As the Golden State Warriors get accustomed to life without Jimmy Butler, one thing has become abundantly clear. Almost no move will bring them back into championship contention this season.
Without a second or third scoring option, the Warriors cannot rely on Stephen Curry alone to make them competitive. Even a move for Andrew Wiggins of the Miami Heat, if it is not paired with a superstar trade, is meaningless as far as the 2025-26 campaign is concerned.
Therefore, it is looking increasingly likely that the remainder of this season will be devoted to internal development. If Golden State hopes to compete next season, they must count on two things.
Firstly, they must make a move this offseason to add an additional scorer to their roster. Secondly, their complementary players must step up in a major way to solidify the roster around their stars.
Second-year center Quinten Post could go a long way toward helping Golden State accomplish both these goals with the improvement he's shown this season.
Quinten Post could be the Warriors' center of the future- and it's not crazy to think so
For the Warriors, one central conundrum has defined their trade activities for the past couple of seasons. Do they trade for an additional scorer alongside Curry, or do they make a move for a rim-protecting, floor-spacing center to help anchor their defense?
Last season, Golden State chose the former in their move for Butler. Until Butler's injury this season, they were faced yet again with the same dilemma. It appeared as though they were headed in the former direction again, with rumors swirling around players like Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets.
Post, however, now has the opportunity to cement himself in the Warriors' starting lineup. If he is able to accomplish that feat, Golden State could enter the trade market this offseason with a clear mission.
In the four games since Butler went down, Post has garnered two starts, averaging seven points, 3.5 rebounds, and zero assists in that span while shooting 40% from deep. More importantly, however, he has also shown recurring flashes of development on the defensive end of the floor.
He's regressed a bit from the flashy defensive metrics he posted earlier in the season. But with every game he's showing an intensity and an effort that just weren't there in his rookie season.
He'll never be an elite rim-protector, but the Warriors don't need him to be. If he can simply hit his perimeter shots and help anchor the defense alongside Draymond Green, he will solve a problem Golden State has been angling at for years.
The five minutes he garnered against the Dallas Mavericks is proof that Steve Kerr doesn't fully trust him yet. But he still has the opportunity to seize the starting role and cling to it over the next few months.
They can then complete their rotation with a move for a complementary scorer this offseason.