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.
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Heat’s projected depth chart.
looks like we are getting davion mitchell for pajamas
The D is back… *that’s what she said*
Seriously, Bam, Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Ware… That’s stout defensively.
Andrew Wiggins is 29 years old; two years older than Bam.
Awards & Honors
Welcome aboard Andrew. We all wish you the best of luck!
GO HEAT!!!
Job well done! It simplifies and clarifies the wholesome picture.
clearlybetter than dunc hh better than jjj little better than jovic same level as 35yr old jimmy.the heat are better today than yesterday.still need ss to contend for jewelry
Wiggins welcome to the Heat.
Though not much has been said about you, you had the spotlight in your earlier years without the ring than with the ring. I wish you get both the spotlight and a ring in Miami.
Andrew Wiggins missed 56 games over two seasons 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 due to his father’s serious medical condition and his death.
Explanation
The following excerpt is from a December 25, 2024 article below which appeared in the Athletic.
His dad’s illness drew Andrew Wiggins away from basketball. Now the Warrior is rediscovering his joy.
“…Where Wiggins once felt lost and helpless while watching his father suffer through various treatments, he has managed to rediscover his spirit and find reconnection in the wake of his death.
It has been an up-and-down start to this season for the Warriors as they search for the help Curry needs to make another run in the Western Conference. One of the most encouraging signs for them to this point is the reappearance of Wiggins’ smile and the return to the souped-up role player who was so integral to the Warriors’ 2022 title.
After two years of missed games, uneven performances and trade rumors, Wiggins is showing signs of emerging from the fog. His father’s death in September, and the long health struggles that preceded it, shook him and his family to the bone. The mourning will never abate, but Wiggins looks like a man at peace with his surroundings.”
“My mind is definitely in a better place,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6018536/2024/12/25/andrew-wiggins-father-warriors-nba/
About time we traded this cancerous, emo, big head coffee guy. I appreciate everything you’ve done for the franchise, but I hope you crashout with draymond , and burn with the warriors. Wiggins will do just fine here. Next up pg position, I hope the godfather has a move or 2 left in him. If not, we have to hope that dru can recover from his 2nd straight season ending injury, and that stevens can get pt eventually. Also we got a pick from warriors, which maybe around the late teens. So the projected pg’s we can draft in that area are Kam Jones, labaron philon, Nolan traore, or boogie fland.
It’s interesting how 2 comments written a couple of minutes apart (see below) can have such different perspectives. I also will always appreciate what Butler did for the team. He truly had some electrifying moments. But I don’t agree that nobody ever did what Butler did. Wade, the best Heat player from when he was drafted, certainly accomplished more (LeBron was the best player during his 4 year period). Wade, playing with a good but aging Shaq in 2006, and down 0-2 to the Mavericks, put the team on his back. Down 0-2, and down 13 with 6 minutes to go in the fourth, they won the next 4 straight with Wade scoring 42, 36, 43, and 36 points to do something Butler has yet to do – win a championship. That team had names like Doleac, Kapono, Walker, Posey. Many were older. Probably the most inspiring season for me.
Wade neither took the Heat to the NBA finals or EF without the help of a stellar star e.g Shaq, Lebron, Bosh. Yes Nada.Remember his years before Shaq, Nada. The Heat were ‘ We were there too, team’nada. Did Wade have his numbers ? Yes, he did. Did Wade have his electrifying moments? Yes, he did. Was Wade a much loved baller? Yes, he was. Did Wade go to the NBA finals or EF championships without the help of another player in his class level of skills. No, he did not. Jimmy did. That is a hunting bitter biting statically true fact. Hate him or like him. Nobody but Jimmy did that for the Heat. Immediate Lebron years, the Heat with Goran was just another team. Come Jimmy, the Heat returned to be a much serious contender. Ask the Bucks,ask the Celtics, ask the Lakers and ask the Nuggets in a no following order of the ask. Truth is a bitter 💊 but it cleanses.
Correction: his *year* before Shaq.
