Last Updated on May 14, 2026 12:15 pm by Mike Passador | Published: May 14, 2026

The Warriors made their big move in the 2024-25 season, trading for Jimmy Butler to give Steph Curry a new running mate with eyes on another title before the sun sets on this era. For a while it was working to perfection, but the Warriors were taken down by major injury troubles to key players and are left with more big questions heading forward.

How’d It Go?

Butler’s acquisition wasn’t seamless last season as he was too passive on offense and deferred a lot more than we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from a player of his talents. More typical play from him was the first order of business, full stop. Elsewhere the Warriors added De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford in free agency to add some quality depth to a roster whose age meant that strong insurance policies were required. After a soft trade request from Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors promised him a chance to hold down legitimate minutes as an important player for the team. The stage was set.

Kuminga got his opportunity, starting the first 12 games and playing well. Curry and Butler showed a stronger chemistry than we saw last season and all looked to be well with the Warriors. Even as Kuminga faded and eventually played his way out of the rotation, the team was winning and looked like a legitimate second-tier contender. Everything changed when Butler tore his ACL in January. Golden State was 23-15 up to that point but without Butler, Curry was left to carry a supporting cast that just didn’t have enough punching power for the team to remain a serious postseason threat.

The Warriors traded Kuminga to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis as the teams swapped problem players; Golden State felt that anything they could get out of Porzingis (who is a much better fit) would be better than letting Kuminga rack up DNP-CDs and impact team morale with more public dissatisfaction over his role. Guys like Melton, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski all thrived in more prominent roles. Even Horford turned back the clock for a little bit. Rookie Will Richard had some big games and both Pat Spencer and Gary Payton II gave the Warriors decent minutes. The team was outgunned but fought hard as Steve Kerr continued to mix and match his rotation on a nightly basis. The biggest riser was Gui Santos, who locked down a starting spot down the stretch and produced game-changing fantasy value as a do-it-all forward.

Unfortunately, Porzingis’ limited availability prevented him from establishing any real rhythm despite promising on-court returns. The season totally fell apart at the beginning of February when Curry hit the sidelines with right knee soreness. A couple weeks passed and he was diagnosed with right patellofemoral pain syndrome, better known as runner’s knee. He was due to be evaluated in a couple of weeks, and then when that hit he was set for another evaluation a couple of weeks later, and then, and then, and then…

All told, Curry ended up missing 27 straight games as the Warriors sunk in the standings. A bottom five in the West that was dead-set on tanking might’ve been the only thing separating the Warriors from the lottery, but they made their way into the Play-In.

The Warriors delivered a vintage performance in the first Play-In to topple the red-hot Clippers, with Curry’s shot-making too much to handle and Draymond Green reaching back for a throwback defensive effort to shut down Kawhi Leonard. It was the kind of game that showed you why the Warriors continue to fight against time and probability in operating as a win-now squad. When they look like their old selves, it’s borderline magical. The good times ended in the following Play-In as the Warriors were simply too shorthanded to survive another do-or-die game. You could see what the team was angling for with this roster but the experiment was never allowed to play out with so many key absences.

Coaching

There were serious questions about whether or not Steve Kerr would return next season after the Warriors’ latest disappointing finish but he signed a two-year deal to return as the Warriors give this core group one final shot at a miracle run to the top.

At this point Kerr is an institution in Golden State and while the criticism of his work has grown over the years, he still has his finger on the pulse of this team in a way that’s hard to measure from the outside. Fantasy managers will gripe about the constant changes to the team’s rotation but Kerr eventually settled into a pretty productive group in the absence of Butler, with Santos and Moody (prior to his season-ending injury) filling in nicely as starters. In Kerr’s defense, constant absences and minutes limitations for the likes of Butler, Curry, Porzingis, Melton and Horford tied his hands to a certain extent, and eventually he found combinations that got the best out of a handful of role players.

The other notable coaching story this season was the handling of the Kuminga situation. The fit for him on this roster never materialized and while the Kuminga camp never felt that Kerr was in the player’s corner, the fact that he got 12 starts and then tailed off in quality makes it hard to feel much sympathy. The Warriors do not have time to waste as currently constructed, and dedicating a set percentage of possessions to Kuminga so he can hunt buckets is not a good use of that time considering the stars he was expected to play off of. Kerr would surely do some things differently if he could do it all over again, but at the end of the day Kuminga did get a chance to prove himself at the start of the season and failed to play to the standards demanded by the play style.

The Warriors may revisit the coaching situation if next year ends in similarly disappointing fashion, but you know what you’re getting behind the bench for next season at least.

