These Are Not The Same Golden State Warriors

Do you agree with Stephen Curry? Is he the greatest point guard of all time? To me, yes he is. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter God has ever created. You don't let go of Steph Curry if you are the owner of the Warrior of the Golden State Warriors. Golden State won only 37 games while Stephen Curry was more efficient than he was during the Curry averaged 26.6 points on 63.7% true shooting. The Warriors added Jimmy Butler and went 23 wins and 8 losses after his debut. Then Curry, Butler and Moses Moody suffered major injuries and that path disappeared. But injuries do not explain everything. The championship teams could survive a broken possession or a missing player. This version needs almost every dependency to hold. The separation begins with Curry's workload and the possession after he gets trapped. It continues with a defense that no longer protects every difficult shooting night. It ends with the front office, where every proposed rescue costs pieces needed to make it work. Golden State has not abandoned Curry. Its bet is narrower. Preserve the future, wait for the right star and hope the current core stays healthy until one appears. The question is whether Curry's championship window can wait as long as the Warriors' plan. If you like basketball stories that go beyond the result and explain what is actually happening on the floor, like and subscribe. Because before we judge whether Golden State's plan can work, we have to start with the player the entire plan still depends on. Curry returned in April after missing 27 games with pain and bone bruising in his right knee. He scored 29 points against Houston. 10 days later, facing elimination against the Clippers, he scored 35. 27 came after halftime. When the Clippers' center stayed back, Curry pulled up. When extra pressure came, Draymond Green slipped behind it. On one fourth-quarter possession, Curry approached Green as if setting an inverted screen. Green handed the ball back, the defense hesitated, and Curry drew a four-point play. Two nights later, Phoenix held him to 17 points on 4 of 16 shooting, and Golden State's season ended. Together, those games showed the problem. Curry can still reach a championship level, but Golden State needs him to reproduce it every 48 hours. His burden is not measured only in minutes. He sprints through screens, reverses direction, relocates after passing, and sometimes becomes the screener. Golden State went 24-19 when Curry played, and 13-26 when he did not. Its offense produced roughly 9 more points per 100 possessions in his appearances. Other factors matter, but the pattern is clear. Curry's skill did not disappear. Golden State's access to it became less reliable. Even when Curry is available, his gravity only begins the possession. Imagine him coming around a green screen. Two defenders move toward Curry, so he passes to Green near the free-throw line. Golden State now has 4 offensive players attacking 3 defenders. That is the first advantage. Green still has to locate the next defender, and a teammate must cut, shoot, or drive before the defense recovers. That second decision determines whether Curry's gravity becomes a basket. Earlier Warriors teams had several players who could complete that sequence. The current team can lose the opening through hesitation, an unnecessary pass, or a reluctant shooter. Playoff defenses exploit that uncertainty. They can top-lock Curry to deny his route to the 3-point line, switch the screen, blitz him, or help away from Golden State's weakest shooter. Those coverages do not completely stop Curry. They move the decision somewhere else. Golden State finished 27th in turnover rate and committed 20 turnovers in each play-in game. Curry and Green accounted for 15 of them. A live ball turnover removes a shot and forces an older team to defend before Green can organize the matchups. Using 43 starting lineups made that harder. So who creates when Curry rests, and who completes the possession after the defense takes him away? That is why Butler mattered. Golden State acquired Butler in February 2025, surrendered Andrew Wiggins, rotation pieces, and draft compensation, then gave Butler a two-year, $121 million extension. The Warriors finished 23-8 after his debut. Curry scored 37, and Butler 38 against Memphis, before Golden State eliminated second-seeded Houston in seven games. Butler changed the offense because he did not need to imitate Curry. He could receive the ball near the baseline, back down a smaller defender and force help from the paint. If the low defender moved toward him, a cutter opened behind the defense. If help came from the free throw line, Butler passed outside. If nobody helped, he attacked the rim. That gave Golden State a controlled possession when the motion offense stalled. It also allowed Curry to become the spacer or cutter instead of creating and finishing every action. The partnership never received a complete postseason test. In Game 1 against Minnesota, Curry scored 13 points in roughly 13 minutes, before straining his left hamstring. Golden State won 99-88, then lost 4 straight and was outscored by 56 points over the remaining 225 minutes. The following season, Golden State went 