Has Jimmy Butler’s injury weeks before trade deadline completely shut Warriors’ title window?

Is this the end of the Golden State Warriors as we know them? Jimmy Butler, who ultimately proved to be the most impactful trade deadline pickup during the 2024-25 season, revitalized the Warriors’ championship pursuit, making the dream of capturing a fifth championship since 2015 a realistic possibility.

Although many questioned Butler’s arrival at the time, the Warriors regained something that had not truly existed since their magical title run in 2022: belief.

Stephen Curry has consistently expressed his desire to win a fifth ring before the end of his career, and Butler’s presence has created the best path to possibly achieving this goal. After all, Golden State has won close to 70 percent of its games since acquiring Butler in February 2025.

That hope and championship belief have forged the identity of the Warriors this season. This team has been playing its best basketball in recent weeks, and it appeared as if the Dubs would enter the trade deadline with plans to truly cement themselves as legitimate title contenders this year, giving Curry, Steve Kerr, and Draymond Green one last chance to win a championship together.

All of those hopes and dreams were completely shattered on Monday night in Chase Center, as Jimmy Butler’s painful howl echoed throughout an arena that went from deafening to silent in a matter of seconds. Butler was on the ground, clutching his right knee in serious pain, and could not put any weight on his leg as he was helped to the locker room.

It was like déjà vu for Warriors fans all over again, with memories of Klay Thompson’s knee injury during the 2019 NBA Finals and Curry’s hamstring injury in the playoffs last season being all they could think about.

Butler has since been diagnosed with a torn right ACL, and he will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Regardless of what the outside perception was, this organization believed that at full strength, with Curry, Butler, and Green leading the way, this group could win the 2026 NBA Finals.

Now, the immediate and long-term future in San Francisco is unknown, especially since a feeling of shock has paralyzed the franchise. Butler was playing some of the best basketball of his career at 36 years old, and suddenly, he is gone. Curry, who continues to play at an MVP-like level at 37 years old, is now without the Robin to his Batman, as Butler nicknamed the two last season.

Is this truly the end of an era for the Warriors?

All good things come to an end in life, and every dynasty in professional sports eventually falls. Even Kerr will admit that this team is a “fading dynasty.” For the Warriors, these next two weeks will dictate whether that championship window has completely shut and a new era in franchise history has begun.

After all, it’s not like owner Joe Lacob and the Warriors organization haven’t had to overcome similar challenges in the past.

Thompson and Kevin Durant both suffered major injuries during the 2019 NBA Finals, resulting in Golden State losing to the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors then missed the playoffs for two straight seasons, seeing Thompson suffer another major injury, as well as Curry and Green getting sidelined.  That didn’t stop this franchise from moving forward and ultimately winning another title in 2022.

Lacob, Maik Dunleavy Jr., and the organization’s leadership always tend to find a way. But with limited time before the trade deadline and the sudden loss of Butler, the championship dreams that existed less than 24 hours ago for this team are rapidly fading.

Has Jimmy Butler played his last game with Warriors?

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The Warriors drew a lot of criticism for their acquisition of Butler in 2025, yet he was exactly what this organization needed.

Butler was another experienced, leading voice in the locker room to complement both Curry and Green, plus he became an instant extension of the coaching staff for the younger players on Golden State’s roster. A slow start to the season and constant drama surrounding Jonathan Kuminga’s contract situation didn’t loom large because of Butler helping create a sense of belief.

Monday night marked the Warriors’ 12th win in their last 16 games and the first time all season that this team had won four straight contests. The Dubs were peaking at the perfect time before the trade deadline, and this stretch of basketball is why everyone within the organization still believed winning another championship with this group was possible.

But losing Butler to a torn ACL is more significant than no longer having his production on the court.

The little things Butler does to bring out the most in his teammates on the court and his two-way play on the wing can’t be replicated by anyone on this roster. He is an All-Star talent who could not have been a better fit next to Curry, giving him a shot at one more championship.

Although it is theoretically still possible for the team to achieve, it may only be possible by trading Butler since his season is over.

“Obviously a gut punch on every level for Jimmy and the entire group,” Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, told ESPN on Tuesday. “We will make some functional decisions here in the next few days and then we are onto the next… If you know anything about Jimmy, you know exactly how he will attack this challenge. Put simply, he has this.”

