“All the twitter fingers who’s got deals that we need to make can kind of just shut up a little bit and let us figure this thing out.” Following Wednesday’s win against the Timberwolves, a pumped Stephen Curry sent a stern message to everyone criticizing the Warriors amid their struggles and trades speculation. Mainly the media. Well, the hard-fought victory was surely a confidence booster for the Bay Area franchise. However, veteran insider Anthony Slater believes their valiant effort, including Steph’s, might have been sparked by the ongoing internal tensions.

Slater said, “The Warriors believe there was a discourse. The people who said it, Steph Curry was talking about it plenty postgame. And I’m not just talking on the podium, he was talking about it in the locker room, Steve was.” Well, the franchise has been going through a major transition since the departure of Klay Thompson. They seem to be stuck between the tough choice of going All-In now with Steph or building for the future, which might have led to some difference in opinion internally.

And the Bay Area reporter also revealed an internal scoop, “I was even talking to some Warriors people about it postgame, obviously there was little grumbling internally about it and it’s like ‘Hey, y’all in the news cycle again.’” Of course, this adds more pressure on the Warriors to win and climb out of the tenth spot in the West standings.

However, this constant media attention might have been a blessing in disguise, as Slater believes it sparked a major change in Steph, “It creates uncomfortable moments, intense moments, but honestly… I think Steph played really charged up tonight because of that. He’s not gonna admit that, but I think the Warriors were more focused and ready for this game because they wanted to have a response to all of this.” Yes, the added motivation to prove the critics wrong might have fueled Steph to go off for 31 points and eight assists and ensure his team’s victory. But does Steph’s “Shut Up” remark mean that the Warriors are done with their Jimmy Butler pursuit or any other potential trade for that matter?

Veteran insider claims Stephen Curry and Co. are not pushing for a “crazy” Jimmy Butler deal

Although the front office’s final stance on making a big trade remains uncertain, the veteran insider believes a trade for Butler might be difficult following Steph’s comments. He said on the Warriors Plus/Minus podcast, “They’ve talked it over. They know they’re not a great team… They’ve made the decision as a group, generally that’s Steph, that’s Draymond, that’s Kerr, that’s Dunleavy, maybe Joe Lacob… that they’re not gonna push for some crazy deal just to do it. I think Jimmy Butler would be the base of that.”

Obviously, acquiring Butler would mean giving up a lot of valuable assets, maybe even the young core of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski. And that would put the Warriors in a risky spot for the future if Jimmy’s addition does not make them instant title contenders. That’s why the insiders believe the core group might have decided to let things run their course and not push for the Butler deal.

Well, something similar happened during the Lauri Markkanen pursuit, when it ended in failure because Dunleavy was adamant about keeping the young core intact. However, smaller trades like Nikola Vucevic and Cameron Johnson might still be on the table. Especially because it won’t cost the Warriors a lot to get them. Do you think they need to make a trade or can they turn things around with the current roster like Steph believes?