As if the pressure wasn't already high on Golden State, the Warriors are faced with an extreme decision to make in the weeks before the NBA's trade deadline.
After Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending knee injury, how do the Warriors bring in another All-Star to play alongside Stephen Curry, when Curry himself might be their best trade asset?
MORE:Warriors change Jonathan Kuminga plan after 16-game exodus
Though Golden State has been hoping to trade forward Jonathan Kuminga for weeks, general manager Mike Dunleavy revealed Tuesday that "demand" for the former lottery pick barely exists.
It's far from an ideal situation for the Warriors, who had won 12 of 16 games before Butler went down with a torn right ACL -- and before the Toronto Raptors blew them out, 145-127, on Tuesday night.
The Warriors' path forward may be to trade Butler and avoid his $57 million cap hit for next season, which he will likely spend recovering from injury.
Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley has proposed that the Warriors ship Butler to the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster deal for Anthony Davis, a star-level big man with championship experience and a Hall of Fame resume:
Warriors receive: Anthony Davis
Mavericks receive: Jimmy Butler, 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected), 2028 first-round pick
In this trade, Davis would become Curry's new co-star when he returns from a ligament injury in his left hand, a process that could be resolved in a matter of weeks. For Dallas the appeal is obvious: after this year, the Mavericks do not control their own first-round draft pick until 2031, so acquiring picks from Golden State would allow them to build out around Cooper Flagg for the next few years.
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