The Golden State Warriors need more ball-handling talent to help Stephen Curry for the 2026-27 season, and they could use the mid-level exception to achieve that. ClutchPoints Brett Siegel reported on Monday that the Warriors are targeting Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton with the MLE in free agency. Simons averaged 14.3 points per game across 55 appearances last season, mostly as a reserve for the Celtics. Sexton averaged 15.4 points per game across 68 appearances with the Hornets and Bulls. Dubs Might Need Nontaxpayer Mid-Level to Get EitherIt's not clear what the market will be for Simons and Sexton. They are both in their primes (26 and 27, respectively) and are three-level scorers who excel shooting threes. Simons shot 38.5 percent from three last season, while Sexton shot 40.1 percent. My guess is both will be seeking more than the taxpayer mid-level exception of about $6 million. The nontaxpayer mid-level exception is about $15 million. To get access to that, the Warriors would have to be under the first apron ($209 million) with all of their player salaries for the 2026-27 season, and once they use the NTMLE, they would be hard-capped at the first apron. It's certainly possible that the Warriors will have access to the NTMLE. As I wrote here, getting Draymond Green to decline his $27.7 million player option to sign a contract with a smaller salary for the 2026-27 season would help.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow