The Golden State Warriors had roughly a dozen rotation-caliber players on their roster last season but no clear second star next to Stephen Curry. Barring a blockbuster trade or a full ascent from fourth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, they may be in for more of the same next year.

That’s a large-scale problem that stems from a handful of niche personnel issues, the first of which is the difficulty of getting the team’s projected top five players on the floor together.

If Draymond Green could provide 30 minutes per game at center (and avoid suspensions that cost him weeks at a time), the Dubs might feel better about their prospects. But outside of a few Finals games several years ago, Green has never logged that much time at the 5. Unfortunately, that’s the only realistic way to get Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga (whom head coach Steve Kerr has always viewed as a 4) onto the floor at the same time.

Well, there’s one other way, but it involves oversized looks that slide Wiggins down to shooting guard instead of Brandin Podziemski while also inserting Trayce Jackson-Davis at center. That Curry-Wiggins-Kuminga-Green-TJD quintet would have length and athleticism but not nearly enough shooting to keep defenses from crowding the paint and doubling Curry.

A spacing 4 like, say, Lauri Markkanen could unlock Green-at-the-5 looks more easily. Even if Markkanen isn’t a major deterrent inside, he’s a 7-footer who’d rebound and stretch things out on the other end. Swap him into the spot occupied by Jackson-Davis in the above lineup, and things get a little more interesting—assuming Kuminga wouldn’t be outbound for Utah, of course.

New additions De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson are all rotation-worthy pieces. Melton could even start if Golden State prefers having Podziemski run second units. Throw in Moses Moody, who never seems to get enough time to prove himself, and the minute distribution issues only get tougher. Gary Payton II is still here, too.

Ultimately, the Warriors spent all of last season searching for a lineup that had enough size, athleticism, secondary creation and shooting around Curry. They never really found one, and 2024-25 projects to be similar without a consolidation trade or a Kuminga leap.