All options will be on the table for the Warriors with nearly two weeks before the trade deadline, including the possibility of trading Butler to try to maximize their championship push this season. Butler is making $54.1 million this season and $56.8 million during the 2026-27 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

The Warriors did trade De’Anthony Melton after he tore his ACL last season, and that trade eventually led them to getting Butler. Perhaps there is a similar move that can be made by Dunleavy, Lacob, and the front office this time around, utilizing Butler’s salary to fill the major hole that now exists next to Curry and Green.

Whether or not this is the case, all roads still lead to Kuminga and his situation, which becomes even louder now that Butler is out.

The Jonathan Kuminga conundrum

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Kuminga never wanted to return to the Warriors this past offseason. This was a marriage that had run its course with the young forward and Kerr never seeing eye-to-eye on anything, and Kuminga’s camp let it be known to Warriors’ management that a fresh start is what they desired.

That did not happen, as the sides agreed to a two-year, $46.8 million contract that could jump to $48.5 million if Kuminga were to be traded, which seemed like a given not too long ago.

The Warriors have been searching the trade market since early in the season to see what value could present itself in a potential Kuminga trade. Now, with Butler out for the season and the team having a clear need at the forward position, could this potentially lead to the most unlikely path of keeping Kuminga past the trade deadline and reintegrating him into the nightly rotation?

“Sure. Absolutely,” Kerr said on Monday night in response to whether he could go back to Kuminga with Butler injured. When asked about whether the young forward would be ready and has been practicing, Kerr kept his answer brief, “Yep. Yep.”

It is clear that this relationship is fractured beyond repair. Kerr benching Kuminga in favor of others sent a clear message to the former lottery pick, and the youngster’s refusal to play by claiming that he had a back injury pop up last minute before a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 2, with many of the team’s starters sitting, was a clear indication that the two sides wanted to move on.

Golden State clearly wants to move Kuminga before the trade deadline for a different young talent on the wing who can provide immediate championship upside, but does such a move even exist? Like the offseason, the Warriors may be forced to wait on trading Kuminga, taking what has become a very toxic situation past the trade deadline and into the offseason.

Still, the question of keeping Kuminga and possibly coming up with some type of compromise for him to play in the wake of Butler’s injury doesn’t solve the glaring problem that he doesn’t want to be there, and the organization truly doesn’t want him.

In the crazy scenario that Kuminga does return to the floor and play for the Warriors, will he be able to fill Butler’s void, or will he be trying to spotlight his own talents? Maybe this is a chance for him to increase his value and create a wider market entering the summer, but the drama surrounding Kuminga cannot be repaired by Kerr and the Warriors.

The damage has been done, and when the Warriors need Kuminga most, he may not be there for them. This situation, along with the trade deadline in two weeks, will set the stage for what the future of the Warriors organization looks like.

Trade deadline decisions become more complicated

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Trading Kuminga has been the Warriors’ focus to this point, but this mindset may suddenly change with Butler out and the possibility that he could be traded on the table.

The bottom line is that the Warriors have taken a massive step back in the championship equation as a result of Butler’s ACL injury, and now the question becomes whether Lacob and Dunleavy believe there is a move out there that can still give their team a chance to win a title this year.

More specifically, does it make sense to sacrifice future assets right now to make an all-in, desperation move at the trade deadline?

With Butler’s injury happening on Monday night, there truly isn’t an answer to this question yet. The Warriors are always evaluating the trade market for potential buy-low opportunities, much like they found with Butler a season ago. However, Golden State is now on the opposite side of the spectrum, as teams know they will be desperate to try and pull off a move before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

If a decision to move Butler was made by him and the front office, there then becomes a question of whether draft compensation will need to be attached to such a trade for any team taking on the star’s contract and dead money, since he will be out rehabbing his ACL injury. Would the Warriors even want to surrender future draft picks, knowing they won’t get the same production Butler supplied them with?

And of course, there is also the longstanding question of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks. Lacob and the Warriors have long been linked to Antetokounmpo and have held onto assets through the years with the hope that a player of his caliber hits the trade market.

Is there a possible scenario where Giannis is actually available in the next two weeks leading up to the trade deadline, and there is a way the Warriors can actually move Butler and other valuable assets for the two-time MVP?

These are all questions the Warriors’ leadership needs to sort through before this season’s trade deadline, which is why there is no telling what direction the franchise goes from here.

All that is known is that while Curry continues to play at an MVP-like level, he cannot carry this team to a championship alone. Although Golden State has a lot of depth, perhaps the best in the NBA, a true No. 2 option is needed to have any chance of contending for a title.

Butler was that No. 2 option next to Steph, and now that he is gone, the Warriors do not have a lot of time to keep their title window open.