Thanks, numbers play in this ageing memory. Shaq certainly made an immediate impact on on the Heat with Wade. Let us remember that though ‘ ageing ‘
Shaq as someone will describe him, was the runner up to the 2004-05 MVP award. Jimmy never had that kind of help in his six years with the Heat. Let us also remember that in 2004 when Shaq joined the Heat, the Heat had the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004-05. If Jimmy had that kind of help, Lakers and Nuggets will not have stood a chance against the Heat in the NBA finals. That again tells you the kind of player Jimmy was. He took the Heat to the NBA finals twice, to the EC championships four times in a short span of six years with the Heat, without the kind of help, Wade had. Now this is not to say that Jimmy was a better or more skillful player than Wade. No but he had more impact on the Heat than Wade did for the Heat. Some players are more liked but some players are more impactful. It is like science journals. The more impactful ones are usually the less pleasureable ones to read. The less impactful journals are the more pleasureable ones to read. It is a strange world we live in, if you ask me.
They went to 3 ECF (and 2 finals), not 4. And it certainly was a remarkable run. I take nothing away from that. Having different opinions and points of view is perfectly acceptable. But it does not necessarily mean that one’s opinion is truth while another’s is something less. My opinion is that no player impacted the Heat more than Dywane Wade.
With folks like Draymond, Jimmy is actually going to thrive. What you think is conflict, but what I think is chilling. Time will bear us out.
Maybe, maybe not, time will tell, but 3 non shooters in the starting lineup for them is a big deal. Might even try to fight with kerr.
I think Butler will be a really good fit there, though your concern about shooting is understandable. He really improved his 3 point shooting the last 3 years. I think he’ll be very motivated to show he’s still a force. It seems he just gets bored with his teams after a while and needs a new start. With all these trades, I’ll definitely be watching more non Heat games to watch Butler, Doncic, AD, Ingram.
Finally, finally, finally, the saga is over. What a breath of fresh air from the repeated boring news of the past few weeks.
Jimmy Butler, thank you for the good years. For all truth lovers, you achieved for the Heat what nobody ever did in Heat’s history. In your six years, you went to the NBA finals twice though no rings to show for it, won the EC conference twice, and went to the EC four times with you as the only star of the team. Even Lebron could not do so without the help of another one or two stars in Miami, Cleveland, and Lakers. In a different world and a different time, your number should hang on the banners stand, but for the headwinds of yesterday, it may not be.Jimmy, yours is a fit less sung nonetheless worthy to be remembered and said.
Good luck, Jimmy, and I wish you health, wisdom, and more years of accomplishments.
So its done. Wiggins will probably stay, I m not sure for others.
We still need a point guard, a starting level one.
Thank god the nightmare is over. I was legitimately thinking of canceling League Pass if the Heat didn’t make a trade before the deadline.
I still think we need one more guard. But I think Slo-Mo is a great addition to the Wiggins trade. I’m curious what the draft pick will be.
Mostly I’m just glad that Jimmy is gone
I’m thinking Riley has another trade or two up his sleeve before the deadline. Still can use a PG.
Interesting stats Miami vs Philadelphia
Other interesting stats:
Top 12 Miami scorers after Butler trade
A thought: with Wiggins in Miami, our core team is all 30 or under. Like, we’ve still got Love, and we’re getting Pajamas Tucker back, and Alec Burke is 33, but I don’t think it’s a shocking statement to say we’re going to be relying on them a lot less than we are on Bam, Tyler, Duncan, Terry, Wiggins, Jaquez, Jovic, Ware, etc… That’s a young team, but it’s not a *very* young team. I kind of hate the phrase “they’re on the same timeline” when people talk about players’ relative ages, but I think it’s a good place to be when you have five guys who could potentially start who are all between 25 and 30, plus a handful of younger players who are hungry for an opportunity.
I hope that they’re not done trading. Wiggins sounds like a good fit, but IMO, they need help at point guard. Herro is awesome, but he’s more of a shooting guard. Rozier is not the distributor people thought that he would be.
I would trade Robinson and Rozier and/or Anderson for a pure point guard.
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.
The Heat got a wonderful player and an even better person. Top notch in every way. We will miss him greatly. He was the 2nd best player on a championship team. Good luck to you and yours, Wiggs!
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.
That was beautiful man
This is such a beautifully written comment
I loved the Jimmy era. In my mind, it ended when we traded Kyle Lowry. Glad that he’s finally gone.