Category: NBA

Celtics trade rumors: Are Warriors a realistic Derrick White suitor? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Silly season has started early in Boston this year.

The beginning of any NBA team’s offseason usually brings a flurry of rumors and fake trade proposals, and that’s especially true with the Celtics, who fell to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and need to shed more than $20 million in salary just to avoid severely restrictive penalties associated with being in the second apron of the luxury tax.

That financial situation means the Celtics may have to consider trading at least one core rotation player. And in recent days, Derrick White’s name has been thrown into the NBA rumor mill, with the Golden State Warriors floated as a potential suitor.

“Another guy for the Warriors to look at going forward is Derrick White,” The Ringer’s Logan Murdoch told longtime NBA reporter Zach Lowe on The Zach Lowe Show. “I think that’s something the Warriors are looking at right now.

“That’s somebody who can play defense, can settle everyone down especially when you have a young group like that.”

White arguably is the Celtics’ third-most important player behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and projects as Boston’s No. 2 next season if Tatum’s Achilles injury keeps him out most or all of the 2025-26 campaign. But Lowe admitted the Celtics may have to at least consider moving White and his $28.1 million salary for next season in order to shed salary.

“I’ve talked about how depressing trading Derrick White would be for Boston, and the sort of a dilemma they face in terms of, ‘How much of a reset do we really want to have and who we want to be back here when Tatum comes back?’” Lowe said. “Who has trade value in the interim and where (does) Derrick White fit in that conversation?”

The Celtics have a few other avenues they can consider before exploring a White trade, such as shopping Jrue Holiday and/or Kristaps Porzingis. NBA insider Marc Stein reports the C’s are “more apt” to make Holiday available via trade than White, and that Porzingis is considered Boston’s “most movable vet” because he’s on an expiring contract.

But if the Celtics get to the point entertaining White trade offers, are the Warriors even a realistic partner?

In order for the salaries to match, the Celtics would need to take back roughly $28 million (or slightly less) worth of contracts from Golden State. A deal involving Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski would meet those requirements, but it’s unlikely the C’s would have interest in that package, especially if it means releasing two players from their current roster.

Another avenue could involve a sign-and-trade for Jonathan Kuminga, who is currently a restricted free agent. But while the 22-year-old had a strong finish to the postseason — 97 points over the Warriors’ final four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves — he shot just 30.5 percent from 3-point range during the regular season and missed 31 games earlier in the campaign due to a sprained ankle.

If the Celtics are forced to trade White, they should try to maximize their value for the do-it-all guard. A look at Golden State’s roster suggests they’d be better off entertaining other offers.

LeBron James has interesting theory about why Celtics lost to Knicks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Did complacency cost the Boston Celtics a chance at repeating as NBA champions?

The C’s fell to the New York Knicks in six games during their second-round series, ending their season on a sour note with a blowout loss at Madison Square Garden. While one could point to several issues that led to Boston’s demise, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James offered a unique take on why the reigning champs came up short.

“It seems like sometimes, it seems like they get bored sometimes with the — I don’t want to say the process. Because I mean, s–t, they are who they are, and when you look at (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, this is years and years and years and years, they’ve punched their 10,000 hours,” James said on the “Mind the Game” podcast with fellow NBA great Steve Nash.

“But sometimes it seems like they get a little bored because of how great they are. Not only as those two as individuals, but them as a team, sometimes it looks like they get bored.”

Boston fell into a 2-0 series hole after blowing consecutive 20-point leads at home. While “bored” may not be the right word to describe the Celtics’ mindset during those collapses, it’s fair to criticize them for getting too comfortable.

The C’s responded with a lopsided Game 3 win at MSG, but a disastrous Game 4 ultimately determined their fate. They blew a 15-point halftime lead and lost superstar Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles late in the fourth quarter. After they rallied to win Game 5 at home, Tatum’s absence was glaring in their 119-81 Game 6 defeat.

Health was a significant factor in the Celtics’ second-round exit. On top of the Tatum injury, Jaylen Brown played through a partially torn meniscus, and Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t himself due to a nagging illness.

Still, above all else, a lack of in-game adjustments cost Boston a shot at raising Banner 19. Joe Mazzulla’s group had no answers when their 3-pointers stopped falling, and the Knicks capitalized each time the Celtics’ offense went ice-cold.

Although the Celtics were the better team for most of the series, the Knicks were relentless. That’s why they’re on to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on the Indiana Pacers, and the C’s are back home looking ahead to an uncertain offseason.