23-15 with Butler, then he tore his right ACL. Moody's later patellar tendon injury removed another needed wing. Butler showed that a second creator could reduce Curry's burden. His injury also revealed how quickly the plan collapsed, when one essential piece disappeared. If you enjoy breakdowns that connect roster decisions to what actually happens on the floor, like and subscribe. Because Butler's injury did more than remove a second creator. It exposed another problem Golden State used to be able to hide. The injuries explain much of the collapse. They also expose the defensive protection that no longer existed underneath the offense. The 2021-22 Warriors ranked 17th offensively but first defensively. In 2025-26, they ranked 18th on offense and 17th on defense. The scoring environments were different, but the lost margin is obvious. The championship defense gave Curry room for an inefficient quarter. Perimeter defenders delayed the first drive, wings switched and recovered, and Green organized the final rotation. The current defense asks Green to solve several problems at once. A guard gets beaten, Green helps. Another warrior covers his assignment. The next rotates toward the corner, and somebody still has to rebound. Green shot 32.6% from three last season. So opponents can also help away from him when Golden State uses another reluctant shooter. The old Warriors had layers. Another creator, an elite defense, or a settled lineup could rescue a possession. The current Warriors have dependencies. Golden State tried to address those dependencies by trading Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Heald to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis gives Curry a different screen partner. If the center drops, Curry can pull up. If he pressures Curry, Porzingis can pop or roll. If the defense switches, Porzingis must punish the smaller player. Against the Clippers, Porzingis produced 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Late in the game, he looked ready to shoot from the perimeter, saw Curry cut behind the defense, and delivered a bounce pass for a layup. The possibilities are easy to see. The lineup itself barely exists. Curry and Porzingis played only about 31 combined minutes across the regular season, and the Clippers play-in. Butler and Porzingis have never played together for Golden State. Porzingis has played 57,042 and 32 regular season games over the last 3 years. Butler and Moody are also recovering from major injuries. A bigger front court does not automatically fix the defense or survive every playoff matchup. The roster contains possible solutions, not a proven 5-man answer. That uncertainty leads directly to the front office. Golden State finished 37-45, 12 games behind the West's sixth seed. One secondary star may not have closed that distance. Giannis Antetokounmpo preferred Miami. Boston reportedly wanted four first-round picks and a swap for Jalen Brown. Anthony Davis was unavailable, and LeBron James chose Philadelphia. That is why make a trade is not a complete plan. Golden State must weigh the incoming player against the outgoing depth, draft picks, and second-apron spending restrictions. The Warriors already took one major swing with Butler. Spending several more first-round picks on the wrong player could create an older, more expensive middle seed with no second move available. Patience preserves another chance. It also spends something the Warriors cannot recover. Another year of elite Curry. Curry, Butler, and Green have roughly $147 million in combined salary expiring after 2026-27. That creates flexibility, not guaranteed cap space. Curry wants to finish his career with the Warriors and has not requested a trade. Golden State appears to have set a high threshold, sacrificed the remaining future only for a player who materially changes the championship calculation. That approach can still fail. Butler must recover, Porzingis must stay available, the defense must improve and a worthwhile trade must appear. And Curry must still be Curry when those pieces finally align. The Warriors did not finish with only 37 wins because Curry stopped being Curry. They finished there because the team around him could no longer absorb everything that went wrong. That is why injuries matter without explaining everything. The championship teams had layers. This team has conditions. Butler must recover, Porzingis must stay available, the defense must improve, the worthwhile trade must appear. And Curry must still be Curry when those pieces finally align. If that happens, Golden State's patience may look disciplined. If it does not, the Warriors will have spent another elite Curry season protecting assets that become more valuable after his prime. So imagine they reach the 2027 trade deadline around .500. Butler is healthy enough to close games, but no clear All-NBA player is available. Would you trade multiple first-round picks for the best available two-way wing? Or keep them and accept that this may not be a championship season? Tell me which player you would target, like the video and subscribe if you want the film Curry can still be the best player in a playoff game, the decision is whether Golden State can give him a team that does not always need him to be.