Technically speaking, a little less than three months remain of the Golden State Warriors' 2025-26 NBA season. Effectively speaking, though, the curtains crashed down on their campaign as soon as Jimmy Butler was lost to an ACL tear. The Dubs are drawing dead at this point, particularly if a (heartless, business-driven) Jimmy Butler trade is truly off the table.
The hope, of course, is that some superstar suddenly falls in their laps, but not every available star is worth pursuing. For instance, Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh pitched a proposed deal on The Big Number podcast that would send out Butler, Jonathan Kuminga and a boatload of picks for coveted trade target Trey Murphy III and former Warrior Kevon Looney, but also—and here's the real kicker—Zion Williamson.
As desperate as the Butler-less Warriors appear (and are), they can't let themselves reach the "Maybe we can be the ones to solve Zion's injury issues" levels of desperation.
A costly gamble on Zion Williamson would almost certainly bust.
I wish I could get behind this idea, because Williamson clearly has a ton of offensive talent, and Stephen Curry clearly doesn't have enough offensive talent around him. But this takes tempting fate to an entirely new, disastrously dangerous degree.
If you really wanted to, you could stare at Williamson's production (21.9 points on 58.2 percent shooting and 3.4 assists) and really want those numbers alongside Curry. (Without Butler, Williamson would easily be their second-best scorer and perhaps third-best table-setter.)
But those aren't the numbers that should hold the Warriors' focus. Here's one that should: 244, as in the games Williamson has played since the New Orleans Pelicans made him the first pick of the 2019 draft. If that sounds like a big number, it shouldn't. Because New Orleans has played 518 games over this stretch, meaning Williamson has suited up in just 47.1 percent of them.
Need another number to digest? How about zero, as in the number of playoff games Williamson has under his belt. The Pelicans have at least twice reached the playoffs during his tenure (losing in the opening round both times), but he wasn't available for either trip.
The ice cream machine at McDonald's calls Williamson unreliable. He's played fewer career games than Jabari Smith Jr., Keegan Murray and Christian Braun—members of the 2022 draft class.
Forget about the long-term concerns tied to Williamson's ability to hold up to his build, bulk, and explosive style of play; the Warriors would have present concerns about whether he'd be available one night to the next. Oh, and he might not even be a fit for this system. Spacing might be impossible to manage with him slotting alongside Draymond Green. And would Williamson, who has often monopolized touches in New Orleans, be on board filling an off-ball role in this read-and-react offense?
Everything about this possibility screams, "Stay the heck away." If the Warriors' front office has ever debated going this route, hopefully the conversation didn't last any longer than the roars of laughter this suggestion should have elicited.