2025 NBA mock draft roundup: First-round pick predictions for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

After a disappointing exit in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the offseason has arrived for the Boston Celtics.

One of the most important events for the Celtics on the offseason calendar is the 2025 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for June 24 (first round) and June 25 (second round).

The Celtics currently own two picks in the upcoming draft — their own first-rounder at No. 28 overall, and the second pick in the second round (No. 32 overall) from the Washington Wizards. That pick from the Wizards was acquired in a previous trade.

The goal for the Celtics should be finding a player in Round 1 who can contribute right away. Even without Jayson Tatum, the C’s still have a playoff-caliber roster in a lackluster Eastern Conference. And as a team with an expensive roster, finding a good young player on a cheap rookie contract would be a major coup.

The ideal fit would likely be some sort of 3-and-D wing who can shoot well from the outside and offer some defensive versatility.

Which players should the Celtics target near the end of the first round? Here’s a roundup of expert predictions from recent mock drafts.

Sam Vecenie, The Athletic: Labaron Philon, Guard, Alabama

“NBA teams are excited to see Philon up close during the pre-draft process after a breakout freshman season at Alabama that didn’t necessarily answer all the questions about his potential as a one-and-done. On the plus side, he’s a terrific athlete who played whatever role Alabama asked of him this year. Sometimes he was on the ball, taking ball screens and running the offense. Other times, he was asked to be a secondary ballhandler and attack creases when they presented themselves, then make reads off that to either finish or kick the ball out. On defense, I liked his energy and activity. Philon’s draft range is pretty wide right now. He could immensely help himself during the pre-draft process and see himself spike far up the board, or he ends up more in the late-first, early-second range.”

Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report: Drake Powell, Wing, North Carolina

“Teams figure to put extra stock into Drake Powell’s NBA combine performance and workouts after he spent the year spotting up 49.2 percent of North Carolina’s possessions and taking just 5.7 shots per game. Despite the lack of production, there could still be first-round interest based on his outstanding physical profile, defensive projection and 37.9 percent three-point shooting.”

Adam Finkelstein, CBS Sports: Labaron Philon, Guard, Alabama

“A competitive and instinctive combo-guard with on-off ball versatility, Philon seems like he would be a good fit with head coach Joe Mazzulla. The three-point shooting may not be quite where Boston would like it ideally, but the same was true at Alabama and he still made himself a critical two-way part of their attack.”

Kevin O’Connor, Yahoo! Sports: Thomas Sorber, Forward/Center, Georgetown

“Al Horford turns 39 this summer and Kristaps Porziņģis can’t stay on the floor. The Celtics need to start thinking about the future of the center position, and Sorber could absolutely be a steal at this part of the draft. Sorber is unlikely to participate in on-court workouts due to a foot injury that ended his freshman year at Georgetown after just 24 games, but he still projects as a first-round pick due to his brick-house frame and the throwback skill-set to match. He sets strong screens, scores with soft-touch finishes, and has gritty drop-coverage instincts.”

Jeremy Woo, ESPN: Noah Penda, SF/PF, Le Mans

“Rival teams expected changes to the Celtics’ roster next season because of their massive payroll, even before Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury. Boston appears headed toward an active summer to reposition the franchise for more sustainable success. Though a full-on teardown isn’t likely, the Celtics control their first-round pick in 2026 and 2027, giving them a runway to rethink things depending on the state of their roster and the course of Tatum’s recovery.

“Penda’s strong feel for the game and two-way impact, after a productive and well-rounded season in France, would make him an interesting sleeper target in this part of the draft. He offers excellent role-player traits as a smart decision-maker and defensive playmaker if he can make enough shots to earn NBA minutes. It remains to be seen what his availability will be for stateside workouts, with the Pro A season still ongoing.”

J. Kyle Mann and Danny Chau, The Ringer: Joan Beringer, Forward/Center, France

“Beringer might’ve been a nice alternative to play Mr. Fantastic had Pedro Pascal said no, because I can’t tell you how many times he reached into the frame to eradicate a shot at the rim when I was watching other international prospects this season. That said, any team will need to know going in that Beringer is a long-term investment—he ain’t ready to play yet. He’ll probably have to join the G League crew in Maine for the foreseeable future, but what better team to sculpt a block of clay like Beringer than a proven development program like Boston’s?”

Mitchell Robinson is an anomaly. The Knicks center is currently a backup who has never averaged double figures in scoring during his seven-year career.

