Gui Santos is the cheap way into Golden State's open minutes
With Jimmy Butler out until the new year, Kristaps Porziņģis out indefinitely and Moses Moody rehabbing a torn patellar tendon, we project Gui Santos for 29.6 minutes and rank him 123rd on points while the consensus has him 148th.
By James · 4 min read
Gui SantosYaxel LendeborgStephen CurryPhotos: NBA, ESPNFreeGolden State will open the season without three of the players who would normally take its frontcourt and wing minutes. Jimmy Butler is still rehabbing the ACL he tore in January, Kristaps Porziņģis has been out indefinitely since camp opened with an undisclosed health issue, and Moses Moody is recovering from a torn patellar tendon. Steve Kerr has said that Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are the only settled starters, which leaves three places in the lineup and a large share of the rotation for players most fantasy drafts are ignoring.
- Gui Santos GSW124thvs 148th
- Yaxel Lendeborg GSW179thvs 147th
- Stephen Curry GSW31stvs 32nd
- Kristaps Porziņģis GSW106thvs 107th
- Jimmy Butler III GSW187thvs 124th
- Brandin Podziemski GSW91stvs 109th
Gui Santos is the cheapest of them and the one our projections like most. We project him for 29.6 minutes a night, up from 20.5 last season, which puts him 123rd on our points board under ESPN's default scoring and 137th on our 9-cat board, against an analysts' points consensus of 148th. Every injury below is confirmed in at least two outlets, and every rank is from our points board under ESPN's default scoring unless we say otherwise.
| Projected minutes | Projected games | Our points rank | Our 9-cat rank | Points consensus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gui Santos | 29.6 | 72 | 123rd | 137th | 148th |
| Brandin Podziemski | 31.0 | 75 | 91st | 84th | 109th |
| Yaxel Lendeborg | 25.3 | 72 | 180th | 177th | 147th |
| Stephen Curry | 31.8 | 60 | 31st | 15th | 32nd |
| Kristaps Porziņģis | 27.0 | 50 | 99th | 78th | 107th |
| Jimmy Butler | 27.8 | 23 | 187th | 194th | 124th |
Who is missing, and for how long
Butler tore his right ACL on January 19 and had surgery in February, and ESPN and Bleacher Report have both described a return window of January or February, with no date set by the team. We project 23 games of 16.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists, which is why he sits 187th on our board against a consensus of 124th. ESPN and NBA.com both reported that Porziņģis is out indefinitely with a health issue, and no timeline had been given as of the second week of the preseason. Our projection still carries him at 50 games, the same number it held before camp, so his 99th place does not yet price an indefinite absence and is more optimistic than the news. Moody, according to the San Francisco Chronicle and Yahoo Sports, is aiming for a return around midseason, and we project 20 games for him.
Gui Santos, the player the minutes fall to
Santos played 68 games last season in 20.5 minutes and averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 50% from the field. Our projection scales that to 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 threes in 29.6 minutes, which is 28.3 fantasy points a game under ESPN's scoring across 72 games. Kerr said at the start of camp that Santos is in the mix for a starting spot, as CBS Sports and RotoWire both reported, and he started Golden State's preseason game against the Lakers on October 6, according to CBS Sports and RotoBaller. His appeal in points leagues is the games: few players available after the 120th pick are projected for 72 of them. The risk is that his minutes depend on the injuries, so a healthy Porziņģis in November or Butler in January would take some of them back, and he would then look more like last season's 20-minute player.
Yaxel Lendeborg, the rookie Kerr keeps praising
Lendeborg started the preseason opener against the Clippers and started again on October 10 against Sacramento, as CBS Sports and RotoWire both reported. At media day Kerr said of him, "He's clearly going to play a ton," a line Anthony Slater of ESPN posted and Yahoo Sports carried. We project 25.3 minutes, 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, which is 180th on our points board, while the analysts have him 147th. Our projection gives him a modest scoring line for a starter's minutes, so he is a waiver-wire name to watch in the first two weeks rather than a pick in a twelve-team league. The risk for anyone who drafts him is that a rookie who starts in preseason can still play 22 minutes once the season begins.
Curry, Podziemski and the players who gain
Curry's line barely moves with the injuries, since he already carries the offense: we project 26.1 points and 4.6 threes over 60 games, 31st on points and 15th on 9-cat. Brandin Podziemski is the other beneficiary we already rank above the consensus, at 91st against 109th, with 31.0 minutes and 75 games projected. Our overlay also lifts Will Richard and De'Anthony Melton by about two minutes each because of Moody's absence, which keeps both outside the top 140 and on the waiver wire. The risk shared by every Warrior below Curry is that Kerr has called the three open starting spots an open competition, so the minutes we project can be split differently than we expect.
What to do
In a points league, draft Santos in the last rounds, around the 120th pick, where his 72 projected games are worth more than a higher-ceiling player with a shorter season, and treat Podziemski as a solid pick inside the top 100. Leave Butler and Porziņģis on the board until their returns firm up, and pick them up later if a date is announced. The one to watch on waivers is Lendeborg, whose rank will rise quickly if he keeps starting. Our depth charts and the projections update as the Warriors' situation changes, and the injury picture across the league is in When to draft Brandon Ingram, Jimmy Butler and the stars who will miss months.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
