Warriors Still Interested in Acquiring… Read more

Warriors Still Interested in Acquiring Heat Star Jimmy Butler

Despite missing out on their top two trade targets this summer—forward Paul George, a nine-time All-Star, and forward Lauri Markkanen, a one-time All-Star—the Golden State Warriors are still actively pursuing big-game players.

The Warriors, who finished 46–36 in 2023–24 and missed the playoffs, must have realized this summer that they needed to make some changes to their roster in order to get the most out of still-potent 10-time All-Star Stephen Curry. The 36–year-old All-NBA point guard, who recently saved Team USA at the Olympics in Paris, is still one of the game’s most lethal shooters, averaging 26.4 points a night on a shooting split of.450/.408/.923, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game.

In a sensational sign-and-trade, Curry’s longtime backcourt partner Klay Thompson departed the only team for the Dallas Mavericks. Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson joined him in Golden State. After five seasons without a championship, George finally signed a maximum contract of $211.6 million for four years with the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving the Los Angeles Clippers.

Even at the comparatively old age of 34, the 6-foot-8 swingman is still a formidable two-way player in the NBA. Despite recent struggles with injuries, George had one of his healthiest seasons with the Clippers in 2023–2024.

In 74 regular season games, the Fresno State star averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 dishes per game on a.471/.413/.907 shooting split. He struggled with consistency throughout the playoffs, and when that was added to Kawhi Leonard’s health problems, the 51-31 Clippers were doomed to lose in the first round. In the meantime, Markkanen signed a four-year, $195.9 million contract extension to remain with Utah through the 2028–2029 campaign.