Jimmy Butler III of the Golden State Warriors has suffered a torn ACL on his right knee. He sustained the injury in the Dubs’ win against the Miami Heat on Tuesday and is now expected to miss the rest of the 2025–26 NBA season.
A ‘Fading Dynasty’ Takes Another Hit
Back in December, Warriors coach Steve Kerr acknowledged that his Dubs “are a fading dynasty” as Golden State was in the midst of a particularly challenging stretch marked by bad losses. Even so, the Warriors appear to be turning a corner lately, going 7-3 in their last 10 games and showing flashes of a potential contender.
Golden State, as of this writing sits eighth in the loaded Western Conference at 25-19. But with Butler sidelined the rest of the way, it’s likely that the Warriors will face a steep climb back into playoff contention—that is, if they ever will without arguably their second best player and the Robin to franchise cornerstone Steph Curry’s Batman.
Curry, even at 37, continues to play at an All-NBA level, averaging 27.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals this season while shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc and 47% from the field. With Butler out, he will surely be asked to carry an even bigger burden to keep Golden State afloat and fighting for a playoff squad. Even then, it’s likely the Warriors won’t make any noise at all in the postseason—assuming they make it there—without Butler.
That is, unless the Golden State front office can find a way to get Curry more help.
The Search to Find a Jimmy Butler Replacement
There’s no denying that Butler’s loss is a game-changer in a bad way for the Warriors. The 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was averaging 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 51.9% from the field before the injury. And he was, again, Golden State’s second-best player behind Curry.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, there’s no one in the team that can replace Jimmy Butler, both from a production standpoint and a leadership perspective—unless the Dubs view Jonathan Kuminga more favorably now.
So, with the trade deadline looming, it might be time for the Dubs front office to push the panic button and find a Butler replacement if they are to increase their hopes of making a playoff run.
One key piece the Warriors can offer in this case is, yes, the aforementioned Kuminga, who has been begging to get out of San Francisco ever since he became eligible to be traded last January 15.
Two teams reportedly interested to get the services of the former seventh overall pick are the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks. In fact, rumor has it that the Kings are even willing to include DeMar Derozan in a possible trade package for Kuminga. Rumor has also been going around that Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets.
At the moment, however, there’s no clarity yet on the Warriors’ future plans for what could be a challenging future without Jimmy Butler. One thing is for certain, though: They owe it to Steph Curry to figure things out.
