Finally, at long last, the Jimmy Butler Miami saga is over. The Heat traded Butler to the Warriors in a very complicated multi-team trade. It was originally reported as a 5-team trade that sent Kyle Anderson to Toronto but that fell through and instead it was a 4-trade. The Warriors get Jimmy Butler, the Heat get Andrew Wiggins, P.J. Tucker, Anderson and a 2025 top 10 protected first round pick, Utah gets Dennis Schroder and a 2031 2nd round pick (because of course they did) and the Pistons get Josh Richardson and Lindy Waters. As a part of the trade, Butler is signing a 2yr/$111 million contract extension with Golden State.
Let’s start with the Warriors portion of this. Losing Wiggins hurt and I would have been hesitant to part with Wiggins as a part of this trade but it is understandable why the Warriors did it. There are, of course, flight risks to acquiring Butler and pairing him with Draymond Green only adds to that but the Warriors desperately needed another star to play with Stephen Curry. Butler gives them that number 2. Butler hasn’t had his best season but averaging 17.0 points 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 54% from the field and 57% from 2 point range, Butler is having a solid season. The three pointer hasn't been good this season at 36% but that is pretty on line for his career which is 33% so it isn’t out of the ordinary for Butler to struggle from 3. He will be a great fit with Draymond on the defensive end. Those guys will be in passing lanes often and muck up teams' offense. On the other end, his fit should be seamless. The Warriors have attempted the most shots off of cuts this season and Butler is a 78% shooter off of cuts. He gets to the line at a high level and he will change the way Golden State is able to score. The other guys they moved aren’t huge losses, Waters was a reserve, Schroder had been a mess since the Warriors got him in December and I am sure Golden State is not upset about losing the 2+ years left on Anderson’s contract. This raises the Warriors ceiling, for this season and next as the Warriors look to get one final run out of Stephen Curry.
It was reported that the Warriors were in pursuit of Kevin Durant and they were getting close but a deal fell apart when Durant expressed that he did not want to return to the Bay Area. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that there was a trade in place that would have landed Durant with the Warriors and Butler with the Suns. Obviously, there would have been more going to the Suns but this would have been a bonkers trade if Durant had not essentially put a kibosh on it.
The Jimmy Butler Heat drama has finally come to an end. After 2 months of suspensions, rumors and a nasty break-up, Miami gets Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 top 10 protected first round pick. There were reports that the Raptors acquired Kyle Anderson as a part of this but that fell through. As a result, the two sides agreed to a deal that sends Davion Mitchell to the Heat for P.J. Tucker, a second round pick and cash considerations. This is a solid return for the Heat where they get 2 defensive minded players who will help them as they try and make the playoffs this season. Wiggins will slot into the starting 5 well with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware with a 5th guy. Their defense will be very good so if they can generate enough baskets, they’ll be an interesting team to watch in the Eastern Conference.
On another note, it will be interesting to see what Utah does with Dennis Schroder, I think someone could trade for him but if not he will be bought out. The Jimmy Butler era in Miami is over after so much drama at the end of it. It is a big trade that will have massive ramifications to the end of the Stephen Curry era in Golden State.
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