After sitting 11th in the Western Conference at the point of the trade, the Golden State Warriors acquisition of Jimmy Butler in early February is the key reason behind their ascension up to being one of the four remaining teams in the Western Conference.
But while the Butler trade is the biggest reason the Warriors are in this position, it's also the reason why they may still have a chance of advancing to the Conference Finals despite Stephen Curry's hamstring injury.
The Warriors will need 'Playoff Jimmy' in full effect without Stephen Curry
Golden State announced on Wednesday that Curry has a grade one hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in a week, meaning the 2x MVP will miss realistically the next four games at a minimum.
This is a nightmare scenario for the Warriors no doubt, but it's perhaps not the fatal blow it may have been in the past. This team would not have been able to withstand a multi-game Curry absence in the postseason over the past few years, including in their last championship season in 2022 and the following year where they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023.
Now despite taking Game 1 on the road, few neutral observers will believe that Golden State will be able to overcome Minnesota without their best player. Yet there's also a strong belief that Butler should never be underestimated in this type of scenario.
The 6x All-Star twice led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals with questionable supporting casts, meaning it's not unimaginable that he could now do the same again and hold the fort until whenever Curry returns.
This is why you make the trade for a second legitimate offensive star. Not just to reach the playoffs, but to give yourself some hope and not be completely dead and buried when one of them gets injured.
Andrew Wiggins is a Warrior legend for eternity thanks to what he did during the playoffs in 2022, and there should be absolutely no taking away from that. However, Butler's five 20-point games in seven playoff games this postseason is already more than the four 20-point performances Wiggins had in the 2022 postseason (22 games).
When it's laid out like that, you gain an even greater understanding of why Golden State made the trade and why it now looks even better amid the nightmare of Curry's injury. Perhaps this does prove a fatal blow the Warriors can't overcome, but there's also a world where Butler goes toe-to-toe with Anthony Edwards and delivers some special playoff performances.