The Golden State Warriors were briefly linked to a blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis at the start of the month, but that subsided after the 10x All-Star suffered his latest injury which will likely put him out through at least the All-Star break.
However, Jimmy Butler's devastating season-ending ACL injury on Monday night against the Miami Heat should put everything on the table for the Warriors, including re-exploring a potential move for Davis despite his own injury issues.
Warriors should once again look at an Anthony Davis trade
Butler and Davis are a perfect salary-match for a trade, but Golden State were never previously going to move their star forward for the Dallas Mavericks big man given the impact he's had on the franchise since his arrival last February.
As brutal and as cold as it would be, the Warriors now have little choice but to at least consider trading Butler as Brett Siegel of Clutch Points reported on Tuesday.
"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," Siegel wrote.
Davis suddenly presents as perhaps the best option for Golden State to salvage something out of this complete disaster. There's multiple frameworks of what a deal could look like, but ultimately it will come down to how many picks the Mavericks would need to willingly to take on Butler's $56.8 million salary for next season.
It's a terrible situation but I'm probably doing this... https://t.co/9KmhPnLpDV pic.twitter.com/FhZrq6JBOk
— Peter O’Keefe (@POK252) January 20, 2026
After speculation that he'd be out for the rest of the season, Davis avoided surgery on his hand and could return -- potentially for a new team -- by the end of next month. Perhaps the Warriors could hold the fort till then, before giving themselves a runway with a new Stephen Curry-Draymond Green-Davis trio that could still make noise come playoff time.
Trading for Davis given his recent injury history would signal a desperation move for any team to make, with his value sliding drastically after being the key piece in the fateful Luka Doncic trade less than 12 months ago.
Golden State are desperate now though -- no longer is Davis an interesting thought exercise, he might be someone they actually need. While Butler's injury is undoubtedly devastating and presents a horrible situation, this team still has a nearly 38-year-old Curry playing at an elite level. Can they do something to salvage one of his final campaigns? The Warriors have two weeks to make it happen.