There's renewed hope surrounding the Golden State Warriors following their acquisition of 6x All-Star Jimmy Butler, with veteran forward Draymond Green even going as far as to claim that they'll win the championship this season.
However, the reality is that the season has still been a disappointing one for the Warriors so far, having entered the All-Star break with a 28-27 record that places them 10th in the Western Conference standings.
5 Biggest disappointments of the Warriors season so far
After a strong 12-3 start that had them atop the conference, Golden State have fallen in a heap and are now battling just to make the Play-In Tournament. As the franchise, with the help of Butler, looks to dig themselves out of this hole, let's look at those who have disappointed so far and been the main culprits in the team's poor form.
1. Buddy Hield
Buddy Hield got off to a barely believable start to his Warrior tenure, having averaged 21.1 points on 50.7% 3-point shooting through the first eight games of the season. Unfortunately for he and Golden State fans though, all that did was set him up for even bigger failure.
No one expected Hield to continue at that rate, but the drop off since that point has been nothing short of disappointing. The 31-year-old has since averaged 9.9 points on 32.4% 3-point shooting, with his offense no longer making up for the struggles he also has on the defensive side of the ball.
Hield lost his starting role to second-year guard Brandin Podziemski prior to the All-Star break, and now figures as a 14-18 minute bench player rather than someone getting 25+ minutes per game.
2. Trayce Jackson-Davis
Following an impressive end to his rookie season, Trayce Jackson-Davis was locked in as Golden State's starting center and was subsequently expected to take another leap in his sophomore year.
Instead, the 24-year-old has arguably gone backwards and in failing to provide the same impact on both ends of the floor. Jackson-Davis ranks last on the current roster in cumulative plus-minus this season, and has now gone from full-time starter to out of the rotation altogether.
3. Gary Payton II
Coming off another injury-plagued season in 2023-24, there was optimism that Gary Payton II could return to his consistently impactful best for the Warriors coming into a contract year. But while the defensive-minded guard has certainly shown flashes, it simply hasn't been good enough.
The good news is that Payton's been reasonably healthy, but unfortunately his already questionable shooting has seen a significant decline. If you're 6'2" and shooting only 23.6% from beyond the arc, there's a limit on how much you can play regardless of how good you're perimeter defense might be.
4. Dennis Schroder/Kyle Anderson
Both Dennis Schroder and Kyle Anderson were expected to be major additions for Golden State upon their arrival, yet each struggled to provide meaningful impact and subsequently found themselves off the team prior to the trade deadline.
Anderson never saw consistent opportunity in Steve Kerr's rotation despite signing a three-year, $27 million contract in free agency, while Schroder's numbers and efficiency plummeted in his brief tenure with the Warriors before being shipped out less than two months after his acquisition.
5. De'Anthony Melton injury
How much you want to read into De'Anthony Melton's impact is up to you, but there's no denying that Golden State's season essentially went downhill at the exact moment he suffered a devastating season-ending ACL injury.
Melton's skills as a three-and-D guard with secondary ball-handling ability was the perfect complement to Stephen Curry in the back court, with the injury proving a huge disappointment for everyone involved even if the Warriors did end up using that salary spot to eventually acquire Butler.