With the 2026 NBA trade deadline fast approaching, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in a familiar spot-stuck in the middle of the Western Conference, searching for answers.
Last season, the Warriors were treading water at 25-25 heading into early February. That .500 record felt like a letdown after their scorching 12-3 start, and with Stephen Curry shouldering an outsized load, Golden State made a bold move. They swung for the fences, landing Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat in a multi-team trade that sent Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, and a protected first-round pick to South Beach.
The impact was immediate. With Butler in the fold, the Warriors closed the regular season on a 23-8 tear, securing the No. 7 seed in the West.
They fought their way out of the play-in, stunned the upstart No. 2-seeded Rockets, and pushed into the conference semifinals before bowing out to the Timberwolves. It was the kind of late-season surge that reminded everyone just how dangerous this veteran core can be when the pieces click.
Fast forward to this season, and while Butler is now fully integrated from day one, the Warriors are once again spinning their wheels. At 15-15, they sit eighth in the West-hovering around the break-even mark with little momentum to speak of.
Yes, Curry has missed nine games, but even with him on the floor, they’re just 11-10. That’s not exactly the kind of form that screams contender.
The Warriors didn’t just rent Butler-they doubled down. After the trade, they signed him to a two-year deal worth over $110 million, locking him in through next season.
That commitment, paired with the aging timeline of their core-Curry at 37, Draymond Green at 35-makes the next 18 months a critical window. This is the stretch where Golden State has to make it count.
But if you’re hoping for another headline-grabbing trade like last year’s Butler deal, don’t hold your breath.
General manager Mike Dunleavy spoke before Monday’s win over the Magic and made it clear: another blockbuster isn’t likely. “We’ll look to do stuff that makes our team better,” Dunleavy said on Warriors Pregame Live, “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, the focus is shifting inward. Dunleavy pointed to the team’s biggest area for improvement-turnovers.
And he’s not wrong. Golden State is averaging 16.2 turnovers per game, the fourth-worst mark in the league.
That’s a tough number to overcome, especially for a team that relies on precision, spacing, and rhythm.
“We’ve got to start taking care of the ball,” Dunleavy said. “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.”
He also highlighted the offensive flow when Curry sits and Butler leads the unit. “When Steph’s off the court, and Jimmy’s on with the group, our offense is pretty good,” Dunleavy added. “So we’re literally talking about a small thing that’s a huge thing, and that’s turnovers.”
It’s a fair point. The Warriors still have the bones of a playoff team.
They’ve got elite defenders, experienced leaders, and a pair of stars in Curry and Butler who can still take over games. But the margin for error is razor-thin.
Sloppy possessions and unforced errors are the kind of things that can derail a veteran squad trying to stay in the hunt.
With the Feb. 5 trade deadline on the horizon, Golden State will likely look to fine-tune rather than overhaul. A smaller move or two to bolster the bench or add shooting could be in the cards.
But the heavy lifting? That’ll have to come from within.
This is a team that’s been here before. The question now is whether they can flip the switch again-or if last year’s surge was lightning in a bottle.