SAN FRANCISCO – It would be a competitive felony if the Warriors’ shot-callers were to stroll past the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline as opponents run circles around their team, as the Toronto Raptors did Tuesday night.

One of those shot-callers, general manager Mike Dunleavy, says he’s willing to do what’s necessary in hopes of avoiding such a nightmare. For the right offer, of course.

Any trade that would give the Warriors a reasonable possibility of even a modest NBA playoff run – giving franchise superstar Stephen Curry a reasonable chance to be a factor in games that matter most – would require moving a lot more than Jonathan Kuminga, whose prominent availability has yet to warm the market.

To get an impact player, the Warriors almost certainly would have to sacrifice one or more future first-round draft picks. They should. And Dunleavy knows this must be an option.

“Our picks always will and have been in play,” Dunleavy said Tuesday night, 45 minutes before a 145-127 loss to the Raptors at Chase Center. “To give up our picks, it’s got to be meaningful to get something back. So, for that reason, there’s only so many players out there that probably warrant putting stuff like that on the table.

“But we’re looking at everything. Joe Lacob is our owner, so you’re always exploring all possibilities, willing to do any type of deal.”

Lacob, the team’s CEO, would have the final word on any significant transaction. He has a shoot-for-stars mentality, though, as evidenced with his authorizing the expensive trade that brought Jimmy Butler III to the Warriors last February. Butler’s status as a six-time NBA All-Star with a deep postseason resume warranted moving the team’s 2025 first-round pick.

Dunleavy has been exploring multiple options for several weeks, but his search is now accelerated by the loss of Butler, who on Monday sustained a season-ending ACL injury. That the Warriors were building momentum, winning 11 of their last 15 games before Butler went down, adds urgency to the GM’s quest.

The Warriors (25-20) sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, and Butler’s absence makes it unlikely they’ll rise any higher. He has been one half of the team’s twin touchstones, Curry being the other half. Being clobbered by the Raptors offers a glimpse of a potential skid.

“I don’t think there’s an argument to make that we’re a better team without Jimmy Butler,” Dunleavy conceded. “So, no doubt that’s something we’re going to have to figure out and find a way to win some games.”

Dunleavy then veered into momentary delusion.

“But I think this group is capable,” he said. “Obviously with Steph and Draymond, their championship pedigree, you add in Al [Horford] who’s in there, [De’Anthony Melton’s] having a great year. And then our young players, [Brandin Podziemski], Moses [Moody], [Quinten Post], we’ve got a good, deep team. A lot of people are contributing and there’s no doubt in my mind we can continue to win games.

“We’re just . . . let’s call it what it is, we’re not as good without Jimmy.”

That last statement, told politely, is factual. Fact is, Butler’s absence makes the Warriors infinitely weaker and, therefore, more beatable. He’s the second-best player on the roster and easily the most versatile. Anything the Warriors do short of making a significant trade is patchwork. A band-aid.

Doing nothing is, of course, an option but utterly repellent.

Making the effort to avoid a collapse this season and perhaps buttress seasons to come is the most alluring route. A certified NBA player with All-Star status or clear All-Star potential is worth moving a future draft pick or two.

“If we’re talking about trading draft picks that will be going out when Steph isn’t here,” Dunleavy said, “it’s going to have to be a player that we think we’ll be getting back that is going to be here when those picks are going out. And that player’s going to have to be pretty impactful.

“So, it would take a good amount, positionally, play style, archetype, all that. I would leave it pretty broad and open. But if there’s a great player to be had, we’ve got everything in the war chest that we would be willing to use.”

All that’s left is the hard part. Finding trade partners and navigating what could be a complicated transaction.

The post-Curry future does not look bright for the Warriors. And those future draft picks, based on recent franchise draft history, can’t be counted on the make it much better.

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