...
By Ricardo Sandoval
Contributing Sports Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Golden State Warriors will look to build off an incredible second-half run from last season into the upcoming 2025-26 season.
More news: Timberwolves Urged to Make Blockbuster Signing, Add Former All-NBA Guard
The Warriors were one of the best teams in the league in the second half of the season, and that was partly due to the addition of Jimmy Butler. Butler was traded to the Bay Area prior to the 2025 NBA trade deadline in what was a massive deal from the Miami Heat.
Read More on NBA
Now, Butler will enter his first full season with the Warriors. However, if you ask Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, he believes Butler will be the biggest 'faller' for the Warriors this upcoming season.
...
"Butler was better with the Warriors than he was with the Heat last season, and he was undeniably a part of the team's late-season friskiness. His mere presence on the floor coerced teammates to cut and imbued the whole operation with a badly needed steadiness.
"If you watched him closely last year, you also noticed undeniable signs of physical decline. He'd routinely get near the bucket and pump fake several times in search of a foul because he didn't trust his vertical lift. Defensively, he surrendered blow-by drives a little more often than was comfortable.
"Butler may still perform at a fringe All-Star level, and he's going to make the Warriors a better team than they'd be without him. But he's also entering his age-36 season looking like a guy who's racked up a lot of brutal miles."
The 35-year-old star played in 30 games for the Warriors, and he played some of his best basketball of the season in the Bay Area. In those contests, Butler was incredible, averaging 17.9 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from beyond the arc in 32.7 minutes of action.
Butler turned the team around for the better, as it gave Stephen Curry the proper Robin to his Batman at this point in time. The six-time All-Star did it all for the Warriors last season, and it appears that Hughes thinks that will not be the case for Golden State.
If the Warriors want any shot at competing for a title or at least competing in the loaded Western Conference, Butler will need to be his All-Star self. If Butler is himself, the Warriors can be the title team many think they're capable of.
More news: Jimmy Butler Reportedly Broke Promise to Heat, Per Latest Report
For more NBA news and rumors, stay tuned to Newsweek Sports.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines