The afterglow of the dynasty is difficult to continue? The Warriors dilemma next season: 37-year-old Curry moves forward with injuries, 35-year-old Butler can t break the age curse

The Warriors ended with 48 wins and 34 losses in the West, losing to the Timberwolves 1-4 in the second round of the playoffs, failing to break through the second round for three consecutive years. The seemingly "Curry + Butler + Green" triple-core restructuring brings hope, but in fact it exposes fatal hidden dangers - Curry averaged 34.7 minutes of playing time per game in the regular season, and a hamstring strain in the playoffs resulted in absent from the key game; Butler has been on standby many times due to gluteal muscle contusion, and his 35-year-old body is unable to support high-intensity confrontation. The Warriors' "Veteran Immortal" script was ultimately defeated by time.

Curry played 74 games this season and hit a record high in the past five years, but he encountered the most intense wave of injuries in his career: right thumb contusion, bilateral knee tendonitis, and hamstring strain. Sports Science Report points out that the probability of muscle damage among players increases by 8% every year after the age of 30, while Curry's cumulative running distance in his career is 23% higher than that of ordinary point guards. The loss caused by running without the ball gradually backfires in the face of age. O'Neal said bluntly: "His body has reached its limit, and the Warriors can no longer treat him as 25 years old." What's more serious is that Curry's annual salary of 59.61 million accounts for 35% of the salary cap. Once he is injured for a long time, the team's offensive and defensive system will completely collapse.

After joining the Warriors, Butler averaged 18.5 points per game and hit a new low in the past six years, with a 32.7% three-point shooting percentage continuing to decline. When he was hit by Amen in the playoffs, he quit the game after being knocked over by Amen, and G2 only played 8 minutes away. Although MRI showed no structural damage, the 35-year-old's physical recovery ability is much worse than before. More importantly, Butler's annual salary of 52.41 million yuan accounts for 24% of the team's salary, but he is caught in the controversy of "high salary and inefficiency" due to his overlap with Green's position (at the same time he is present with a net loss of 28.2 points per 100 rounds). When toughness can no longer cover up the decline in physical fitness, the Warriors' "front savior" is becoming a salary burden.

sent away Clay and Paul in the offseason, and introduced Melton, Hilder and Anderson. It seemed to strengthen the wings, but in fact it gave up the inside height. Among the current lineup, center Rooney (2.06 meters) and Jackson Davis (2.11 meters) are not top frame protectors, and rookie Post (2.13 meters) has not yet proven its NBA-level confrontation ability. This season, the Warriors lost 52.3 points per game in the penalty area, ranked 23rd in the league, and was hit by the Timberwolves in the playoffs and averaged 60.2 points per game. "The Five Smalls Without Splash" has completely become a defensive ATM.

On the bench, 33-year-old Hilder's three-point shooting percentage is OK, but his defensive loopholes are obvious; 34-year-old Anderson averages 5.8 points per game, and his athletic ability has declined year by year; while 22-year-old Pojemski and 21-year-old Kumingga still have not fulfilled their talent - the former averages 8.7 points per game but 3.2 turnovers, while the latter is compressed due to a position conflict with Butler. The "leading the new with the old" that Cole hopes to become "the old cannot lead, and the new cannot bear it". The regular season substitute scored 36.2 points in the league, and the playoffs plummeted to 28.4 points. No one can share the pressure for Curry at critical moments.

The Warriors let Clay and Paul go, but they did not get the same combat power: Melton (8 million annual salary) and Hilder (9.22 million annual salary) are both role players, and they only got the No. 52 pick Post in the draft. Faced with inside players such as Vucevic and Sabonis Jr. in the market, the management chose to operate conservatively due to salary pressure (total salary of 216 million, only 37 million from the second rich line), and gave up using the future first round pick (still hold the first round of 2026/2028/2030/2032). What's even more fatal is that Kumingga (restricted free agent) may leave the team and lose his potential forward in vain. Cole’s so-called “believe in young players” is actually an excuse for the management to not want to pay super luxury taxes. When Curry’s peak entered the countdown, this mentality of “either competing for the championship and saving money” put the Warriors in an embarrassing situation of being able to go up and down.

The former "three championships in five years" dynasty has now become a mediocre team in "two play-offs in three years". Curry, 37, is still averaging 29.4 points per game at the peak, but his fuel tank is on yellow; Butler, 35, is still fighting for defensive hardness, but his body can no longer keep up with the young players. The Warriors’ problem cannot be solved by changing coaches or adjusting the lineup. When the core player is over 35 years old, when the salary space is locked, and when there are few future draft picks left, the team’s championship window has been quietly closed in the “sewing and patching”. Next season? Perhaps it is not "whether there is hope", but we should consider: what reconstruction will the Warriors take after Curry retires? After all, the cruelest truth in the basketball world is that no one can defeat time.