Steve Kerr Reveals Warriors' Trade Deadline Plan After Butler's Injury

The Golden State Warriors are reeling after Jimmy Butler tore his ACL, but they say they have no intention of making a big move to try to replace him.

Steve Kerr revealed the Warriors' plan on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs show on Wednesday.

"We're still going for it, still trying to win every night, but this not a case where we're going to start selling off assets. That's not the plan. That's for sure. We think we can be really competitive and play at a high level, so that's the plan."

If this is truly the Warriors' trade deadline plan, fans can kiss a Michael Porter Jr.-like trade goodbye.

Golden State got blown out in its first game without Butler, losing 145-127 to the Raptors. So it's up for debate if the team "can be really competitive" without a significant move.

Will Kerr Be Back Next Season?

Kerr is in the last season of his contract, and The Ringer's Logan Murdock reported Wednesday that "multiple [Warriors] assistant coaches have been operating under the premise that he will not return next season."

Kerr said in December that he would never leave Steph Curry, but if he did after this season, you could hardly blame him.

The Warriors are likely to keep Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline—after all, they'd probably have to give up draft assets to trade him, which they apparently won't do—and he's not likely to be ready for the beginning of next season.

Curry will be 38 when next season starts, and Draymond Green will be 36. Green is already showing signs of decline. Curry has somehow fought off Father Time to this point, but he won't fight it off forever.

The Warriors don't have a single young player who has star potential. They have several decent role players, but no one currently on the roster is capable of a huge star turn in the next few months that changes the trajectory of Golden State for the 2026-27 season.

And though this is purely speculation, Kerr must be tired of the Jonathan Kuminga saga and how Joe Lacob and the front office have kept him around at least a year longer than they should have.

How Does Kerr's Comments Impact Kuminga?

The Warriors can easily trade Kuminga without "selling off assets," but it will be hard to get anything valuable for him without a draft asset attached.

I'm taking Kerr's quote at face value. They have no plan to trade any future first-round pick in the next two weeks, which means any Kuminga trade would not be too exciting.

At this point, it's impossible to predict whether the Warriors will keep him past the trade deadline. On the one hand, I can't imagine Kerr and Mike Dunleavy want to keep a player who demanded a trade a week ago. Rewarding a player whose effort has waned based on his playing time isn't good business.

However, the Warriors are suddenly an ideal place for Kuminga to get minutes. They have a serious lack of wing depth, and they won't be competing for a title this season. It's a perfect situation for Kuminga to keep developing.

So to answer the subheadline question, I'm not sure Kerr's quote directly impacts Kuminga's situation. Even if they don't make a big swing, they could still trade him. Your guess is as good as mine.