Warriors Could Follow James Harden's Lead with Jimmy Butler Decision

Among the Golden State Warriors' biggest question marks this season is Jimmy Butler's form once he returns from his torn ACL.

If the Warriors can hang around in the standings and get a good-as-old Butler about halfway through the season, they would have a great chance for a second-half push into the playoffs.

Heavy.com's Sean Deveney wrote "there is hope" Butler will return this calendar year. A late-December return would be sooner than most have been expecting.

Regardless of when Butler returns, the Warriors will have an interesting upcoming contract decision with the six-time All-Star.

Butler has a $56.8 million expiring contract this season. The Warriors can let him walk or sign him to a deal with a cheaper average annual value.

Deveney wrote that Butler could be motivated to prove he's worth a contract similar to the one James Harden agreed to with the Cavaliers recently.

Warriors Could Use Harden Contract in Butler Negotiations

Harden, who turns 37 in three days, agreed to a three-year, $97 million contract with a player option in the third year. That puts his average annual value at $32.3 million.

Butler turns 37 years old in September, making him about a year older than Harden. If the Warriors use Harden's deal as a guide, they'd have no reason to offer Butler more than Harden got. Aside from being younger, Harden hasn't had a major injury in recent years, and they are similarly rated players when healthy.

Deveney noted that the Warriors can offer Butler a contract extension in the second half of the 2026-27 season. One would think the Dubs would take this decision to the 2027 offseason, but if Butler looks great immediately following his ACL return, it's possible they get it done during the season.

How a Harden Contract for Butler Would Fit into 2027 Offseason Plan

The Warriors are in position to have spending power in the 2027 offseason. Even if Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton exercise their player options, the Dubs would have just $44 million committed to six players if they release Kristaps Porzingis.

The salary cap for the 2027-28 season is projected to be $174 million. Suffice to say, the Warriors would have max contract space.

But a huge chunk of that money will likely be going to Stephen Curry.

The two-time MVP will be eligible for a contract extension on August 29. If he signed a max extension, his first-year salary would be $65.7 million.

If Curry signed a max extension and Butler got the contract Harden did, the Warriors would be about $35 million under the salary-cap line (before accounting for what they do with Brandin Podziemski), which would take them out of the sweepstakes for the potential top-tier free agents like Nikola Jokic (if he actually makes it to free agency).

With how infrequently the top-tier players are reaching free agency, the Warriors shouldn't be banking on signing one of them with cap space anyway.

A more realistic plan is to ask Curry to take a small pay cut, ask Butler to take something like what Harden got and use the remaining cap space to get multiple rotation players who make the roster younger and more talented.

I'd rather see the Warriors eat into that cap space by making a trade for someone like Trey Murphy III this season, giving themselves a better chance to make a 2027 playoff run and not taking Curry's late-career wizardry for granted.

The Dubs don't know how much longer Curry will be an elite player, and waiting an entire year just to see what they can get with cap space could backfire.

Add us as a preferred source on Google