Most Warriors fans wouldn’t be thrilled if you had told them before this past season that Golden State made the NBA play-in tournament, but missed the playoffs.<\/p>\n
However, if you told them that practically all of the team’s stars missed a chunk of the season due to injury, they might change their tune a tad. Steph Curry<\/a> played in just 43 games, Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is logged just 15 appearances and Jimmy Butler<\/a> was limited to 38 games after tearing his ACL<\/a>.<\/p>\n When speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Pool and Bonta Hill, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. revealed that the team doesn’t yet have a clear timetable for Butler, but they still expect him to be a productive player.<\/p>\n “I do think when Jimmy returns, depending on his load that he can carry the amount of minutes, I do think he’ll be a very good player based on the way he plays,” Dunleavy said. “The two best things about him are his mind and his physicality, and you don’t lose that with a hurt knee.”<\/p>\n Despite aging typically being viewed as a negative in sports, Dunleavy, who enjoyed a prosperous 15-year NBA career, revealed that Butler’s age (36) already has helped him adapt to no longer being a top-tier athlete.<\/p>\n “He’s adjusted well as he’s aged already on the athleticism front, and I think that’ll be no different,” Dunleavy told Poole and Hill. “It’s just, we got to get him back when we can.”<\/p>\n Before going down with the injury, Butler was averaging 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.<\/p>\n Luckily for the Warriors, they were able to snag a couple of productive wings in this week’s 2026 NBA Draft, landing both Michigan All-American Yaxel Lendeborg<\/a> and Florida State two-way wing Lajae Jones<\/a>. With Butler and Moses Moody both having to miss time due to knee injuries, the rookies might have to grow up quickly.<\/p>\n