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The Warriors hold hopes of competing for a championship as the new NBA season kicks off and got off to a good start on Tuesday night. <\/p>\n
Facing the Luka Don\u010di\u0107-led Lakers, Golden State won 119-109 to kick off the year<\/a> and there were multiple positives to take away from the win. Jonathan Kuminga had a big third quarter that perfectly showcased how effective he can be when he plays within the offense. Jimmy Butler dropped a cool 31 points. And, perhaps most important of all, the Dubs won by double digits despite a relatively quiet 23-point night from Steph Curry. <\/p>\n In many ways it encapsulated the team’s vision for how it would go about Curry’s final seasons: let other teammates carry the scoring load as Curry continues to send defenses scrambling with the mere threat of his shooting. The playoffs are a different story but for regular season games that’s the formula, whether that scoring comes from Butler or Kuminga or a conglomerate of Warriors rotation players. <\/p>\n Will it be enough to get through a loaded Western Conference playoff bracket? That is the biggest question and one that doesn’t have a certain answer. On paper the Warriors have the star power to hang with anyone but it asks a lot of Butler, Curry, and Draymond Green if younger players like Kuminga don’t prove championship-ready. It may wind up the case that Golden State just doesn’t have the firepower to overwhelm more well-rounded teams. <\/p>\n One analyst thinks that will end up the case, at least, and has a solution for it. During The Herd <\/em>on Wednesday, Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd proposed a blockbuster transaction that would elevate the Dubs to true contender status in Curry’s final golden years: Butler, Kuminga, and picks for the one and only Giannis Antetokounmpo. <\/p>\n “Jimmy Butler’s a fling,” Cowherd said. “He’s not a phase. I think it’s time for the fling, at the trade deadline, to end. And I love Jimmy Butler. But Steve Kerr is too smart to think 37-year-old Steph, 35-year-old Draymond, 36-year-old Jimmy Butler, and now 39-year-old Al Horford can compete in the West. They can’t. They can’t… I would trade Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, and four first-round picks for Giannis and see if it’s enough. <\/p>\n Jimmy Butler played at Marquette, so he’s coming home, and he’s still a lethal free-throw shooter. Big game performer. Jonathan Kuminga averaged 20 a game last year when he didn’t play with Steph. They don’t work that well together, although when he did play with Steph he had some really nice nights, and he’s a better player today. And he’s only 23 years old.” <\/p>\n “I would trade Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, and 4 first round picks for Giannis.”@colincowherd<\/a> thinks the Warriors need to shake things up if they want to compete for a title pic.twitter.com\/5EIIH086H6<\/a><\/p>\n\n