The Golden State Warriors are being pushed toward a hard choice, and it starts with Jimmy Butler.
One month after the NBA Finals, the idea that the Warriors might simply bring back mostly the same roster for 2026-27 is starting to look very real. ESPN’s Anthony Slater wrote last Thursday that Golden State “would seem to have the contract-matching flexibility and first-round draft picks to execute such a move (acquiring another star in a trade to help them land LeBron James), though there remain continued signs that the front office is content if they have to run it back with mostly the same roster,”
That’s where the pressure point comes in. Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey argued Wednesday that the Warriors should be willing to move the future Hall of Fame forward if it helps them land a more useful piece for next season.
“With or without LeBron, the Warriors are in dire need of help at just about every spot on the roster,’ Bailey wrote Wednesday. “And that's particularly tough to find when you have a $56.8 million salary on the books for someone who likely won't play a single minute.”
He continued: “It's easier said than done, but Golden State needs to unload the Jimmy Butler contract (which is at least expiring after this season) for anyone who can be helpful in 2026-27.
"That is, unless the Warriors have decided they can't afford to push for one last title with Stephen Curry. Getting a team to take on Butler's deal would likely require more than a sales pitch on cap flexibility. Golden State would likely have to attach picks to him.”
Bailey didn’t stop there, either. “For a team that is almost certainly going to start a new era soon, that's risky.
"But when you think about all Curry has done for the Warriors organization, it's hard to imagine the front office settling on, ‘Just go have fun out there for the last couple years’. He's earned a little aggression, even if it's also foolhardy.”
That’s the central dilemma for Golden State. Butler has helped the Warriors, but his salary and his lengthy ACL recovery make him the obvious trade piece if the team wants to swing big. If the franchise is serious about chasing another title, Bailey’s view is that Butler has to be part of the deal.
It may never happen. But if the Warriors are going to change the script next season, moving Butler looks like the clearest path.
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Warriors Suddenly Have A New Jimmy Butler Dilemma
Yaxel Lendeborg has given the Warriors something to think about this summer, and not just because of his strong play in Las Vegas. The rookie has flashed the kind of size, versatility and ball skills that have already prompted some observers to wonder whether he can grow into a role that looks a lot like Jimmy Butlers, which is not the sort of comparison a team usually hears when it is still sorting out its roster for next season.
That is where the conversation gets interesting for Golden State. If Lendeborg keeps showing he can handle that kind of responsibility, he could become more than just a nice summer-league story and turn into a piece that changes how the front office views Butlers place on the roster. For now, it is all speculative, but the Warriors have at least created a new layer to a bigger decision they may have to make sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Just Watched Another Free Agent Slip Away During LeBron Wait
The Warriors have spent the opening stretch of free agency mostly taking care of their own business, re-signing familiar faces while the rest of the market keeps moving. One more guard came off the board when Gary Trent Jr. agreed to stay put, another reminder that the pool of available options is thinning even as Golden State has yet to add an outside free agent.
For a team still sorting through its backcourt depth, the timing matters. De'Anthony Melton is back in the mix, LJ Cryer got a look during summer league, and the front office has had to balance patience with urgency while the market narrows around them. Even with the possibility of using the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, the Warriors are still waiting to see how the rest of the board shakes out. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Curry May Face A Title Decision Warriors Fans Know Well
Stephen Currys next contract conversation is starting to feel familiar in Golden State, where every big-money decision eventually circles back to the same question: how much is one more championship worth? Curry is eligible for a two-year extension worth nearly $140 million, and the Warriors know that kind of deal comes with the usual tradeoff. Paying their franchise icon at the top of the market would be the easy path, but it would also leave less room to build the kind of deeper roster that has been missing around him in recent seasons.
Curry has already lived through this kind of calculation before, and the Warriors have benefited when the math tilted toward flexibility. The difference now is that the stakes are tied not just to roster construction, but to legacy, with every dollar potentially shaping how competitive Golden State can be in the years ahead. If Curry decides to keep that door open, it could give the front office a chance to chase more help around him. If he does not, the Warriors will have to find another way to make the numbers work. [Read more 🡒]