It is understandable that fans of the Golden State Warriors are a bit frustrated. They just watched the team limp to a 37-win season and a loss in the second game of the play-in tournament, marking a wasted year here at the tail end of Stephen Curry‘s career–he is 37 now, and still looks in good form, but is not likely to play much longer.
More than that, the risks taken by the Warriors recently have proven to be snake-bitten. The team added Jimmy Butler before last season, and he played well, helping the Warriors to the conference semifinals, but they were KO’d by a Curry injury. This year, Butler tore his ACL and the Warriors’ other big risk, Kristaps Porzingis, could not stay healthy, either. Another Curry injury (to his knee) torpedoed all hope.
Now, the Warriors have brought back Steve Kerr as coach and appeared poise to make significant roster changes. Instead, they’ve brought back much of the 37-win team, and are resisting the possibility of making a splashy move.
Warriors Could ‘Get Off’ Jimmy Butler’s Contract
That move would center on the Warriors trading away Jimmy Butler, who is slated to make $54 million next season and $57 million after that. That means Golden State could bring back a significant, max-level player by sending out Butler as he recovers from his ACL surgery.
The Warriors just do not seem willing to do so, even if it would possibly bring Anthony Davis to Golden State–and facilitate a signing of LeBron James, to boot.
But to do so, there is the matter of giving up draft picks. And that is just too high a price to pay, as Nick Friedell of The Athletic writes: “The Warriors could find a way to get off the final year of Butler’s contract, but that would likely require parting with at least one future first-round pick. Those assets have never been more valuable in the modern game, given the new lottery system and tightening salary cap constraints. It would also send away a player in Butler who wants to finish his career in the Bay and has a solid relationship with the Warriors’ front office. Butler was the Warriors’ big swing — a last hope — to salvage the end of Curry’s prime.”
First-Round Picks Are a Priority
To get Davis from the Wizards would, likely, take not one but two first-round picks. The Warriors have three they can move–the 2028 first-rounder and the 2032 first-rounder can be unprotected, but their 2030 pick is protected for picks 1-20.
It would be a high price to pay, and that is only if the Wizards get serious about trading Davis, which is not certain just yet. Not only that, but the Warriors did give Butler some assurance that he won’t be traded after his injury. Business is business, of course, but that would be a bad look for the organization.
Oh, and the oft-injured Davis would want a contract extension of four years and $275 million.
Added Friedell: “The last thing the Warriors should do right now is take a swing at landing Anthony Davis or mortgage their future (both in draft assets and future cap space) on any other player who is readily available at the moment.”
Warriors’ Price for Trading Away Jimmy Butler Revealed