Is Steph Curry playing tonight against Lakers? Latest on Warriors superstar's status in blockbuster clash against LeBron James and Co. (Feb. 06)

The Golden State Warriors, fresh from a blockbuster trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler to Oakland on Wednesday, will face the LA Lakers led by LeBron James on Thursday at the Crypto.com Arena. It will be the Lakers' first home game since the shocking Luka Doncic trade for Anthony Davis last weekend.

In that game, Curry will be available to play for the Warriors, rekindling his old rivalry with James, whom Curry faced in the NBA Finals for four straight years from 2015 to 2018.

This will be the third game between the two teams this season. The Lakers have won their past two outings.

Curry is expected to lead the Warriors sans Butler in the game against the Lakers in hopes of sparking a winning run before the All-Star break.

The former unanimous MVP has been averaging 22.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game this season with the Warriors. Excluding his five-game season in 2019-2020, his scoring average this year is his lowest since the 2011-2012 season.

Curry is shooting 43.4% from the field and 39.3% from the 3-point this season on almost 11 three-point attempts per game.

The Warriors have been inconsistent throughout the season. They are 25-25, tied for the ninth seed in the Western Conference with two other teams.

With the trade for a former All-Star like Butler, the Warriors have bolstered their roster for the latter half of the season as they aim to return to the playoffs after losing to a play-in game last year.

Steph Curry has honest reaction to Jimmy Butler's trade to the Warriors

The Golden State Warriors front office has been aggressive in bringing over an All-Star caliber talent before the trade deadline to help Curry steer the Warriors back to the playoffs. As Curry was set to team up with another superstar in Golden State, he cleared the air about what he expected from two-time NBA finalist Butler.

Talking to the media after the Warriors’ loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Curry said he expects Butler to be in his best shape when he joins the Warriors.

“I understand there was a lot of drama down there … Who really knows what the story is? We expect to have a motivated, committed Jimmy that’s ready to impact our team for the better. Gotta work out the kinks of what it looks like, and I’m excited to get to work. Gotta feed off the energy of something new,” he said.

Curry also shared that he will watch films of Butler to see how he can fit with the Warriors system, which has given the squad four championships in the past 10 years.

After his trade to the Warriors, Butler signed a two-year, $111 million contract extension with the team.