
The timing adds another layer. The Warriors’ regular-season opener against the Lakers in Los Angeles is nine days away, so these decisions are landing with the calendar already tightening. Golden State has a preseason cut, a new non-guaranteed addition, a major extension for one of its younger core players and an unresolved center situation all happening at once.
That is the shape of the roster right now: one player out after leading the team in preseason scoring, one new big body in on a non-guaranteed deal, one cornerstone locked up for five years and one center still working his way back into view.