Annual salary is 54 million, averaging 19 points and 4 assists per game! I know you are trying your best, but it is really dragging down the team.

It has been more than two weeks since the new season started, and the Western Conference pattern is a little confusing. The Thunder started with 9 wins and 1 loss, and they were followed by the Lakers + Spurs. The Lakers did not have James, but they played better and better. Doncic and Reeves shouldered the burden; the Spurs have reached the stage where young people can realize their talents, but Wenbanyama has been in the doldrums for several consecutive games. He is still a window away from becoming a truly influential super giant. But what is even more surprising is that the Mavericks started with 2 wins and 7 losses and were at the bottom of the Western Conference. Regardless of whether Big Eyebrow played or not, the Mavericks' performance was just as bad, and their offense was already at the bottom of history. The Clippers are also in a quagmire. Paul is old, Bill can't go back, Leonard is injured and there is no timetable, and only Harden is left. Who makes Harden a model worker.

But there is another team that has been on a roller coaster for half a month. I still remember that last season, the Warriors started with 9 wins and 2 losses, and once reached the first place in the Western Conference, but then plummeted, which eventually led to the Butler trade. Similar to this season, the Warriors started with 4 wins and 1 loss, and the gold content was extremely high. They overturned the Lakers + Nuggets + Grizzlies + Clippers. When the outside world re-injected expectations for the Warriors, they fell again: they lost to the Bucks without Antetokounmpo and the Pacers who lacked a 6-man rotation framework. Judging from several statistics, the Warriors averaged 116.1 points per game this season, ranking 19th in the league; they conceded 116.7 points per game, ranking 16th in the league; their offensive and defensive efficiency ranked around 18th in the league, which is average.

What's the problem? First of all, when the Warriors put up a lineup of Curry + Butler + Green + Kuminga + Bost, they beat their opponents by 32 points per 100 possessions, but they only played 35 minutes at the same time; when the Warriors put up a five-man lineup of Butler + Green + Moody + Podemski + Bost, they beat their opponents by 47.3 points per 100 possessions, but they only played 18 minutes at the same time! The foursome of Butler + Curry + Green + Kuming beat their opponents by 14.2 points per 100 rounds, but they only played 115 minutes at the same time, averaging 11.5 minutes per game. Is that enough? It's obviously not enough. After losing to the Bucks and Pacers in a row, Curry caught a bad cold. He lasted 34 minutes against the Suns despite being sick and scored 28 points. However, in subsequent games against the Kings and Nuggets, Cole did not let him play. Butler previously suffered a lower back injury and returned to play against the Nuggets.

As a result, after the whole game, they scored 5 of 10 in 31 minutes and only scored 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. The Warriors finally lost by 25 points, and Butler's team lost by 20 points. The main premise is that Butler persisted despite injuries like last season's playoffs. He really worked hard, but facing the Nuggets' wheel defensive strategy, Butler couldn't hold on and couldn't run. In the 9 games Butler played this season, he averaged 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. This data is indeed very average, but this has been the norm for Butler in the past few regular seasons: 20 points is a threshold! When Butler is on the court this season, the team beats its opponents by 5.7 points per 100 possessions; when he is not on the court, the team loses by 9.0 points per 100 possessions, with an On-Off value of +14.7.

This reflects his irreplaceability, but the problem is also here. The Warriors' salary this season is Curry's 59.61 million, Butler's 54.13 million, Green's 25.89 million, and Kuminga's 22.5 million. These four people take up almost 80% of the team's salary space. Curry will turn 38 in 4 months, and Green's attributes are more focused on the defensive end. Who will lead the team to ensure the bottom line in the regular season? Sharing two statistics, Butler and Curry played 138 minutes at the same time, beating their opponents by 9.0 points per 100 possessions; when Curry was away, the team lost their opponents by 4.2 points per 100 possessions. Did you find the problem? If Curry can play, Butler will definitely be an excellent second-in-command. His ball-holding attributes and ability to attack the frame and create damage are full of deterrence based on Curry's ability to attract defenses.

But what if Curry is not there? As Curry gets older, Curry's injuries will only increase. Butler has the fifth-highest salary in the league, so he should lead the team to maintain the basic lower limit. For example, without Curry, there is still at least a 50% winning rate. Otherwise, we can't rely on Curry for the regular season and playoffs, which is unrealistic. In the playoff division semifinals last season, when Curry fell, the Warriors lost four consecutive games and were unable to fight back. During this period, Butler averaged 20.3 points per game. For comparison, Kuminga averaged 24.3 points per game. No matter how many shortcomings Kuminga has, he can score, which is still based on Cole's suppression. If Butler averages less than 20 points per game, what kind of regular season guarantee can he provide to the Warriors? Butler really can't go back, he's getting old.

Why did Cole give Spencer, Richard, Payton Jr. and even Davis so much time this season? The team is really short of scoring points, and a dead horse is a living horse doctor! The part that Butler was supposed to support turned out to be a flaw. Be it Kuminga or Podemski, young people have shortcomings. How much do they get? So if Curry + Butler take turns with injuries becoming the norm, where will their competitiveness be this season? Butler has indeed tried his best. After all, time is not forgiving. Butler had no problem getting the two-year 110 million super-maximum contract nine months ago, but the Warriors management blocked the future and was really dragging down the team.