This has been the first major offseason for Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and it has not quite been smooth sailing. Klay Thompson and Chris Paul departed. De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield came in after a failed sign-and-trade for Paul George.
The prospect of a Lauri Markkanen trade looms over all. With that as the backdrop, Dunleavy Jr. talked to reporters Friday morning with a bevy of questions to be answered.
On the contract front, he said it was important to reach extensions with Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, both of whom are extension eligible this summer.
"That stuff will pick up," Dunleavy said. "I mean, we want those guys here. We believe in them. We drafted them. So our focus will always be about retaining our guys and it's been really important in the past dating back to Steph and Klay and Draymond or moving forward with even a guy like Jordan Poole, who we extended. I mean, he's not here with us now but it was important for us to extend and it'll be important for us to try and get deals now with JK and Moses."
As for one Wardell Stephen Curry, Dunleavy did not try to play coy or hide the Warriors' intentions. They'll give Curry the max if he wants it.
"I mean, look. That guy, whatever he wants," Dunleavy said. "So we'll get through all that stuff. It's been a sprint here getting through the draft and free agency, summer league and all that, but all that stuff will get figured out and we figure Steph will be, pretty confident he'll be a Warrior for life."
He was also asked about the Warriors' current roster construction and what the team's interest level is in making additions.
Dunleavy leaned into the team being "up against the first apron" and pointed to the unstated fact that they cannot make any more free agency additions to their 14-man squad. He said the team can and "should" be better that last season, but that health and chemistry are major components.
But as far as trade talks go? The door is open.
"You're always looking around the league to get better, talking with teams, exploring stuff," Dunleavy said. "I like our team, but there's also some things that we can look at to improve it. And we'll continue to do that leading up to camp and the season."
