The Golden State Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler in a multi-team deal with the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, and Utah Jazz which saw Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, and Lindy Waters III get to different teams. The Warriors also gave up a top-10 protected 2025 pick.
This trade comes at the end of a long trade saga which officially began in December when Butler publicly requested a trade. After various ups and downs, with teams entering and exiting negotiations, we finally have the Warriors add the star forward to be Stephen Curry’s co-star on the franchise.
Let’s take a look at how the Warriors could line up with Butler on the squad, especially now that they need to make a winning push after giving up their 2025 draft pick.
Starting Lineup
Starters: Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis
The Warriors starting five is a formidable group. Stephen Curry has taken a step back offensively, with his numbers greatly fluctuating this season. Nonetheless, his presence on the court is crucial to their success and his shooting ability continues to single-handedly alter games. He’ll likely be the sole guard on the court now that Dennis Schroder is gone and the team has no backups for Curry.
Jimmy Butler won’t be a traditional backcourt player, but his on-ball playmaking will be heightened based on the Warriors roster. He will be an impactful player across the board, proving to be a sizable upgrade on both ends of the court to what the Warriors had with the one-way players who had been playing in this position this season.
Wiggins’ departure likely results in Jonathan Kuminga embracing the small forward role instead of alternating as a starter with Draymond Green at the four. Kuminga’s scoring development has been great to watch and now he can embrace being the third offensive option instead of the co-star role he was playing before getting hurt.
Draymond and Jackson-Davis complete a mobile and switchable starting five, where all players can make up for Curry’s defensive deficiencies. Shooting beyond Curry might be a concern with the starting five, but the Warriors’ bench can likely provide a solution for that and give them lineup flexibility when required.
Reserves
Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Kevon Looney, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Quinten Post, Jackson Rowe (Two-Way), Pat Spencer (Two-Way)
This list is going to change soon as the Warriors have three open roster spots that they can fill with buyout market signings or potential additional trades on the way. They reached the minimum roster number of 12 players by converting Quinten Post to a full contract after a great stint on a two-way contract this season.
There are clear holes in the reserves right now and I’m uncomfortable declaring the Warriors as contenders until we know how they address this. They don’t have a backup point guard unless they’re planning on running either Brandin Podziemski or Gary Payton II in that role. Payton can work as a backup ball-handler but lacks the playmaking vision while Podz is a better playmaker but is still offensively very raw.
There is also an excessive amount of swingman depth with Payton, Buddy Hield, and Moses Moody on the roster. Podziemski would also fit this description but it seems like he’ll be transitioning to play more backup point guard minutes after this deal.
The same could be said about their center situation with both Post and Looney often starting over Jackson-Davis based on matchups. Post might be safe due to being a low-value high-reward prospect, which likely means Looney stays on the trade block or tries going back to playing power forward, which is unlikely.
With some minor changes to the bench, this roster can be really competitive.
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