NBA thread

I think I speak for most Warriors fans when I say I hate this deal. Wiggins was pretty much back to his all-star/ championship season form on both sides of the ball. Check the numbers if you don’t believe me. Butler does little to nothing to improve on that in my eyes.

And for that negligible gain (IF any gain), you also give up Schroder (who was still finding his footing but coming around), Slow-mo, and a protected 1st.

This is Dunleavy in a corner scrambling to do something, anything, and taking trade market scraps when he should’ve made Markkanen happen while he had the chance.
 
Rock said:
Butler to GSW seems like meh.
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Agree. I think it moves them up 1-3 seeds with the likelihood of still getting summarily dismissed by the Nuggets or Thunder. Maybe they get lucky and catch an ahead-of-schedule Rockets squad in round one, who would be susceptible to the Warriors experience. otherwise, GSW still look like a one and done to me.
 
I still don’t know how the Warriors got any better here, and very likely got worse. When Kuminga is back, Butler will make TWO starters who don’t fit the system. And how long until Draymond and Butler get into it.

Riley fleeced Dunleavy, and from a low leverage position when everyone in the world knew they were desperate to get Butler off their hands. Curry didn’t want Butler. Kerr didn’t want Butler.

F’ing dookie. I want him gone.
 
duluoz said:
I still don’t know how the Warriors got any better here, and very likely got worse. When Kuminga is back, Butler will make TWO starters who don’t fit the system. And how long until Draymond and Butler get into it.

Riley fleeced Dunleavy, and from a low leverage position when everyone in the world knew they were desperate to get Butler off their hands. Curry didn’t want Butler. Kerr didn’t want Butler.

F’ing dookie. I want him gone.
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Butler is one of the best defenders in the league when locked in. If you get "playoff Jimmy" then this is a home run deal for GSW and a pretty big upgrade over Wiggins. Butler is also a big game performer. I'd be pretty happy with this in the short term if I were a GSW fan. The bigger concern is longer term - Jimmy is already facing injury issues and what type of player will you have in two years? The Heat could see the decline which is one of the reasons they didn't extend him in the off season.
 
p5mmr9 said:
Butler is one of the best defenders in the league when locked in. If you get "playoff Jimmy" then this is a home run deal for GSW and a pretty big upgrade over Wiggins. Butler is also a big game performer. I'd be pretty happy with this in the short term if I were a GSW fan. The bigger concern is longer term - Jimmy is already facing injury issues and what type of player will you have in two years? The Heat could see the decline which is one of the reasons they didn't extend him in the off season.
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This is far from a home run. It’s a seeing eye single at best. Festus Ezeli in the studio show just asked how the offense got any better. Steph needs spacing, guys who can shoot and understand the system. They just got clearly worse there. Defense is mostly a wash, Wiggins is a stopper too. And was worthy of Finals MVP in 2022 (if Steph hadn’t gone off) for scoring, rebounding out of his mind, and totally shutting down Taytum. So, he knows what big games are. Throw in Schroder, Slow-mo, and a 1st rounder and it’s a huge fleecing.

Nobody is happy about this in the Bay.
 
"Playoff Jimmy" is a top 10 player in the league. The idea this isn't an upgrade (if you are getting playoff jimmy) is absurd. The argument against is about health, motivation, age, durability - these are fair...but to suggest it isn't an upgrade is just silly.
 
In all fairness - this IS a risky trade for GSW and it's even riskier since they are reportedly going to extend him. But i guess they didn't view Wiggins as part of their future core and I don't think there are many (I guess outside of the Bay Area) who would argue that Butler isn't an upgrade over Wiggins.
 
Maybe it’s an upgrade on paper for people who don’t watch every minute of every Warriors game. Steph and Kerr didn’t want him. In the studio tonight Chris Mullin and Festus were confused and scrambling to put a positive light on it. Mullin is too nice and careful to say anything even borderline critical of a move like this, but his face said it all and Festus openly questioned the move.

This is not “Playoff Jimmy’s” or any Jimmy’s team, where he’s the best player and leader and has free reign. It’s Steph’s team, and a system team. Totally different dynamic from the ones where Butler flourished. Dude is a ball stopper who chews up the shot clock, about as anti-Warriors offensively as it gets. And that’s before you get to locker room culture.

Maybe he can adapt. But I’ll believe it when I see it.
 
“Curry added that he was going to watch Butler’s Miami film to see how he and the Warriors could help ease Butler’s transition to their style of play. Expect Butler to have some “free reign,” Curry said, but the longtime Warriors franchise star also noted that Golden State needed to “be ourselves too.””

This is not a guy excited about the move. This is a guy choosing his words carefully (as always) and trying to play the hand he’s been dealt.
 
duluoz said:
Maybe he can adapt. But I’ll believe it when I see it.
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With the grinder wins at NYK and home against a hot Detroit tonight, I’ve seen enough to happily eat some crow over my skepticism on the Butler trade. He has absolutely been able to adapt and be a connector, and has unlocked Steph again, who’s killing it lately. It’s not a your turn/my turn thing either, which had so many Warriors fans doubting the move. He’s fit into the offense well, and has only hunted shots at the right time, mainly to get to the line as a means of controlling game flow. That’s the one thing Wiggins didn’t do nearly well enough, his basketball IQ just wasn’t on the same level and he didn’t look to penetrate as much as he should’ve.

And not a single run-in with anyone so far, not even Dray. Though it’s still the honeymoon phase.

Will be interesting to see how things flow when Kuminga finally comes back, which will be anytime now. But that original apprehension has vanished thanks to the heater they’ve been on.

Butler doesn’t get all the credit though, since Buddy Hield has finally been more consistent shooting again, and Podziemski and Moody have been healthier and playing great on both ends, and Quinten Post has been a huge discovery as a stretch 5. Dude can’t miss, shooting 43% from 3 and taking the starting role. Things looking up in the Bay.
 
Nobody watching the playoffs I guess. It’s been a fantastic first round. Lots of grinders, crazy finishes.

Denver with a Lorenzo Charles finish earlier after a miraculous Clips 4th Q comeback fell short.
 
More great games, big comebacks, wire jobs, controversial calls, scuffles…
Gotta be the most exciting first round ever at this point. I can’t recall a better one.
 
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