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Warriors Open Camp Counting Knees: Butler, Moody and a Porzingis Mystery

Golden State's season may be decided in the training room. Three rotation players arrive in Hawaii unable to play, and the 38-year-old franchise star just signed on for two more years.

Briar Keller

September 29, 20263 min read

Steve Kerr begins his 13th season in Golden State with a two-year contract, a franchise star who just committed through 2029 and a medical report long enough to need its own page.

Start there, because everything else depends on it.

Jimmy Butler III. Tore his ACL on Jan. 19 against Miami. The team says he has progressed to very light on-court activities. He is 37 and in the final year of his deal.

Moses Moody. Ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee on March 23 against Dallas, and missed the last 22 games. Same status as Butler: light court work, no date.

Kristaps Porzingis. The newest problem. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said Monday that the center is out indefinitely with a health issue the team was told about on Sunday. He is not traveling to Honolulu for camp. Dunleavy would not say whether it relates to the illness that limited Porzingis before, and said only that he is "not available this week."

Those three account for a large share of the roster's size, shot creation and wing defense, and none of them has a return date with the opener at the Lakers set for Oct. 21.

Who absorbs the minutes

Stephen Curry does, first. He played just 43 games last season around a right knee injury and averaged 26.6 points, and says he feels strong entering camp. On Sept. 26 he agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension that would carry him to a 20th season with the club.

Behind him the list is familiar. Brandin Podziemski averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds last season. Draymond Green, 36, returned on a one-year deal. Al Horford, 40, re-signed for two.

The newcomers are where camp gets interesting. De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II bring perimeter defense. Georges Niang, a 40% career three-point shooter, missed all of last season with a foot injury. And No. 11 pick Yaxel Lendeborg arrives as the first Warrior named Summer League MVP, drawing early praise from Green and Butler.

What a good season looks like

Last year's team won 37 games and went out in the play-in, beaten 111-96 in Phoenix. This group is thinner at the start and potentially better at the finish, if the injured players return on schedule.

That makes the first two months a holding exercise. A .500 record through December with Curry healthy would put Golden State in position to add Butler and Moody for a push. A slow start with Curry missing time would make the second half irrelevant.

Kerr has said he is optimistic and has framed this camp around process rather than a championship-or-bust target. Given the injury report, that is less a slogan than a plan.

The preseason opens Oct. 4 against the Clippers at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

Sources

NBA.com, Curry agrees to two-year, $116 million extension (Sept. 26, 2026)

NBC Sports Bay Area, Porzingis out indefinitely with health issue (Sept. 28, 2026)

NBA.com, Kerr returning to Warriors on two-year deal (May 12, 2026)

ESPN, Warriors 2025-26 standings and 2026-27 schedule

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Briar Keller

Briar Keller covers Saratoga high school and area college sports.

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