It was always a sensitive situation, the “GET STEPH SOME HELP BEFORE WE ALL DIE” argument.
For starters: Yeah, sure, it would be awesome if Steph Curry and the Warriors were loaded to the gills every year with clones of prime Kevin Durant, prime Andre Iguodala and prime Shaun Livingston. Who wouldn’t want that?
But as I learned in my childhood from my very wise father whenever I clamored and whined for something I wanted: “People in hell want ice water, Bri.”
It doesn’t always work, this wave-a-wand-and-give-Steph-a-top-5-teammate thing, unless you’re Rob Pelinka in a swanky leather jacket.
So while we were told Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy worked hard to try and land Paul George or Lauri Markannen in the offseason, and while that seemed admirable, we were also told that said deals would involve trading Jonathan Kuminga and/or Brandin Podziemski and/or Moses Moody.
And that’s where I had pause.
Yes, yes, it would be wonderful to make one final tilt at the windmill with Steph, however quixotic.
But I wasn’t super sold on selling off all the wares to do so.
Truth told, if Steph Curry’s final three years played out without a championship, my satisfaction level would still rev around 5,000 percent (on a scale of 1-to-100) for the Steph Curry Era. Having lived a little, I understand that you don’t always get to be champs. And that dynasties end, as I was just saying to my good pal Marco Scutaro on a FaceTime the other day.
The young bucks on social media didn’t like that answer. GET STEPH HELP BEFORE WE DIE OR TURN 30, WHICHEVER IS WORSE, they screamed on social. It seemed impudent to this graybeard. After all, Kobe Bryant played out his last NBA years on terrible teams and no one thinks of Kobe as anything but the 21st century’s pre-eminent force.
It happens, and it’s OK.
And then! Jimmy Butler!
And they kept Kuminga! And Podz! And Moody!
And I think the Warriors found a happy solution.
Jimmy Butler, even at age 35 and damaged a bit from his blood feud with Pat Riley (free advice: never get into a blood feud with Pat Riley), is the kind of help that sates even the most ardent GET STEPH SOME HELP BEFORE WE DIE fan. “Jimmy Buckets” is a handle most any hoop fan can get behind. “Playoff Jimmy” is about as high a compliment as one can get, as nicknames go.
Shout out “Mr. October” as the king of those nicknames, by the way.
So it appears owner Joe Lacob and Dunleavy have threaded the needle, even without landing big fish Kevin Durant. (That’s a whole ‘nother topic.) While trading away Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick — and a slew of other names — was the price of business, Lacob and Dunleavy have GIVEN STEPH HELP and kept the young pieces for that mysterious land called 2028 and beyond. Plus, their financials will be clear for shopping sprees about then.
There is a possibly sticky situation with Kuminga’s impending restricted free agency, but let’s cross that bridge in the Bridge Club at Chase when we get to it. And Butler’s style of shot-creating offense does not easily mesh with the motion that Curry and Steve Kerr like to run. This is life. Nothing easy.
The positives appear to outweigh the negatives, particularly for the fan base.
I had preached patience for the first half of the season, waiting to see what “Strength In Numbers 2.0” would yield. A 12-3 start had me chuffed. The ensuing 35 games, not so much. (See Warriors at Jazz, Feb. 5, 2025 for further reading).
So I’m with you all now. It’s ok to GET STEPH SOME HELP, after all.
And now we can all stop yelling on social media. The Warriors made the move. The rest is up to Jimmy getting buckets, which apparently he can do, based on the nickname and all.