There it is! The Miami Heat are finalizing a trade to send Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors in a multi-team deal, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania first reported Wednesday.
Other teams in this deal are the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons. The full terms of the trade are Andrew Wiggins, PJ Tucker, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 top-10 protected pick (from Warriors) gets sent to the Heat while the Pistons receive Lindy Waters III, Josh Richardson and a second-round pick.
As a result of the deal, Butler signed a two-year, $121 million max extension with Golden State as a trade-and-extend option, according to Charania. He is declining his $52 million player option as a part of that new deal.
This isn’t a haul for Miami, but as a result, the Miami Heat were able to get under the first apron to obtain the flexibility to make more moves, if necessary.
I am higher on the return of Andrew Wiggins than the consensus. For the season, he’s averaging 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 44.4 percent shooting, including 37.9 percent from 3-point range and 77.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Wiggins, listed at 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan, knows how to excel in a limited role. He was the second-most-important player in the Warriors’ Finals run in 2021-22, averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds on 46.9 percent shooting while routinely defending the team’s best player. Here is an excerpt of what I wrote about Wiggins last week:
“He’s been a reliable catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter for Golden State, knocking down 39.5 percent of his spot-up attempts from deep while being arguably their best point-of-attack defender, showcasing the ability to guard at least 2-3 positions on a nightly basis.
According to Basketball Index, Wiggins has graded out in the 93rd percentile or better in perimeter isolation defense and in the 96th percentile or better in matchup difficulty; he’s routinely guarded the best on a nightly basis and has done an excellent job against them in space with very good feet, balance and hands. The Heat need point-of-attack defense, and he would instantly be one of their top options.
Jimmy Butler will make his return to Miami on March 25.
***
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
If we have the lead in scoring,
Herro,HH,WigginsAdebayo and Ware will be our closer.
I am just salivating at the defensive schemes Spoestra will come up with these roster.Sure Wiggins is a poor man Jimmy but compare to the current Jimmy is a huge morale boost.
Who knows,Spo could unlock the next level for Wiggins.
Good. Get the bum out of here. I like Wiggins as a solid rotation player. Tucker is going to be a great locker room presence, and a familiar face. Could we have gotten better? Maybe. But for a while it looked like we weren’t going to be able to offload Jimmy Bumler at all.
I look forward to seeing the new-look Heat.
Can Wiggins help as much as a locked in Jimmy? lol no. Can Wiggins help more than a MeMe Butler not playing? F**k yes! No idea who else will end up on the team as there appears to be moving parts. Plus, I could see them making a move now or in buyout market.
Definitely!
I used to love him. Now the first word that I think of about Butler is selfish.
I will never forget some of the moments that everybody was able to share throughout this era. Jimmy, the team, the fans. Sucks that it ended the way it did.
Andrew Wiggins, PJ Tucker and a first… Are we done trading?
I agree. I will always appreciate his effort over the first few years. Last 1 1/2 years, no.
I’ll appreciate the f*cking anything is possible belief he brought to our team. The confidence that there was always a chance. The swagger to stand chest to chest against more talented teams and do every single thing to win. The magic of enjoying competitive basketball. Because after all this is a game we watch for enjoyment.
Yeah the end didn’t play out pretty, that’s what it is. I had a coach who would always say “sure great effort on the last rep or two, but what about 1-8, 1-9?”. Finishing strong only happens after you’ve given everything to get to the finish.
And really, isn’t that what this era of Heat basketball is? We gave everything we could as a team to get to the finish, but it just came up short. In that way, maybe, how we’ve parted ways is fitting.