As the Golden State Warriors continue their recent win streak, having won their last six games and 12 of their last 14, they are increasingly looking like outside contenders for the NBA championship.
With Stephen Curry's proven playoff resume and historic clutch qualities, and Draymond Green's defensive acumen, the Warriors have the veteran leadership necessary to be a serious problem for many of the teams in the Western Conference.
Were they to secure an outright playoff berth, they have a serious chance of defeating team such as the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, all of which are potential first or second-round matchups.
With the mid-season addition of Jimmy Butler, Golden State has successfully turned around the narrative surrounding their season. While the Butler trade has already been, at least temporarily, franchise-altering for the Warriors, it could potentially go down in history as the best mid-season trade ever.
Warriors' acquisiton of Jimmy Butler could be historic
As Golden State has continued to dominate their opponents, they have re-entered the conversation as contenders for the NBA championship this season. If they were to pull off the impossible, it is certain that Butler would play a massive role throughout the playoffs. In his 14 games with the team, the 6x All-Star has averaged 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists, contributing majorly to each Warriors win.
More importantly, however, Butler has taken on major minutes for Golden State, playing 31.6 a night for a team that lost considerable depth in acquiring him. The only player to be acquired in a mid-season trade by a championship-winning team and average more than 30 minutes per game was Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
Wallace, who had spent the first nine years of his career with the Washington Bullets, Portland Trailblazers and Atlanta Hawks, played a major role on that Pistons team in averaging 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.6 minutes per game. That Detroit team, led by Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, went on to defeat the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal-led Lakers in five games in the NBA Finals.
Butler, with the Warriors, is currently eclipsing all of Wallace's numbers, and his impact on the team as a whole has been so profound that such a comparison would be undeniable were Golden State to reach the summit this season.
While the Warriors are certainly still a long shot as contenders, their odds look better by the day and Butler's presence, as a proven veteran and intense playmaker on both ends of the floor, has greatly increased their chances of making NBA history yet again.