The Warriors’ early-season blueprint is pretty straightforward: hang around, build chemistry, and wait for the roster to get healthier. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are the two names hanging over everything, and while Butler’s return carries the bigger offensive weight, Moody might end up mattering just as much in a different way.
Golden State can survive stretches without both of them. Stephen Curry is still there, and Yaxel Lendeborg looks positioned to become an important frontcourt piece for a team that needs juice at both ends. If the fit works with Kristaps Porzingis and the group can stay intact through the All-Star Break, the Warriors could avoid putting themselves in too deep a hole before the season reaches its midpoint.
Still, the real question is whether this team can be more than just functional. For that, Butler and Moody have to come back and settle in.
Butler tore his ACL last January, and even when he returns, there will be an adjustment period. Moody, who tore his patellar tendon shortly after Butler’s injury, is in the same boat.
Butler’s role is obvious: Golden State needs another player who can carry offense next to Curry. Yet if Butler gets back to form, Moody’s value as a 3-and-D wing could be the piece that makes the whole thing click.
Any realistic optimistic path for the Warriors probably involves Butler returning around mid-season and giving them consistent 15+ point performances by the time they reach the Play-In Tournament. Even then, the puzzle still doesn’t fully come together without Moody.
On paper, a Butler-Lendeborg-De'Anthony Melton grouping at the 4, 3, and 2 could work, especially if Lendeborg’s perimeter shot shows up early in his rookie season. But Moody changes that equation. Whether he starts or comes off the bench as a ball-handler and connective passer, he adds a defender and scorer who can shift the entire feel of the rotation.
Before the injury, Moody was in the middle of a career year. Across 60 games, he averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 40.1% from deep.
There’s also reason for optimism on the recovery front. Marcus Thompson II at The Athletic reported earlier this month that Moody is targeting a September return to on-court activity.
That’s still a long way from live game action, but it’s a meaningful step. A torn patellar tendon can derail a career, and the fact that Moody is already looking at workouts just over six months after the injury is a strong sign.
It’s still too early to guess when his first appearance of 2026-27 will come, but for now, the idea that he might not miss the entire season feels more realistic.
Butler is still the more important piece in terms of overall usage and rotation shape. If he comes back and the Warriors build the roster the way they’ve imagined, though, Moody could be the late-season boost that gives them a real shot at a playoff push.
Golden State has other useful options at the two, with Melton and Podziemski both capable of filling minutes. Moody, though, gives them another layer. He can fit next to Butler and Melton to sharpen the defense and quicken the pace, line up with Draymond Green and Butler to lean on established chemistry, or join Lendeborg and Melton for a versatile two-way trio.
For now, it’s all projection. But the closer the season gets, the more that projection starts to look like a real possibility.
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