As soon asJimmy Butler crumbled to the flooragainst the Miami Heat on Monday, Warriors center Quinten Post knew it wasn't good. Butler screeched in pain holding his right knee, while Post, just a few inches away, stood in fear grabbing the back of his head with both hands.
When Butler went down, so too didthe Warriors' chances of making a deep runthis season. That's the cruel thing about it all. The Warriors had emerged as a legitimate West threat. With a three-point lead at the time of Butler's injury, the Warriors were on their way to their 12th win in 16 games, having established themselves as a top-5 defense with a still-incandescent Stephen Curry powering the attack.
Twenty-four hours later, the wound left by Butler's absence was gashed wide open. The Warriors gave up 145 points to the visiting Toronto Raptors, the most the Warriors had surrendered in a non-overtime game in over 15 seasons. Reeling from Butler's injury on the second night of a back-to-back, they couldn't stop the bleeding.
If there is a silver lining to the Butler torn ACL, it is the calendar. There is no opportune time to tear an ACL, certainly not at Butler's age (36), but the Warriors have some time before the Feb. 5 trade deadline to figure out what's next.
At 37, Curry has turned back the clock, improving his scoring average to 27.1 points per game, the most he's registered since the 2022-23 season. He is now the oldest player to ever average 27 points per game, perStathead.comtracking. Scoring this much at this age is not something LeBron, KD, MJ or Kobe has ever done. To put it in perspective, Ray Allen, to whom Curry was often compared to earlier in his career, has never averaged 27 points per game, period.
Which is why the Warriors have a tough decision ahead of them. Do they maximize Curry's title window or preserve the post-Curry war chest?
Here are three pathways for the Warriors in the aftermath of Butler's injury.
Path 1: Wait for Butler to come back
The Jimmy Butler trade last year had its doubters, but you can't deny he changed the Warriors' trajectory. Over the last two seasons, with Butler in the lineup, the Warriors are 44-16, which translates to a 55-win pace over 82 games. Without Butler in the lineup, the Warriors are 3-6, which … not good.
For Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., the Curry-Butler-Draymond Green trio is worth clinging to, at least in theory. Butler's contract owes him $54 million this season and $57.1 million next season, and there was always a downside that, for all of Butler's talents, things could go poorly. Trading for a 35-year-old with hard miles on the tires always comes with risk, even for someone as competitive and fiery as Butler.
But the research of Jeff Stotts ofInStreetClothes.comcan't be ignored. Since Stotts has meticulously kept tabs on NBA injuries since the 2005-06 season, no player has ever come back from an ACL injury at Butler's age. At 36, Butler is the second-oldest player to have suffered the injury, behind only Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who tore his ACL in December of 2016 at 38 years old. Andersen never played again.
There is reason for optimism, though. Andersen was never the caliber of player that Butler is. When Andersen tore his ACL, he was playing on a one-year commitment signed for the veteran's minimum. Without a contract in hand, it's understandable why Andersen hung it up for good. Butler, on the other hand, has the opportunity to come back to a team led by Curry and Green for one last hurrah. Notably, all three players are on expiring deals next season.
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Dunleavy has made sure to keep the powder keg dry. The only pick the Warriors owe is a top-20 protected 2030 pick to Washington as part of the Chris Paul trade which will simply convert to a second-round pick if it doesn't convey. For his part, Dunleavy has said he plans on Butler coming back to the Warriors next season.
Dunleavy's unwillingness to trade first-round picks down the road is a signal that he wants to maintain long-term sustainability rather than go all in for the twilight of Curry's career. You can read it that way. But there may be another way to view it.
Path 2: Trade for another star now
An alternate interpretation of the Warriors' stingy handling of first-round picks: They need them for one last big swing. The Butler contract, with one more year left after this season, could be appealing if another team needs to pivot away from a star player and wants to offload long-term money. Luckily for the Warriors, there are a few options here.
Let's run through a couple.
The Anthony Davis trade (and Klay reunion)
Warriors receive: Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Dante Exum
Mavericks receive: Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga and a top-four protected 2028 first-round pick from Golden State
Nets receive: D'Angelo Russell and a lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick from Golden State
Is it risky for Golden State? Yes. Is it sentimental? Sure. Is it a bad idea? I don't think so. Keeping Butler for the next two seasons may be the easiest but also the worst option on the table. You have to do right by Curry. If he wants to keep contending at the highest level in Golden State, this is a no-brainer.
Especially since Davis and Curry have a relationship already. Davis, Curry and coach Steve Kerr won gold together in the 2024 Paris Olympics, so it's not like this would be the first time they've come together to win it all.
It needs to be pointed out that Davis is out for at least another month with a hand injury. While that timetable is not ideal, one month is way better than the potential 12-month layoff for Butler at the same salary. At 32 years old, Davis is hardly the most reliable star from a player health standpoint, but at least the finger injury won't affect his wheels. The same can't be said for Butler upon his return.
Like Butler, Davis would be a floor-raiser star for the Warriors, who are operating on a much different timeline than Dallas now that the Mavs have Cooper Flagg. Davis has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, which may not be palatable for Dallas. In Golden State, with Curry still playing at a high level, that might be the price of maximizing Curry's pursuit for a fifth championship.
