While the acquisition of Jimmy Butler has certainly provided enormous value through his first four games, there's still some concerns in regard to spacing and a lack of 3-point shooting on the Golden State Warriors roster.
Butler made his first three for the Warriors in Thursday's win over the Houston Rockets, but isn't a huge 3-point threat which makes things difficult when the same can be said for fellow veteran Draymond Green and the soon to return Jonathan Kuminga.
A big part of the problem has been Buddy Hield's elongated stretch of poor shooting, with the 31-year-old having been the replacement for veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson after the franchise legend departed for the Dallas Mavericks during the offseason.
Lineup uncertainty continues to prove Warriors made a mistake on Klay Thompson
Hield had started 12-straight games prior to Thursday's meeting with the Houston Rockets, but had shot less than 32% from 3-point range since the start of December. A move simply had to be made, with Steve Kerr finally obliging by promoting second-year guard Brandin Podziemski in place of the struggling Hield.
The notable lineup change helped inspire a seven-point victory as Podziemski showcased his value with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in a game-high 39 minutes on Thursday. Kerr confirmed post-game that the 21-year-old will continue to start following the All-Star break, giving the team some solidarity to what's been a constantly revolving lineup.
While Podziemski is able to contribute in a variety of ways with his ball-handling, playmaking, rebounding and ability to draw charges, there's an argument to be made that the Warriors simply need more shooting in their starting five.
It's why Hield was given such a long leash by Kerr until the point where it simply wasn't viable anymore. Podziemski has seen an uptick in his 3-point shooting over recent weeks, but is still at just 32% for the season.
The ironic aspect is that a year after Podziemski replaced him in the starting lineup, the now departed Thompson would actually be a nice fit between Stephen Curry and Butler at the two-guard spot to give Golden State another perimeter threat.
The current version of Thompson anyway who's rounded into some form for the Mavericks. The 5x All-Star has averaged 16 points and shot 42.3% from 3-point range over his last 10 games, helping to keep his new team above water through a major injury crisis.
The 4x NBA champion could have fallen back into a third scoring role behind Curry and Butler, rather than face the pressure of having to try to be the secondary go-to scorer that he struggled with over the past two seasons.
Given the Warriors have invested into the veteran trio of Curry, Butler and Green, it almost makes it more disappointing that they didn't find a way to re-sign Thompson. Golden State and Dallas are now fighting it out for a playoff spot, with just 1.5 games between the two teams in the standings at the All-Star break.