In this year’s playoffs, Robinson’s 4.2 points and 6.8 rebounds are pedestrian at best. But when the center is on the floor, he is one of New York’s most important players.

As the Knicks start an Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Townswill get most of the attention. But Robinson’s play could propel New York to the NBA Finals for the first time in 26 years. That’s why he is the Knicks’ X-factor in the series.

In the second round against Boston, Robinson’s play was crucial. The seven-footer was a plus-46 in the series. His play made up for New York’s starting lineup, which was outscored by 9.5 points per 100 possessions against the Celtics in the six games.

Now, the Knicks face a tough opponent in the Pacers. After a 10-15 start to the season, Indiana went 40-17 over the final 57 regular season games and is 8-2 in the playoffs. The Pacers’ offense provides a significant amount of challenges for the Knicks -- Indiana ranks second in offensive efficiency during the postseason.

Where Robinson’s impact will be felt the most is on the defensive end. His ability to be a deterrent at the rim cleans up so much for New York’s defense. In 222 minutes with Robinson on the floor, the Knicks are allowing just 101.3 points per 100 possessions, which would rank first among all 16 playoff teams.

The Knicks can employ a drop coverage defending the pick-and-roll, but Robinson also showed at times that he can defend some perimeter players in isolation on switches. He’s also been able to cover a significant amount of ground, making him more than just a plodding rim-protector. There might be times we see Robinson switched on Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Monster on the glass

Robinson is limited offensively, but the havoc the 27-year old causes on the offensive glass could shape this series. The Pacers were 18th in defensive rebound rate during the regular season. The rebounding issue reared its ugly head in Indiana’s lone loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, when the Cavaliers had 18 offensive rebounds.

Robinson has feasted on offensive rebounds his whole career. In the Celtics series, he had 23 offensive caroms in 124 minutes. The big man draws so much attention from the opposition trying to box out, that it opens up extra opportunities for his teammates.

When Robinson was on the floor, the Knicks rebounded 40.2 percent of their misses. That’s a figure that would lead the NBA in both the regular season and the playoffs.

Both the Knicks and Pacers are low turnover teams. Robinson’s excellence in offensive rebounding can help New York win the possession battle and affect the pace of play. Indiana was seventh in pace during the regular season and ranks third in the playoffs.

If Indiana’s players place more effort to prevent Robinson from pursuing misses, the Pacers won’t be able to get out and run as easily.

Look for head coach Tom Thibodeau to go to lineups with both Towns and Robinson on the floor together. In 90 minutes during the playoffs, lineups with the two centers on the floor have outscored opponents by 14.8 points per 100 possessions, according to PBP Stats.

For the Knicks to defeat the Pacers, Robinson’s fingerprints will need to be all over the series as well as the basketballs he rebounds.

Do Steph, Warriors need more shooting after postseason struggles? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Offense often took a backseat in the fifth chapter of Steph Curry and the Warriors being the Houston Rockets’ Grim Reaper in the playoffs. 

A seven-game series featured four in which a team failed to score 100 points, and only two where a team scored more than 110 points. The Warriors were outscored in both those games. Physicality became the featured word for the series, far more often than anything that had to do with shooting. 

Sure, there were big scoring nights like Steph Curry’s two 30-point games, plus his 29 points in Game 6. Jimmy Butler’s 25 points in Game 1 and 27 in Game 4 – both wins – were huge. Buddy Hield was the story of Game 7, catching fire early for 33 points and nine threes. 

In the Rockets’ Game 5 and Game 6 wins, Fred VanVleet made a combined 10 threes, giving Golden State flashbacks of Game 6 in the 2019 Finals. But the Warriors knew if they could take care of the ball and force the Rockets into halfcourt offense, they liked their odds. The Rockets shot more accurately from the field in the first round than the series, 44.6 percent to 43.3 percent, and from 3-point range as well, 37.4 percent to 35.8 percent. 

The Warriors made just six more shots than the Rockets. The real difference was playing today’s game, taking 104 more threes than them and making 34 more. There was a 36-point difference from deep in Game 7 when the Warriors made three times as many threes as the Rockets, 18 to six.

Playing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round always was going to be a completely different challenge. 

“Look at Minnesota,” Steve Kerr said Friday at his final press conference of the season. “I thought we did a pretty decent job at times in the series of defending them, but they’ve got guys, both [Julius Randle] and [Anthony Edwards], who were able to break us down, and then all of a sudden they’re kicking out to three or four 3-point shooters, including a center in Naz Reid. That makes defense really, really tricky.” 