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The Davis acquisition would also help keep Green fresher since neither of them want to play the 5 full-time and they can share the burden of the center position. With Davis occupying the block, a floor-spacing wing like Thompson becomes even more essential. His emotional return would be icing on the cake both in nostalgia and need. WIth deals all expiring in 2026-27, I could see Curry, Green and Thompson taking below-market deals to keep it going.
On the Dallas side, the Mavs free themselves of Davis' monster player option in 2027-28 and take a low-commitment chance on Kuminga, who is still 23 years old. Butler's expiring contract could be flipped again at next year's deadline to a contender with draft assets. In the meantime, Butler and Kyrie Irving could both rehab from their respective ACL tears. Without control over their first-round picks from 2027 to 2030, the time for Dallas' ping-pong prioritization is now.
To facilitate the deal, the Nets receive D'Angelo Russell for a third time. Because why not. They could either waive him or keep him for yet another go around on the Russell carousel. For their services, the Warriors would send a heavily protected first-round pick.
The Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III trade (and Kevon Looney reunion)
Warriors receive: Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Kevon Looney
Pelicans receive: Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, two first-round picks (2026 and 2032) and a 2027 first-round pick swap
Nets receive: Jordan Hawkins and a 2028 top-20 protected pick
Dunleavy told reporters on Tuesday that he wouldn't be looking to trade a post-Steph first-round pick unless he was getting a big-time player in return.
"If we're talking about trading draft picks that will be going out when Steph isn't here, it's going to have to be a player that we think we'll be getting back that is going to be here when those picks are going out," Dunleavy said. "That player's going to have to be pretty impactful. It would take a good amount — positionally, play style, archetype, all that. I would leave it pretty broad and open.
"But if there's a great player to be had, we've got everything in the war chest that we would be willing to use."
Do Zion Williamson or Trey Murphy III qualify? Maybe not individually. But if you're getting both? Absolutely.
According toChris Haynes, the Pelicans are not trading their core group, but goodness gracious, the Zion Williamson experience has run its course in New Orleans. The team has lost 14 of its last 16 games with Williamson in uniform (he left Wednesday's game early with an illness). The only wins have come against … Brooklyn and Washington. It's way past time to blow it up and move on from the former No. 1 overall pick now that he's healthy and easier to trade.
Williamson and Murphy are both 25 years old and too talented to be floundering on a team clearly building around rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Insert Zion and TM3 in the Warriors' championship culture and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them blossom into winning contributors on a playoff team. As a bonus, they're young enough to be the bridge to the post-Steph era and experienced enough to be win-now players.
Of course, like Davis, Williamson is an injury wild card. Taking on a talent like Williamson would be a bet on Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini to get Williamson back on track and keep him there. It's a risk, but would you rather have Butler's lost salary and Kuminga or the upside of Williamson and Murphy? I know what I would choose. And Kevon Looney coming back to the Bay? Imagine that standing ovation.
As for the Pelicans, they can use the Warriors' unprotected 2026 pick as a soft landing from the fallout of trading its 2026 "super first" pick to Atlanta that has Milwaukee swap rights. As of now, the Pelicans have no first-round pick in the 2026 draft; the Warriors can change that. While they unload two lob threats for Queen, they acquire one in Kuminga, who is younger, similarly athletic and needs a fresh start.
Path 3: Revisit this offseason
Butler's contract seems like an albatross now, with over $100 million combined coming to him this season and next. But as soon as the NBA fiscal calendar turns this offseason, Butler's expiring contract could become a lot more appealing to teams looking to cleanse their long-term cap sheet.
Would Utah want to move Lauri Markkanen's long-term deal? What about Cleveland and Evan Mobley if they flame out again? What about Giannis? Those questions may get a hard no now, but that calculus could change over the summer. Especially if Kuminga balls out the rest of the season.
While it seems like the Warriors caught a break by having this injury happen now rather than after the deadline, two weeks may be too quick for a Butler market to materialize. There are so many unknowables right now. I would be shocked if Butler hung it up for good like Andersen, especially since he vowed onInstagramto "be back before you know it."
Questions will be surrounding him for the foreseeable future. How's his rehab going? Will he be back in time for the 2026-27 deadline? Will he be back at all for next season?
These are questions that don't have answers now. But this summer, a return-to-play program will come into focus and help teams chart their future. Any team looking to play Butler next season or flip him to a contender will want to know his plan and status for next season as soon as possible. In that sense, two weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time at all.
If they take this path, the Warriors could look at the rest of the 2025-26 season as something of a reset. Don't run Curry and Green into the ground and keep an eye for the future. If it ends up delivering more ping-pong balls on draft night, so be it.
Another thing: if the Warriors go all in now, the 2026 first-round pick becomes less attractive to teams. As I mentioned earlier andoutlined on the Big Numberon Wednesday, the Warriors are 3-6 without Butler in uniform since they acquired him at last year's trade deadline. If they continue at a similar pace, they could end up with a lottery pick. Any trade talks involving absorbing Butler's contract will become that much sweeter if it's a known lottery pick as opposed to a late first-rounder.
With that said, of all the options outlined here, I'm pushing hard for Path 2. Stephen Curry is the principal reason the Warriors currently rank as themost valuable franchisein the sport. They have to do right by him and go for it while he's still (inexplicably) an All-NBA player. If I'm the front office, I'd call up Pelicans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and go for the Pelicans move above as a top priority now. If talks don't result in a move now, it could happen later. Sometimes the trade deadline is just setting the stage for summer fireworks. Stay tuned.
