SALT LAKE CITY — If the locker room temper after the Warriors’ 131-128 collapse to the Jazz was somber, think about how darkish it was earlier than the sport.
About an hour earlier than tipoff, Steve Kerr summoned his complete crew into the customer’s locker room and kicked the media out. He reminded the crew concerning the enterprise of the NBA and supplied them an opportunity to say goodbye to Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III — all of whom have been despatched out within the pending commerce that netted disgruntled Warmth star Jimmy Butler.
“It was bitter,” Kevon Looney mentioned postgame. “As a player, those guys, you’re with them every day. They become like your family. When teammates get traded right before a game when you’re trying to get ready for a game, it’s always tough. It’s always sad.”
The Warriors understand how the league works. It’s important to quit one thing to get one thing. The price of Butler arriving to pry open a rivalry window from now by way of 2027 was Wiggins, veterans and a protected first-round decide (probably on this upcoming draft).
The departure of Wiggins particularly hit laborious throughout the locker room partitions. A hero within the 2022 title run, Wiggins, nonetheless solely 29, reached his profession peak as a Warrior. He made an All-Star crew, stretched the boundaries of his recreation and rose to the event within the NBA Finals.
Wiggins was one in every of Steve Kerr’s all-time favourite gamers to educate. He was beloved amongst teammates, a quiet, regular, family-oriented presence. An unselfish participant prepared to cede shot makes an attempt and glory in Golden State’s system, Wiggins embodied the tradition of the late-stage Warriors dynasty.
“What he meant to our team and our franchise, to help us climb the mountaintop again back in ’22, he changed a lot for us for the better,” Steph Curry mentioned. “I hope his experience with us changed a lot for him as well. He’s got a lot of basketball left in him, obviously.”
Now, all of the Warriors can do is hope he thrives in Miami each night time besides when the Warmth play Golden State.
“You develop these relationships with guys, they give you everything and commit to the team,” mentioned Kerr, shaken from each the loss and the circumstances. “They’ve got families. Wiggs just had a baby boy last week. Girls in school… Just a beautiful soul. Wonderful human being. We don’t hang that banner in ’22 without him. Everything he brings every day, the laughter, the smile, the joy. Just a wonderful human being. I’m going to miss him.”
Kerr known as Anderson the “ultimate pro.” Identical with Schroder, traded twice this season now and can now need to relocate his household — who moved right into a home within the Bay final week — once more.
Kerr urged that the league transfer the commerce deadline to the All-Star break to keep away from such conditions. The Warriors ultimately gained their composure in opposition to the Jazz, however misplaced it in a special method whereas surrendering 20 factors within the final three minutes of the sport, blowing a double-digit lead.
“It definitely messed up a lot of guys’ routines,” Looney mentioned. “Messed up the whole vibe of the game.”
The Warriors have had largely quiet deadlines over the previous decade. That’s what occurs while you win 4 NBA championships and are perennial contenders. However nights like Wednesday occur within the league across the commerce deadline, with frenzied transactions upending households across the 28 NBA cities. It’s the enterprise each NBA participant signed up for.
And it’s the identical enterprise that would usher in a brand new period. Butler, who reportedly inked a two-year, $121 million extension upon his commerce to Golden State, will probably be a part of the crew earlier than the All-Star break.
A six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA participant, Butler, 35, tasks to be the kind of No. 2 possibility the Warriors have been trying to find to pair with Curry. He led Miami to 2 NBA Finals as an elite playoff performer.
The Warriors have been in a position to purchase him with out emptying their chest of future belongings — draft or younger gamers — due to the way in which he stormed out of Miami.
The Warmth suspended Butler thrice this season, together with a closing, indefinite suspension, for a continued sample of conduct detrimental to the crew, disregard of crew guidelines and deliberately withholding service. He missed a crew flight and walked out of a number of shootarounds.
“We know who Jimmy is,” Curry mentioned. “Two Finals, he’s a winner. Understand there’s a lot of drama down there. Who really knows what the story is? We expect to have a motivated, committed Jimmy who’s ready to impact our team for the better.”
Curry and Butler texted at halftime of the Warriors’ loss and Golden State’s celebrity mentioned he’s excited to work along with his new teammate. Curry didn’t get a lot of an opportunity to course of the transfer due to its timing, however is aware of issues will look completely different with Butler within the fold.
Butler isn’t a lot of an outdoor shooter, however his high-IQ passing, chopping and playmaking with the ball ought to match properly with the Warriors. He can play with or with out the ball, and at his greatest is as feared as anybody within the league in a playoff collection.
Butler does two issues the Warriors sorely lack: end on the rim and get to the foul line. Curry mentioned he plans to observe a variety of Miami movie to grasp the units he efficiently ran and see how he can transition into the Warriors’ playbook.
The five-time all-league defender additionally usually performs heavy minutes. That needs to be useful, because the Warriors are shifting from a depth crew to at least one that must settle into an eight- or nine-man rotation.
“I think the biggest thing is it just creates expectations, which I love,” Curry mentioned. “I want to be in that kind of environment. Whether you get it done or not, that is meaningful basketball that we all love and thrive in. I think we’re all going to be up for the challenge.”
At .500, the Warriors have work to do to get to a real playoff collection. They’re in eleventh place after the Utah loss, three video games again of the sixth seed.
With Butler, the Warriors may have an opportunity to make a run this 12 months and the subsequent two. Butler’s contract is aligned with that of Curry and Draymond Inexperienced, opening up a 2.5-year window with these three entrance and middle.
“The plan was to try to position ourselves to be better than we were and have a legitimate chance to be relevant at the top of the West,” Curry mentioned.
“We have a lot of work to do. It is a situation where we can hopefully close some of the gap down the stretch of this season, get into a playoff series, roll the dice and see what happens. But knowing next year you have a plan of what you’re trying to do and he’ll be in the locker room to do it. That is exciting to have a little bit of clarity, for sure.”
Initially Printed: February 5, 2025 at 10:40 PM PST