And then the Timberwolves proceeded to miss their first 16 threes in Game 1, right after bricking 17 consecutive in their Game 5 win against the Los Angeles Lakers. That was an anomaly, and the Timberwolves got an unfortunate confidence boost despite the Warriors opening the series with a win. The shift in shooting was about to be as evident as possible with Curry injured. 

The Timberwolves in the four games Curry missed, all four being wins for them, put up 136 threes, 17 more than the Warriors could get off. Minnesota made 20 more threes in those four games than Curry’s teammates, 58 to 38, and shot at a much better clip – 42.6 percent to 31.9 percent. Their guys weren’t just making shots, but were willing to even take them.

Reid’s ability to stretch the floor at 6-foot-9 and knock down threes has made him a Warriors problem for many years now. He isn’t alone. The Warriors were questioning if they needed to switch more to stay in front, chasing the Timberwolves’ shooters while searching for points themselves. 

The real questions were about the Warriors’ offense, looking not just like a shell of itself without Curry but a completely different system.

“Can we put more lineups together that can kind of feature both shot creation and shot-making and spacing?” Kerr asked. “It’s obviously a lot tougher to do than to say.” 

Looking in is the first step. The Warriors as they re-tool their roster around Curry, Butler and Draymond Green will have to ask if players like Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Quinten Post are trusted enough shooters. 

“Yeah, for sure it comes internally,” Kerr said. “We will continue to address that, and our players will continue to work on that. You see it, the modern game is about can you create shots, and then can you make shots? Can you surround those shot creators with spacing and at multiple positions? 

“That’s kind of the name of the game in the modern NBA.” 

Edwards led both sides with 19 threes. Reid made 10. The Timberwolves as a team, even with that historically bad Game 1 performance, attempted two more threes than the Warriors and made seven more. 

Curry played 13 minutes in the conference semifinals, scoring 13 points on five made shots and three 3-pointers. Podziemski only made four more threes than Curry all series, and that’s just because of the four he made in what was the season finale. Moody made four shots total in the series, and three 3-pointers, giving him five more points overall than Curry. Post was even more unplayable, and made two threes in the 26-plus minutes he was given. 

That’s also a trio that includes a second-year pro who starts in the Warriors’ backcourt and a rookie who wasn’t part of any preseason plans, but also a fourth-year pro (still 22 years old) who signed a three-year, $37.5 million contract extension last offseason. 

The playoffs weren’t perfect for Podziemski and Moody. It also has to be said that Podziemski shot 43.1 percent on threes the final 23 games of the regular season, all starts, and Moody was a 37.6 percent 3-point shooter over 48 games (30 starts) from the first of 2025 to the last of the regular season.

Next season, the Warriors’ starting five will begin with Curry, Butler and Green. Steph is the one real shooting threat. The other two around him, Podziemski and Moody or not, almost have to be for the Warriors to be up-to-date with the game.

Adding, subtracting and developing, the Warriors need more juice, understanding who they have and if it’s worth the squeeze.

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The waiting game? Five takeaways from Stevens' end-of-season debriefing originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

If you were hoping for hints on how the Boston Celtics might navigate a murky path forward, then Brad Stevens’ end-of-the-season debriefing provided little in the way of guidance.

Stevens opened his podium session by politely asking to table questions about roster construction, noting the team wanted to let things breathe a bit following a disappointing second-round exit. Cost-cutting changes are inevitable as the rent comes due for Banner 18. But Stevens wasn’t about to roll out the blueprint for what comes next.

So what did we actually learn about the team’s future? Here are five takeaways, including some nuggets from our exclusive chat with Stevens after his group session:

1. Celtics won’t rush Tatum’s Achilles rehab

The Celtics did not set a timeline for Jayson Tatum’s return to basketball activity after his Achilles surgery last week, and Stevens suggested that the team will err on the side of caution before Tatum is back on the court for an NBA game. 

“This is about full recovery,” Stevens said. “And helping him get back to feeling like himself ASAP. And ASAP can be as long as it takes.

“There is no timeline. There will be different steps along the way that we’ll then say, ‘OK, you can move on to the next step. You can move on to the next step.’ But, ultimately, I think that’s the most important thing. Let’s let this thing heal. Let’s rehab appropriately and it takes what it takes.”

