On Monday evening, Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler suffered a torn right ACL during a game against the Miami Heat. At first sight, the injury looked troubling and, within hours, it was clear that Butler would need season-ending surgery. Given that Butler is already 36 years old, and the Warriors are heavily reliant on his two-way ability, the conversation quickly shifted to what the next steps should be for Golden State, including a raging debate on whether the Warriors should begin to tear things down and rebuild or continue to fight the good fight.
Here is a look at each side.
The case for a teardown
Simply put, the Warriors are not a title-contending team without Butler, at least as presently constructed. In speaking with Anthony Slater of ESPN, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy downplayed the notion of trading Butler while he was injured and, without that high-priced trade chip for salary-matching purposes, Golden State would be limited in what they could add before the Feb. 5 Trade Deadline or even during the summer of 2026.
Golden State has a sparkling plus-7.3 net rating in 1,182 minutes with Butler on the floor this season, illustrating a reasonably high ceiling for the team. However, that dips all the way to a minus-2.9 net rating when Butler is on the bench. It is possible that the Warriors could withstand the absence if Stephen Curry remains healthy, but Butler is the No. 2 shot creator for Golden State and one of the team's best defenders. In short, his skill set is not easily replaceable.
Moreover, Curry is 37 years old and will turn 38 before the end of this season. It is flatly remarkable how well he has aged, to the point where Curry is still operating at an All-NBA level this season. However, Curry likely isn't capable of carrying this current Golden State roster to the NBA Finals, and even with a beautiful aging curve, his timeline for superstardom should run out fairly soon. From there, Butler may not be the same player when he returns and, while Draymond Green remains an elite defender, he is also aging and declining at this stage.
In a cold, calculating sense, the Warriors would be an extremely logical candidate for a full rebuild. The future cupboard needs to be restocked and, given a few missteps in the NBA Draft, there isn't a clear plan for the post-Curry era. As such, Golden State could get something of a "head start" by waiving the white flag now, even if that would be tough to swallow.
The case against a teardown
Of course, the biggest case for not tearing things down is something that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and others have discussed openly on many occasions. In short, there is some honor in competing all the way until the end of the Curry era, acknowledging that his legacy in that area and across the league could be even further bolstered by a strong conclusion to an already storied career. Sure, it is likely that the Warriors won't win another title with Curry as the centerpiece, but shipping him off in a trade or letting the roster complete turn over around him would be unsightly at the very least.
With that in mind, the Warriors remain attractive to big-ticket players around the league as long as Curry and Kerr are involved. That leads to clear whispers about blockbuster trades that could give Curry one last ride, and, in the same ESPN interview referenced above, Dunleavy spoke candidly about the potential to add a big-name player that would require a lofty trade investment.
"If we're talking about trading draft picks that will be going out when Steph isn't here, it's going to have to be a player that we think we'll be getting back that is going to be here when those picks are going out," said Dunleavy. "That player's going to have to be pretty impactful. It would take a good amount -- positionally, play style, archetype, all that. I would leave it pretty broad and open. But if there's a great player to be had, we've got everything in the war chest that we would be willing to use."
Though the loss of Butler is damning in the short term, the Warriors could trade him, or Green, and net a big name player in return. Beyond that, they do have mid-level salaries with Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, and Moses Moody, with intriguing sweeteners like Brandin Podziemski. There is something to be said for the Warriors giving it their all around Curry for as long as he is invested in winning, and to put it plainly, that would mean another investment in the short term with the acknowledgement of some potential pain when Curry is done playing. Or, of course, there is at least the chance to thread the needle by acquiring a star (Giannis?) that could bridge the two eras.
In the end, the next steps for the Warriors do not involve easy decisions. The Butler injury is brutal, both in duration and timing, from a team-building standpoint. For most franchises, it might be interesting or attractive to more seriously entertain something as drastic as trading the best player(s) and fully rebuilding. For Golden State, that option is rather nuclear, and the best plan may be to ride it out and try to win at the highest level possible.