With the 2025 trade deadline looming, the Warriors needed a serious lift. At 25–25 ahead of their game on Feb. 6, Golden State had largely squandered its red-hot 12–3 start to the season, falling all the way back to .500. Looking to take some of the pressure off of star guard Stephen Curry, the Warriors went all-in, acquiring wing Jimmy Butler from the Heat in a multi-team deal that saw Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick head back to Miami.
The deal gave Golden State an immediate lift, as they finished the regular season going 23–8 and finishing as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors would advance out of the play-in round and knocked out the young No. 2-seeded Rockets before falling to the Timberwolves in the conference semifinals.
Golden State has had Butler from the jump this season, but the team is stuck in a similar rut to the one they found themselves in last February. At 15–15, the Warriors currently occupy the eighth-spot in the Western Conference and have been spinning their wheels all season. While Curry has missed nine games, their 11–10 record with him in the lineup indicates that is far from the only issues for the franchise.
After signing Butler to a two-year deal after the trade, which will pay him over $110 million through next season, Golden State has a clear window to compete before he, the 37-year-old Curry and 35-year-old Draymond Green enter the final stanzas of their careers. Don’t expect the Warriors to pull off another Butler-sized move this year, however.
General manager Mike Dunleavy appeared on Warriors Pregame Live Monday ahead of the team’s win over the Magic, and said that while the team will pursue moves, a blockbuster deal is unlikely.
“We’ll look to do stuff that makes our team better,” Dunleavy said, “but I wouldn’t bank on that type of move. To get a guy like Jimmy Butler, to have the improvement that we did … that's going to be pretty unrealistic.”
Instead, Dunleavy says that the biggest improvement might come from the current roster—namely cutting down on turnovers.
“We’ve got to start taking care of the ball,” Dunleavy added. "We’re doing some really good stuff defensively. ... People talk a lot about our size, between Quinten [Post] and Draymond, when those guys are in the game our rim protection is fantastic, so we feel really good there. And when Steph’s off the court, and Jimmy’s on with the group, our offense is pretty good. So we’re literally talking about a small thing that’s a huge thing, and that’s turnovers.”
Golden State averages 16.2 turnovers per game, the fourth-worst mark in the NBA. Protecting the ball would certainly help, but the Warriors probably need a few reinforcements ahead of the trade deadline as well. How significant they will be, time will tell.
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is scheduled for Feb. 5.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Gives Realistic Take on Potential Moves Amid Team’s Woes.