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The Warriors view midseason addition of Jimmy Butler as a big move for next season

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The Warriors view midseason addition of Jimmy Butler as a big move for next season
Sport

Sport

The Warriors view midseason addition of Jimmy Butler as a big move for next season

2025-05-17 06:34 Last Updated At:06:41

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Golden State Warriors head into the offseason following a second-round playoff exit having already made their biggest move to boost the roster for 2025-26.

A midseason trade for Jimmy Butler sparked a late-season surge that carried the Warriors on a successful run that came to an abrupt end after star Stephen Curry's injured hamstring led to four straight losses to Minnesota.

The hope for Golden State now is that a full season with Butler alongside Curry and Draymond Green will give coach Steve Kerr the core he needs to compete in the ultra-tough Western Conference.

“I think we made a big jump adding Jimmy Butler,” general manager Mike Dunleavy said Friday. “This time last year I was probably concerned about our ability to have like a No. 2 guy. We went out this year, we got that, and now I feel better going into next season having a guy like Jimmy on our roster. ... I just overall feel like we’re in much better shape right now than we were a year ago. We’ll keep chipping away at this thing. As long as Steph, Draymond, Steve as well as our coach, as long as they’ve still got their fastball, we’re going to keep pursuing titles.”

The addition of Butler from Miami made an immediate impact for the Warriors. They were 25-26 when he made his debut in February and the team posted a 27-8 record overall in the regular season, play-in tournament and playoffs when both Butler and Curry were in the lineup.

That had the Warriors believing they could make another title run before Curry went down with a hamstring injury in a Game 1 win against the Timberwolves.

Golden State then lost the next four games and couldn't extend the series long enough for Curry to return as the team lacked enough options on offense without its best player.

“He’s our sun. This is the solar system, he’s our sun. You’re not going to duplicate Steph any time soon,” Kerr said. “So any talk of do we need to change our offensive system, to me is kind of laughable. ... It’s like what we’ve done has been incredibly powerful. Steph is, again, one of the all time greatest players, playing at the peak of his power still, I think, or very close to it. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. Anything else would be a disservice to our team.”

The big questions this offseason are filling out the roster around the big three stars with the biggest unknown being the status of Jonathan Kuminga.

Kuminga had a promising start to the season before being sidelined by an ankle injury for 31 games. The team added Butler during his absence and Kuminga struggled to fit in when he returned and played only sparingly — if at all — in the playoffs before Curry got hurt.

Kuminga averaged 24.3 points in the final four games, showing the ability that could make him an attractive target for other teams when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer.

The Warriors have the right to match any offer sheet he signs but could opt to seek a sign and trade and use Kuminga as a chip to fill other holes with players who fit in better with Curry, Butler and Green. Kerr described Kuminga's situation late in the season as “square peg, round hole.”

“All in all, he’s a guy who’s got a lot of talent and a lot of ability,” Kerr said. “Still growing, still raw in many ways, but a lot of what we have to figure out is roster construction and the combination. Basketball is always a five-man game, and combinations were tricky. They just were.”

The other major need for the Warriors is adding more shooters to space the floor and more size throughout the lineup both to be better against bigger perimeter players and to have a bigger defensive presence that allows Green to play power forward rather than center like he did late in the season.

“I don’t want to start next season with Draymond as our starting 5,” Kerr said. “I think it’s doable for the last 30 games like we did this year, but you see the toll it takes on him. He’s talked about it too.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga speaks during a news conference at the NBA basketball team's facility in San Francisco, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga speaks during a news conference at the NBA basketball team's facility in San Francisco, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) talks with head coach Steve Kerr after he fouled out during Game 3 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in San Francisco, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) talks with head coach Steve Kerr after he fouled out during Game 3 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in San Francisco, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gestures during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gestures during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III vie for rebound position against Minnesota Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert in NBA Western Conference Semifinals' Game 5 at Target Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III vie for rebound position against Minnesota Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert in NBA Western Conference Semifinals' Game 5 at Target Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

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Thunder break NBA record for total points in a season, including playoffs

2025-06-14 10:31 Last Updated At:10:41

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A record for Oklahoma City: No team in NBA history has scored more points in a season than the Thunder.

It's a nuanced record, taking into account both regular season and playoff games. And technically, the Thunder would have broken the record on Wednesday if their appearance in the NBA Cup championship game — which is considered an exhibition — counted in any league totals.

But now, no matter how one counts, it belongs to the Thunder. They came into Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers needing 68 points for the record and got it on a free throw by NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 6:09 left in the third quarter on Friday night.

That gave the Thunder 12,162 for the season, breaking the mark of 12,161 scored by the Golden State Warriors in 104 games during the 2018-19 season. Friday's game was the 102nd official contest for the Thunder this season. (They scored 81 points in the NBA Cup championship game loss to Milwaukee in December, a point total and outcome that doesn't factor into any season stats.)

The total-points record is the latest entry on a history-making season for the Thunder, who set a franchise record with 68 regular-season wins and — if they win the NBA title — would become the fourth team in league history to post at least 84 victories in a full season. Only Golden State (88 wins in 2015-16), Chicago (87 in 1995-96) and the Bulls again (84 in 1996-97) have reached 84 wins in a season.

“I think there’s just a lot of integrity to the team,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said when asked how the team doesn't seem fazed by its numbers. “I think that starts with the makeup that these guys have. Great psychological makeup, competitive makeup, personal makeup. Then over time we’ve had to really kind of forge into this version of ourselves, in visible spaces.”

The total-points mark is obviously fueled by longevity of the season. The Thunder were only fourth in points per game during the regular season behind Cleveland, Memphis and Denver, and when adding in playoffs Oklahoma City's scoring average this season was only 27th in NBA history.

That said, no matter how the finals end, it has been a season that will be in the Thunder record books for a long time. In addition to the scoring, the Thunder are currently second all-time in average point differential per game (12.2 entering Friday) behind only the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks.

It helps illustrate how big a turnaround the Thunder have enjoyed after going 22-50 in the 2020-21 season, then 24-58 a year later and 40-42 the year after that.

“We haven’t relied on anything outside the outcomes,” Daigneault said. “The noise, we haven’t relied on that when we weren’t winning. We haven’t relied on that while we were building. We haven’t relied on that while we were rising. We’re not relying on that now that we’re in a different position.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) motions after making a three pointer against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) motions after making a three pointer against the Indiana Pacers during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) dunks against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) dunks against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) drives on Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) drives on Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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