An underwhelming summer has left the Golden State Warriors short-handed without Jimmy Butler entering next season, while also placing pressure on the six-time All-Star to return in a timely manner and at a relatively high level.
It's a problem Butler and the Warriors face that Klay Thompson once avoided following his two devastating leg injuries, with the franchise legend allowed to return to a strong team already entrenched at the top of the Western Conference.
Jimmy Butler faces Warriors problem Klay Thompson avoided
When Thompson made his monumental return in January 2022, Golden State sat alongside the Phoenix Suns at the top of the West after a brilliant start to the season. That gave the Warriors wiggle room to bring Thompson back into fold and take a step back if necessary without ruining their season.
After Thompson's first game back, Golden State closed the season barely above .500 at 23-20 over the final 43 games. The five-time All-Star averaged over 20 points in 32 games but shot a then career-worst 38.5% from 3-point range, while finishing the regular season ranking only eighth on the team in plus-minus. None of it mattered as the Warriors entered the playoffs as the third-seed and made their way through to a triumphant fourth championship in eight seasons.
It's a luxury Thompson got that Butler will almost certainly won't have. It's tough to envisage Golden State being a top six seed when he returns around January/February, let alone the top two seed they were when Thompson returned to the floor.
In fact, it's much easier to see the Warriors being a bottom five team in the West prior to Butler's return than a top six one. Such a position would place unfair pressure on a 37-year-old coming off a major injury, with Golden State needing an impactful version of Butler right away just to push up into the playoff picture.
Warriors season may already be lost by the time Jimmy Butler returns
There's certainly a world in which there's no pressure on Butler at all because the season is already lost and the focus is already turned towards revamping the roster during the summer. That would be a disastrous situation though and not one befitting of one of Stephen Curry's final years.
Regardless of the team situation, there'll also be individual motivation for Butler to return strongly given he'll be on an expiring contract. Not only will he be looking to prove to Golden State that they need to re-sign him rather than use their projected cap space on others, but it could also be a period to advertise himself to rival teams ahead of free agency.
The Warriors will be hoping they can at least be a .500 team prior to Butler's return, then potentially make some noise in the postseason at a time where the star forward will be back somewhere near his best.
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