The Golden State Warriors have been one of the four teams consistently linked to Miami Heat star forward Jimmy Butler since the summer, but don’t expect them to pursue him ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
According to The Athletic‘s Sam Amick, Marcus Thompson II and Anthony Slater, the Warriors have yet to have “substantive talks or traction” for any deal regarding the 35-year-old disgruntled star. Golden State is scouring the market co-star alongside Stephen Curry in search of one last title to cap off a historically great run, but don’t expect it to be Butler.
“According to a source close to Butler, the Warriors are not currently seen as a viable option and there have been no substantive talks or traction to get any type of deal done,” the report read. “Butler’s history and reputation is as a premium two-way perimeter player — which the Warriors could use. Some credence exists to the idea that his midrange repertoire and defensive prowess could elevate the Warriors into that next tier of playoff threat. But Butler’s age and injury history makes him a risky choice. His price tag makes him an untenable option.
“While acknowledging Butler’s ability, sources inside the locker room (and the Warriors’ coaching staff and front office) would rather keep their two best wings than acquire Butler. The dramatic nature of this latest Butler situation also raises concerns about his fit in the Warriors locker room. … Trading for Butler and expecting him to arrive supercharged for a run would mean at least a hint of a commitment to give him the contract that Pat Riley and the Heat were so unwilling. That hasn’t been appetizing to the Warriors, according to team and league sources.”
As I briefly touched on here, the cap machinations involving Golden State offer a completely separate issue outside of his on-court and locker-room fit. Golden State is hard-capped below the $178 million first apron after acquiring Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson via sign-and-trade.
They are less than $600K away from exceeding that apron, too–which they can’t exceed under any circumstance. Jimmy Butler is making $48.8 million this season with a $52.4 million player option for next season. Since it’s well above the first apron, Miami can’t take back more salary than they trade out and, given where they’re at relative to the apron, it would be difficult for Golden State to, too.
The report notes that it would likely take Draymond Green or Andrew Wiggins–who make $24.1M and $26.3M this season, respectively–to match salary, in addition to fourth-year wing Jonathan Kuminga plus more to complete any trade. Kuminga, 22, has had a roller-coaster first four years, but has plenty of upside and has recently played well off the bench. Kuminga will be entering restricted free agency this offseason, which could limit his market, but it’s understandable why the former top-10 pick is an enticing piece that Golden State would want to hang onto beyond 2024-25.
The Warriors own plenty of contracts that can match players like Nikola Vucevic and Cameron Johnson (which the report mentions) as opposed to Butler, who makes more than both combined. Unless additional moves were made, it would also be difficult to see Miami taking on Wiggins, who’s making $28.2M and $30.2M after this year. Even though it wouldn’t be Butler’s exorbitant $55-60 million (if he earned an extension), but they would be committing over $200 million in long-term money to Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Wiggins over the next two years.
Assuming the trade between the two sides did take place, it would likely have to be a multi-team trade, which is more complicated. They are also more rare in today’s NBA economy at this time of year. And with the Heat’s sense of urgency, it’s safe to rule out Golden State as a potential destination barring something unforeseen, given the circumstances.
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Damn. Who else then?
It is likely that there won’t be many offers. And it is also very likely that the offers won’t be as good as we would have liked. And if so, what then?
Since he doesn’t have a preferred destination, and can make anyone team a contender, I would consider Detroit,wiz,nets or hawks as other options. I refuse to believe that suns Beal deal is the only one out there, I’d rather do a straight up trade for Durant.