Stevens offered appreciation for how quickly the team was able to get Tatum into surgery, and how being in New York allowed him to be operated on by Dr. Martin J. O’Malley — the same surgeon who did Kevin Durant’s Achilles repair — at the Hospital for Special Surgery,

Could Durant’s timeline offer a hint on Tatum’s recovery? Durant ruptured his Achilles in June of 2019. He sat out the entire 2019-20 season, including the pandemic Bubble restart. Durant returned to the court in December of 2020. Not rushing the process might have helped Durant come back looking much like his pre-injury self.

If Tatum were to sit out the entire 2025-26 season, his return at the start of the 2026-27 season would essentially be 17 months away from game action.

“We know he’s going to be stir crazy. He just loves basketball,” said Stevens. “He’d be stir crazy even though our season’s over and somebody else is playing. He hasn’t missed a summer of playing for [Team] USA since I can remember. The guy just loves to play. And so, yeah, that’s going to be hard for him and it’s going to be a challenge.

“I’m thankful we’re on the other side of the surgery and we are only up from here.”

2. Focus on apron, tax remains the top storyline

The big summer question as the Celtics chart a path forward is whether Boston will make moves with a goal of simply getting below the second apron, or whether the team might yearn to get out of the luxury tax entirely given the potential for a possible bridge season as Tatum recovers.

The Celtics are already $20 million north of the second apron line for next season, and that’s before deciding the future of free agents Al Horford and Luke Kornet. Asked in general how a GM might balance the penalties of the apron versus the tax, Stevens said his immediate focus will be on the apron, given the handcuffs it places on long-term roster building. 

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“I start with the basketball penalties part, which is the second apron, and then you weigh those against your chances of being a championship contender,” said Stevens, who got ahead of the curve by both acquiring and extending both Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in the summer of 2023.

Now, staring at not only a gaudy tax bill but limited in ways to tweak this roster, Celtics brass have acknowledged the inability to keep all their talent moving forward. 

But even if this core is overhauled, the Celtics like the potential with what should remain. 

“I think one of the best things that we have going for us is we have a lot of good players on good contracts,” said Stevens. “And guys that everybody knows, if we put all those guys out on the floor, you have a chance to win the next game, even without Jayson.

“It becomes a lot harder to be sustainably good without a guy of Jayson’s caliber, but I do think that we just have a lot of winners in our group. And so we’re lucky in that regard.”

3. C’s stung by missed opportunity

Stevens admitted there’s been a few restless nights in the aftermath of Boston’s second-round exit against the New York Knicks. The Celtics spent the season as favorites to repeat, and it hasn’t been easy to digest the early exit given the way the team fumbled away big leads in both Games 1 and 2 against New York. 

“Every year that you don’t end up on top it hurts, and especially when you have a great shot,” said Stevens. “Certainly it stings — we are all stung by it. But we’re all thankful for the journey that these guys did take us on. There’s work to do and that’s the way that you look at it when you’re in my shoes.”

Stevens was asked what he’d take from the past two seasons with this championship core, and even then he admitted it’s hard to get past the recent exit. 

“The loss stings way worse than the championship feels good,” said Stevens. “And that’s just the sick and twisted way I live.”

4. Vote of confidence for Mazzulla

Stevens repeatedly offered praise for third-year coach Joe Mazzulla and said the team is fortunate to have him as their coach. What guidance will Stevens given Mazzulla in the offseason?

“He did a good job,” said Stevens. “We love Joe and we’re glad he’s here. My thing with Joe will be the same as it is every year: We’ll see how [the roster] all shakes out, and then you’ll see what you can do to put everybody in the best position to go compete like hell.

“And that’s what we’re always going to try to do. We’ve got so many good players and so many good people that I trust that we’ll be in good shape.”

5. Eyes on NBA Draft, NIL impact

Asked to assess this year’s draft class, Stevens noted that the depth of this year’s available players could be impacted more by NIL money than any other in his tenure.

Stevens noted how the back half of the 2025 NBA Draft could be weakened if players elect to take lucrative NIL money that might be greater than what they can earn as an NBA rookie.

With his team slated to pick at No. 28 and No. 32, Stevens could have some interesting choices depending on which players elect to stay in the draft. If the talent pool is thinned, might the team try to shimmy up, or move out of the draft entirely in order to push those picks into more talent-filled drafts down the road?

Like the roster as a whole, we’ll have to wait for draft night for real answers.

