The Golden State Warriors may be getting a much-needed lift sooner than expected, and it starts with Jimmy Butler.
According to NBA insider Brett Siegel on Wednesday, Butler is trending toward a return before the trade deadline. Siegel said Butler is “very likely” to be back by then, though the exact timing remains unsettled.
“If Butler can get back on the floor before the trade deadline, which appears very likely at the moment, this organization will be able to figure out its plan heading into the trade madness and what its playoff outlook is. At the same time, when Butler returns is still a question mark,” reported Siegel.
“Butler has not had any setbacks or limitations to this point in his recovery process. There have been minor hints that he is ahead of schedule and could return to the court sooner than many would’ve initially expected.”
That kind of update matters for a Warriors team trying to steady itself after a rough offseason and a stretch of decline in the West. The franchise has gone from dynasty to something far less imposing, and even the players have acknowledged the shift in how they’re viewed around the league.
Still, the Warriors are pushing forward with an eye on winning now. Steph Curry is set to sign a new extension, and the organization is clearly committed to making one more run with its veteran core. Kristaps Porzingis and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg are also in the mix, but Butler looms as the player who could help shape the 2026-27 outlook.
Butler, a 15-year veteran, has been sidelined since tearing his ACL in January, just 38 games into the season. His absence hit Golden State hard, and the team’s slide without its starting small forward became impossible to ignore. Since the season ended, the Warriors have been mapping out what comes next while Butler continued his rehab away from the court.
By all accounts, Butler has attacked that recovery process seriously. He has spent the past few months on a strict diet and workout plan aimed at rebuilding strength and mobility in his lower body. The work is still ongoing, but the early signs suggest he may be back earlier than expected.
When Butler is right, he changes the game. In 38 appearances last season, he put up 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 51.9% from the field.
He remains a high-level defender and a battle-tested veteran, and his return would immediately raise the Warriors’ ceiling. Even a version of Butler that’s not fully back to his peak would give Golden State a far better chance of keeping pace in a crowded race.
In Other News...
Bob Myers Still Calls One Warriors Dynasty Move His Toughest
Bob Myers has made plenty of franchise-shaping calls during his time running the Warriors, but one of the most successful eras in team history still carries a personal sting for him. The former general manager said the toughest decision of his career was moving Andre Iguodala in 2019, a move tied to the roster gymnastics needed to bring in DAngelo Russell. It was the kind of front-office choice that showed how often NBA business can run straight through relationships built over years.
Iguodala had been one of the defining veterans of the Warriors championship core, which made the move especially difficult from Myers perspective. He sent Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies, though Iguodala never played a game there and was later dealt to the Miami Heat, a reminder of how transactional these deals can be once they leave the building. For Myers, the episode underscored the hard edge of team-building, where loyalty matters, but timing and cap mechanics usually matter more. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Curry Faces A Warriors Legacy Decision Fans Feel Right Now
Stephen Currys place in Warriors history is secure, but the conversation around what comes next has become harder to avoid as Golden State tries to sort out its direction. His achievements in the Bay are already the standard by which the franchise is measured, and the case for staying attached to that legacy remains strong even as the wider NBA keeps rewarding stars who chase the cleanest path to another title.
The tension now is less about what Curry has done than what the Warriors can realistically offer him going forward. Golden State is staring at a difficult roster picture, and the usual routes to a quick reset are not especially open, which makes the next step in Currys future more complicated than it once seemed. For a player whose name has always been tied to loyalty as much as winning, the question hanging over the season is how long that bond can carry before the decision becomes more urgent. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Can Feel Even Better About The Kuminga Trade Now
The February deal that sent Jonathan Kuminga, Kristaps Porzingis and Buddy Hield into a new alignment still looks like one of those transactions that can be judged in layers, and the latest contract details only sharpen the view from Golden States side. For the Warriors, the headline return was Porzingis, who arrived on a two-year, $40 million deal, giving the team a veteran big man at a price that fit neatly into their broader roster plans.
Golden State also gets the benefit of seeing how the other pieces settled after the shuffle, and that context matters when weighing who came out ahead. Porzingis remains the central figure in the Warriors' end of the trade, while the contract math and team roles around the deal leave Golden State with plenty of reason to feel good about how the move has aged. [Read more 🡒]