The Golden State Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler before the deadline because they needed to do something — anything — to increase the odds of winning another title with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, particularly the former. He had an epic Olympics performance the summer before, putting pressure on the Warriors to return to contender status.
Golden State secured a playoff berth last season and made it to the second round, but things went downhill after Curry hurt his hamstring. The Warriors entered the offseason needing to tweak the roster to boost their chances of winning a title, but so far, nothing has happened.
The Jonathan Kuminga saga is still ongoing, so free agents like Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton are waiting to be (hopefully) signed by Golden State. Kuminga will either return to the Warriors (hopefully not via his $7.9 million qualifying offer) or land elsewhere in a sign-and-trade. There are pros and cons to every scenario, with the worst being the qualifying offer.
Golden State is in a position of limbo, not where it needs to be. There is still time to work things out, but as of right now, fans are not nearly as optimistic as they once were.
Warriors' offseason has been at a standstill
Golden State has watched as other top teams in the conference have improved this offseason. The Warriors beat the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, but they're a different team now with Kevin Durant. The Nuggets retooled their roster around Nikola Jokic. The Thunder are fresh off a title and will be better than ever next season.
The trade for Butler was viewed as a desperation move, but it worked out in Golden State's favor. The Warriors would've been lucky to make it to the Play-In Tournament without him. It looked like the already low odds of them winning another championship with Curry would drop to zero.
Coming out of the West will be quite the challenge for Golden State. Winning it all almost feels impossible, but it's possible when you have an all-time great like Curry on your roster. He's 37, but he's still Steph Curry. He knows how to take games over like no other player can. The pressure doesn't get to him.
The Warriors knew they needed to go all-in last year, so they did. Nobody expected them to make a major move this summer, but nobody also expected the Kuminga saga to drag out as long as it has. Golden State deserves that blame.
The sooner the two sides reach a resolution, the sooner the Warriors can construct their roster for what will be a critical season.