Giannis remains intriguing, but Warriors seem committed to Butler originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Even as Giannis Antetokounmpo drops what some might consider subliminal hints on social media, logic dictates that the few remaining wishful thinkers dim their fantasies about him coming to the Warriors to join mutual admiration society member Stephen Curry.

Such a partnership was and is a longshot. Hope lingers because the ambition of Golden State’s front office is too infinite to dismiss the possibility.

But coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy both expressed the sentiment that the Warriors have no plans to indulge in star-chasing this summer because they already achieved that on Feb. 6 when they snagged Jimmy Butler III.

“Jimmy Butler is one of the best players in the NBA,” Kerr said. “You put him next to Steph, next to Draymond [Green)], you saw the results.”

In the 32 games beginning with Butler’s Feb. 8 debut until the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Warriors were 24-8. They were No. 1 in the NBA in defensive rating (109.0) and No. 9 in offensive rating at 118.2. Before acquiring Butler, Golden State was 10th in defensive rating (112.2) and 18th in offensive rating (111.8).

The Warriors were 29-21 in what the NBA defines as “clutch games,” those within five points inside the last five minutes. They were 16-16 in such games before Butler arrived, and 13-5 afterward.

Those dramatic improvements launched a late-season surge that convinced the franchise that its investment – giving a two-year contract extension worth $111 million – paid off now and will do so for the future.

“We made a big jump adding Jimmy Butler,” Dunleavy said. “This time last year I was probably concerned about our ability to have like a No. 2 guy. We went out this year, and we got that.”

“Now I feel better going into next season having a guy like Jimmy on our roster. We’ll build around that with him, Steph, Draymond, some of the other players we have.”

Antetokounmpo is on the table and, after another first-round playoff flameout, might be willing to part ways with the Milwaukee Bucks. Bringing him to Golden State, however, would require moving either Butler or Green – for salary purposes – in the process and parting with considerable future draft assets.

The thirst for appreciable improvement is much lower for the Warriors than it was in early February when they were straddling the .500 line. Ever vigilant, they approached the trade deadline expressing interest in Kevin Durant, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. Antetokounmpo was fully committed to keeping the Bucks a force in the Eastern Conference. He might have had an interest in going elsewhere, but the Bucks surely did not.

Please understand, it’s not that the Warriors wouldn’t love to have Antetokounmpo. They would. But the path to reach him, while not completely blocked, has enough barriers and requires enough retooling that Dunleavy and Kerr seem more comfortable with their current plan.

Butler’s name long had been on the big board in Dunleavy’s mind. With Jimmy’s divorce from the Miami Heat going from imminent to necessary for the safety of all parties, the price dropped, and the Warriors swooped in.

Butler was and is the Warriors’ big-game prey. Their finances – even as they contemplate Jonathan Kuminga’s future – make it difficult to make another such pursuit this summer. That is, unless they begin by parting with Green and the $25.9 million due to him next season, as well as his $27.7 million player option in 2026-27.

It’s unlikely despite the curious advice of former Warrior Gilbert Arenas, who on his “Gil’s Arena” podcast last month criticized Butler for not being more aggressive on offense and this week said Golden State should make Green and Butler, both 35, available in exchange for younger stars to join Curry.

“If I’m Golden State,” Arenas said, “I’m looking at, all right, Steph plays young. [I’d have] Steph, Kuminga and then let me throw in some more young boys. And then let Steph have his farewell tour. Then when he leaves, I’d have 23- to 24-year-olds and we’re going to be good.”

In short, blow it up. Never mind that Curry wants no part of a blow up. Never mind that nothing the Warriors are saying publicly indicates they’d even pencil out such a deal. Never mind that privately, it’s a “consider the source” giggler.

Dunleavy and Kerr are circling next season, and a massive offseason makeover would force a restart. They’re considering tweaks that fortify the talent around the three vets, believing that and a training camp with Butler would be enough to make them a contender next season.

“All the data supports that,” Kerr said of Butler’s impact. “The offensive rating, the defensive rating, the impact on other players, what Brandon [Podziemski] and Moses [Moody] did. What [Quinten Post] did after we got Jimmy. The game just made sense again when we got Jimmy.

“He comes back next year, and we get Steph healthy, we feel like we can pick up where we left off. We definitely have to make some improvement both internally just with the way we’re doing things as a staff, and also roster-wise can we find a little more balance? I’m really excited about next year.”

Kerr, Dunleavy as well, would be excited about Antetokounmpo, too. It’s still an appealing thought. Less appealing to them would be a rebuild that like would leave Curry the only holdover from their glory years.

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