The Players

Stephen Curry

PG, Golden State Warriors

ADP: 14.5 / 16.5 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 85/88 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 9/10 (8/9-cat)

Curry continued to be the heart and soul of the entire organization and played some great basketball… when healthy. He improved his scoring and FG% and maintained elite output behind the arc, but like most of the rest of the Warriors, availability was a significant problem. The Warriors looked like a legitimate postseason threat until Jimmy Butler went down with a torn ACL and while Curry tried his best to carry the squad, his body ended up betraying him as well. Some absences were expected given Curry’s age and injury history but the second half off his season was a disaster for fantasy managers.

Curry ended up missing 27 consecutive games, including the entirety of February and March, with right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome. To make matters worse for fantasy managers, Curry’s absence was death by a thousand cuts. There was never an extended timeline established as the Warriors chose to keep evaluating Curry every 10-14 days. He was too good to drop — until it was too late and the damage had already been done — but head-to-head managers got nothing out of their first- or second-round pick for two months. If that felt bad for you, imagine how the Warriors felt. The entire franchise is built around giving Curry at least one more shot at a title and while things started off in promising fashion, it’s hard to be anything other than disappointed by how things played out.

Jimmy Butler III

SF, Golden State Warriors

ADP: 50.2 / 56.5 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 146/132 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 28/20 (8/9-cat)

Butler wasn’t the most assertive offensive player in his first stint with the Warriors but was a little better about hunting his own shot in his first full year. He ended up being a great fit (you’d hope so given the two-year contract extension) and the Warriors were sitting at 23-15 before Butler tore his ACL. That injury at age 36 could be disastrous, and Butler’s injury led to a slow drop to the edge of the Play-In as the Warriors simply did not have the horses to stem the tide. For a player whose shaky availability has become a calling card in recent seasons, Butler was actually doing quite well up until the ACL tear, missing only six of the first 38 games and only once missing consecutive contests.

When he was on the court, Butler was putting up early-round numbers without the benefit of a big jump in shot volume. He posted a new career-high in FG% and was right next to previous personal bests in FT% and 3P% for good measure, helping him make a notable gain in the scoring column. On the court he was as impactful as ever and the significance of his injury at this stage of his career puts the Warriors in a real bind going forward. A healthy Butler is a surefire building block but the Warriors should not be banking on him returning to this level given his age. It might be the last we have seen of Butler as an elite fantasy option, though we wouldn’t totally count him out just yet.

Kristaps Porzingis

C, Golden State Warriors

ADP: 53.0 / 76.1 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 268/256 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 97/77 (8/9-cat)

Porzingis was traded to Atlanta as part of Boston’s cost-cutting effort and while sharing time with Onyeka Okongwu was going to give the Hawks a dynamic center rotation, it did put a cap on Porzingis’ fantasy appeal. On the flip side, the hope was that a full offseason and a lesser role would help him be available for more games, offsetting weaker per-game production with more appearances overall. It’s a trade that fantasy GMs would’ve gladly taken but Porzingis ended up playing a career-low 32 games. He played in just 13 of the team’s first 24 games and topped 30 minutes just once, though his limited appearances were good for top-90/60 value in 8/9-cat scoring. Porzingis only played five games with Atlanta from December 1 to his eventual trade in early February, sidelined by illness for blocks of four and 10 games before missing 18 games (14 with Atlanta, four with the Warriors) due to left Achilles tendinitis.

Atlanta traded Porzingis to Golden State at the deadline, taking a flier on Jonathan Kuminga while the Warriors rolled the dice on a supremely talented player who was a better fit for the roster, if a bigger question mark in general. A change of scenery did not change the results, however, as Porzings played 17 minutes in his team debut and then missed six games due to illness. Porzingis was able to ramp it up in March and April a bit but was only able to deliver top-90/100 value with the Warriors, limited to 23.7 mpg. Beyond the limited availability, Porzingis also posted new career-lows in playing time, rebounds and blocks. The per-game potential and fantasy upside is still obvious but Porzingis has significant questions to answer about simply being active before he can access his peak production again.

Gui Santos

SF, Golden State Warriors

ADP: N/A / N/A (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 174/191 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 234/265 (8/9-cat)

This is just a sneak peek of the Season Wrap. The entire roster is covered, as well as the Fantasy Star, Letdown, One to Watch and One Burning Question for this team. You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required

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Mike Passador

Mike graduated from Boston University’s Dual Degree Program with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business with Concentrations in Marketing and Operations Management. He is a faithful supporter of Toronto sports and the Detroit Lions and is always ready to be let down. Tweet to him @Mike_Pandador, but if you badmouth Jose Calderon you might get blocked.

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