Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody Injury Timelines Turn the Warriors into an Expensive Waiting Room

The Golden State Warriors just dropped a double-dose of knee injury updates, and if you were hoping for immediate reinforcements, you might want to pour a strong drink.

According to Anthony Slater, Jimmy Butler is targeting a return in the January-to-February window. Moses Moody is looking at a December-to-January timeline. That means the Warriors are essentially operating a very expensive waiting room until the holidays.

"Anthony Slater reported the timelines via Underdog NBA."

Butler is still working his way back from that brutal ACL tear he suffered last season against the Miami Heat. Getting a concrete timeline is nice, but realizing your star wing will not be playing basketball until people start abandoning their New Year's resolutions is a tough pill to swallow.

For anyone holding Golden State Warriors futures tickets, this is where the math gets terrifying. You are banking on this roster to survive the Western Conference gauntlet for three full months before their biggest dog even takes the floor.

The cracks are already showing early in the schedule. The Warriors just dropped a 101-89 rock fight to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the lack of available two-way wings was glaring. They get the Portland Trail Blazers next, which is exactly the kind of game they have to grind out while shorthanded.

Moody getting back by Christmas gives them a desperately needed rotation body. But the entire ceiling of this franchise rests on Butler's right knee, meaning Golden State is just trying to keep the ship afloat until February.