Mock trade scenarios offered after Warriors' Jimmy Butler suffers torn ACL

Cbssports reports the Golden State Warriors now face a "Jimmy Butler problem" after Butler suffered a torn ACL; in their first full game without him they lost by 18 at home to the Toronto Raptors as Toronto scored 145 points, leaving the Warriors' season and several following years suddenly on the brink.

With Butler, Golden State had been the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and not a true title contender. The team now must navigate life without its second-best player while $54.1 million on this year's books goes unused and a sizable portion of next year's $56.8 million would sit idle. The article lays out five mock trades to address that salary slot, ranging from a swap for Zach LaVine to proposals centered on Anthony Davis (including versions that involve LeBron James), a Joel Embiid trade, and an extreme "nuclear" scenario that imagines moving Stephen Curry.

The column emphasizes those ideas are creative and often unrealistic — trading a supermax contract typically requires unusual constructions — and warns that doing nothing or only minor moves would likely leave the Warriors disadvantaged. ESPN's Marc Spears has reported Golden State doesn't want to add salary, a detail the piece notes could make many proposals moot; it remains unknown which, if any, of the mock deals will be pursued.

Key Topics

Sports, Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, Zach Lavine, Anthony Davis