Steph Curry isn't afraid to say what Kevin Durant missed out on with Warriors

The Golden State Warriors finally landed another All-Star next to Stephen Curry at the trade deadline, acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat in a trade that sent out Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III, and a first-round pick.

That was a modest outgoing package for a player of Butler's caliber. It was subsequently redistributed among five teams in a complicated, far-reaching deal. The Warriors sacrificed depth, but Butler has one of the strongest postseason track records in recent history. He led Miami to the NBA Finals twice, both times as underdogs, before coming up short against far superior competition.

Butler inked a two-year, $121 million extension upon landing in San Francisco. He is now locked up next to Steph for the foreseeable future. There was some risk in trading for Butler, a notoriously combustive personality who has found himself unhappy at every previous stop during his long, accomplished NBA career. He's also 34, so the window is short.

The window was short before the trade, though, and Golden State was a sub-.500 team struggling to keep its head above water in Steph's waning years. One can hardly criticize the front office for going for it, especially when it did not require a significant mortgaging of future assets.

Before the Butler trade, however, the Warriors had their sights set on a more ambitious target: Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, a former two-time champ and Finals MVP in Golden State.

A Durant reunion almost crossed the finish line, in fact, but the 10-time All-Star shot down the chance to join forces with Curry and, potentially, Draymond Green in an organization where he once achieved the highest levels of basketball greatness.

Curry has since been unafraid to gently remind Durant what he's missing out on.

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like it, share it with an enemy!

Stephen Curry waxes poetic about Jimmy Butler's impact after Kevin Durant shut down Warriors trade

Durant's decision to effectively opt out of a Golden State reunion stirred the pot in NBA circles. Many were bummed to miss out on another opportunity to watch Steph and KD share the floor. The Warriors are no longer the juggernaut Durant so controversially singed onto back in 2016 — a team that won 73 games the season prior — but the Dubs are in a better position to win than Phoenix, and many felt Durant would've improved his rather complicated legacy by mending broken bridges in the Bay.

NBA defenses once found it impossible to stop the combined shooting gravity of Curry and Durant. When healthy, that team felt damn near untouchable in the playoffs. The duo would've been a bit more mortal this time around, but man, if there's any aging star capable of taking Golden State back to championship heights, one has to think it was Durant.

Butler is enjoying his new home in Golden State instead. The All-Star wing has led two straight victories since donning the Dubs uniform, with Steph gleefully pointing out all the benefits of his new running mate.

"Every possession just doesn't feel as hard," Curry told reporters after a 125-111 in over Milwaukee. "You still see attention, you still see defenses but [opposing teams] gotta be worried about something else. And we're just putting people in the right spot, so obviously I'm going to be aggressive. Earlier in the year, that aggression didn't necessarily lead to anything as consistently as it has these last two games."

One can't help but read that quote and sub in Durant in the mind's eye. Butler and Durant are vastly different players, but the impact on Steph would've been comparable, perhaps even enhanced with a Durant trade. Butler puts more pressure on the rim as a ball-handler, but Durant spaces the floor and commands double teams on the catch by sheer virtue of his size and shot-making talent. Golden State's offense would've opened up in myriad new ways with Durant, plus there would have been built-in familiarity.

It's only two games, but the Jimmy Buckets era is off to an exceptionally strong start for the Warriors. Is this a title contender? It's too early to tell, but Durant just might end up regretting his decision to stick with the .500 Suns on their path to nowhere.