Warriors Players Under Most Pressure Entering 2024-25 NBA Season

The Golden State Warriors tried making several splashes over the past calendar year.

To this point, they keep coming up dry. No LeBron James, no Paul George, no Lauri Markkanen.

No difference-maker, in other words, for a team that's really hoping for a different outcome than last season, when it lost 36 games and was knocked out of the NBA play-in tournament.

Ever player on this roster should feel some pressure to perform, from Stephen Curry fending off Father Time to remain at superstar level to the two-way players scrapping for big-league service time, but the following three players will feel the spotlight's heat the most.

Jonathan Kuminga

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SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 16: Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors brings the ball up the court during the game against the Sacramento Kings during the 2024 Play-In Tournament on April 16, 2024 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Internally, Jonathan Kuminga offers the most hope for Golden State developing Stephen Curry's missing sidekick. Kuminga also looms as the likely centerpiece of a deal should the Warriors ever look upon a star they can actually land.

Oh, he's also extension-eligible at the moment and looking to get max money. And since he has seldom flashed max-money ability over his first three seasons, there's a good chance he'll have to spend the upcoming season attempting to secure that bag next summer.

That's a lot for anyone to manage, let alone a 21-year-old who needed clarity on his standing with the organization as recently as January. His scoring flashes have been intriguing but sporadic. No other parts of his game really pop. His jump shot is shaky, and he's never been the rebounder or defender that his physical tools say he should be.

Again, he's 21 years old, so none of this would be major cause for concern in most situations. But when he serves as perhaps the biggest source of hope for a squad hoping to squeeze what it can out of its 36-year-old leader's peak, it's kind of a massive deal if Kuminga's leap year doesn't materialize.

Moses Moody

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 7: Moses Moody #4 of the Golden State Warriors looks on during the game on April 7, 2024 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Warriors pulled two prospects from the 2021 lottery: Kuminga, the No. 7 pick, and Moses Moody, who went 14th overall.

While Kuminga was drafted first, Moody was expected to make the quicker impact of the two. His three-and-D game seemingly carried plug-and-play appeal, and his readiness was supposed to offset any concerns about his non-star-level ceiling.

Three years into their respective careers, though, Moody has logged nearly 2,000 fewer NBA minutes than Kuminga. And injuries haven't been to blame. For reasons perhaps known only to Warriors skipper Steve Kerr, Moody has yet to earn the level of trust needed to hold down a regular rotation spot.

Like Kuminga, Moody also needs a new contract by next summer, and he could have a hard time seeking any salary of substance if he doesn't dramatically improve his standing this season. With the Warriors' wing spots once again crowded, though, Moody will have his work cut it for him when it comes to finding the kind of floor time that has eluded him thus far.

Andrew Wiggins

Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 16: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball during the game against the Sacramento Kings during the 2024 Play-In Tournament on April 16, 2024 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Andrew Wiggins was arguably the second-most important player during Golden State's run to the 2022 title.

If only he hadn't since reverted to the inconsistent, inefficient form that so often frustrated Minnesota Timberwolves fans earlier in his career.

Wiggins needs to be one of the three or four best players on this roster for the Warriors to manage more than a play-in tournament invite, but he just never made his presence felt last season. It's one things to pick your spots, it's quite another to let the offense just pass you by. His 11 shots per game and 20.9 percent usage were both the lowest of his career, per Basketball-Reference.com.

The Warriors aren't winning anything of note if this is the kind of player Wiggins is going to be. For that matter, they aren't using him to trade for anyone of note, either, since his $26.3 million salary is hard to stomach for this level of return, per Spotrac. At his best, he can be both the team's second scorer and top wing defender, but it's been a while since he capably filled either role, let alone aced the two simultaneously.