The Golden State Warriors are extremely confident they could have contended for the title if Stephen Curry was healthy.
Curry suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 1 of the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors proceeded to lose the next four games in a row. Even one win would have opened the door for Curry return in Game 6. It wasn’t to be.
Jimmy Butler is said to have battled an illness in Games 4 and 5. He was also playing through the pain of a pelvic contusion suffered in the first round against the Houston Rockets. Without Batman and with a diminished Robin, the Wolves took full control.
“Don’t even have to think what [if],” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance.
“Maybe we wouldn’t have, but it doesn’t matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time?”
Upon acquiring Butler, Draymond Green had predicted the Warriors would go on to win the championship.
“I think I still have that belief, wholeheartedly,” Green said Wednesday night. “That has not changed one bit. And you retool, you do whatever it is that you got to do to take that next step and give yourself a better chance.”
Minnesota now awaits the winner of the other Western Conference Semifinal between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. Oklahoma City leads the series 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. EST.
Butler Acquisition Keeps Contention In Play
Looking ahead to next season, there is reason to believe the Warriors can be among the inner circle of contenders.
Golden State was 25-26 before the Butler acquisition and finished 23-8 the rest of the way. Over the latter 31 games, the team finished with the league’s best defensive rating.
Butler believes a whole training camp and full season together can only make the Warriors better. What that team looks like next season is in question, though.
Will Warriors Retool For Next Season?
Among the rotation players who will be free agents are Jonathan Kuminga (restricted), Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney, Gui Santos and Quinten Post.
Team 24: The Golden St. Warriorshttps://t.co/d5wRSm0GaN pic.twitter.com/HwbGmBnpNZ
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 15, 2025
Both Santos and Post figure to return next season, having been on two-way contracts and being inexpensive to bring back. Payton II and Looney will present some interesting questions for the Warriors front office as to whether there’s a pathway to an upgrade.
Kuminga looms as the most intriguing piece, one who will garner attention from opposing teams and didn’t regularly figure into Kerr’s rotation until Curry’s injury.
He thoroughly impressed in those games and other teams will certainly take note of that.
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