Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins five-team trade becomes official
The Miami Heat made the five-team trade to send Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 2025 first-round pick official Thursday evening, nearly six hours after the 3:00 p.m. EST trade deadline concluded.
With Butler, the Heat sent Richardson to the Utah Jazz, two second-round picks (one each to Utah and Detroit) and cash considerations (Raptors).
Wiggins, 29, was a part of Golden State’s championship team in 2021-22, where he was their second-most-important player. Through 43 games this season, he’s averaging 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks on 44.4 percent shooting, including 37.9 percent from 3-point range and 77.7 percent from the free-throw line.
He has 17 20-point games and a pair of 30-point games this season, including a 31-point performance on Jan. 18 against the Washington Wizards on 12-of-22 shooting and 4-of-10 from deep. He also tallied 11 rebounds with four assists, one steal and two blocks in 35 minutes.
Mitchell, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, averaged 6.3 points, 4.6 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game in 44 games with the Toronto Raptors this season. He’s shot 43.4 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from 3-point range for the season with a 53.6 true-shooting percentage.
Anderson appeared in 36 games with Golden State this season, averaging 5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 15.0 minutes while shooting 45.0 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from 3-point range. Nicknamed “Slo-Mo,” the 6-foot-9 forward can do a little bit of everything while being one of the better off-ball defenders in the NBA.
Heat announce Andrew Wiggins will wear 22 … Jimmy Butler’s former number
The Miami Heat announced a pair of numbers that the new acquisitions will wear, including Andrew Wiggins wearing Jimmy Butler’s No. 22.
Wiggins has worn No. 22 since high school, but it is kinda humorous given what’s happened over the last two months. This isn’t the first time that this has happened, however.
A half-decade after Shaquille O’Neal’s unceremonious exit, two players–Mickell Gladness and James Ennis–donned No. 32 on their chest and back before his number was retired in 2016.
Butler may have never won a title, but he was still arguably the third-best player in franchise history, carrying them to new heights–including three Eastern Conference and two NBA Finals appearances. I would imagine his number gets retired one day … but it may take a while, as one could imagine.
Mitchell will wear No. 45 while Anderson’s number has not been determined at the time of this publishing.
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Durant said he was open to coming to the Heat. This thing is becoming pretty obvious 😉
Here’s a thought. And keep in mind that this is hypothetical. But the consensus seems to be that this new-look Heat team is most likely going to result in a first-round exit this year, with potential for retooling and improvements over the summer.
But if we make a decent playoff run… let’s say we lose in 7 to a good team in the 2nd round, does that affect Jimmy’s legacy? Does that tell us that Jimmy was an important piece of a whole, but that he wasn’t truly the secret sauce? Or do we still consider each season separately, and presume that Jimmy was *the* special player who single-handedly made us competitive?
Again, I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but if Miami can succeed without Jimmy, what would that say about how important Jimmy’s been over the last five years?
It is a legitimate question as we seem to be playing around .500 with Jimmy and without him.,My thought is that Jimmy was a much more dominant player two three years ago, than now, and really was the sauce. If true, then perhaps the Wiggins-less Warriors will not get as much of an anticipated bump as they are hoping for. I don’t think Jimmy is as saucy as he was, likely not 121 million saucy.
Amen! I would take the Wiggins $60M saucy any day!
By game score Jimmy has 6 playoff games that grade out at 40 or better. LeBron has 6. Only MJ has more with 7.
No one else in league history–i think the stat goes back to the merger–has more than 3.
I don’t think his legacy changes. He was one of the top playoff performers in league history for our team ever–as an aging player who often needed load management during the regular season.
If we make it that far it’s because of the performance of the players on the team, and the context of the teams we beat–injuries, scuttlebutt, whatever else.
Please correct me if I’m misunderstanding the statistic that you’ve cited, but as per Stat Muse, Jordan has 38 playoff games with 40+ points, Lebron has 29 games, and Jimmy has 8.
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-career-playoff-games-by-a-player-with-40-pts
jokic and greek were better players reg season and playoffs sun
Yeah game score is a different stat. I guess it compiles all the stats a player has in an individual game and scores that on a scale that’s similar to points scored.
Here’s the list of players with “game scores” above 40:
https://stathead.com/tiny/ZdYjx
Your question made me track down where I read it, it’s over at the ringer. Don’t take a look if you’re still in “forget that dude” mode, because we lost a great player–at least when available and by the stats they use.
https://www.theringer.com/2025/02/06/nba/jimmy-butler-trade-golden-state-warriors-steph-curry
Ah, so we’re talking advanced stats. I can’t find guidelines for how Game Score is calculated anywhere (it probably exists, it’s just a hard term to google without getting, y’know, the score of a game), and I definitely believe in advanced stats, and think they can be very useful. But also, sports journalists definitely misuse advanced stats all the time.
Like, you know how in a game the announcer eventually will say something like “Only two players have ever scored more than six points while grabbing three boards and dishing two assists in the first four minutes of a quarter during an away game on a Tuesday night under a full moon in November while chewing on a stick of Juicy Fruit”? Sure, it’s a unique stat, but it’s not meaningful.
And to me, a stat that puts Jimmy Butler at *twice as good* as Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Tim Duncan, Mario Chalmers, and Kobe Bryant… it tells me that the stat probably isn’t being used correctly. Jimmy has done some amazing things. But he’s not twice as good as that list of players.
The stathead website has a glossary that shows how Game Score is calculated. I see you’re point. Jimmy has, since he’s come here, always had sterling advanced metrics.
And I think we all probably saw one too many of his efficient but not impactful nights to fully trust the advanced stuff.
Gamescore seems like a metric that would score Jimmy’s game really highly too. And he was on a team that needed efficiency at volume paired with elite defense. LeBron and MJ too. So it at least tracks that he’d have a lot of individual games with high game scores*.
To me, He drove elite, championship contending play, for our team, for better and for worse. When he was injured, or dogged regular season games. That hurt our chances to contend. When he was healthy, we made it to the conference finals at least. (He was hurt during that Denver series. I don’t know if it changes the outcome, but he was hurt and it showed.)
He didn’t do it alone.
To answer you question;
All of that is why I have to see this team reach a conference finals game 7 for me to change my opinion. AND that still doesn’t mean I think Pat should have given him the extension he wanted.
hes the only reason we were relevant during his prime days.take him off team we areur a lottry team.f him though.what he did to us was so unprofessional that they should have thrown him out of the league
A lottery team? At least there’s the chance of winning a top tier pick.
No we’d be more like that Dion and Goran team need find stories and players and potential to buy into, but we’d be a .500 team.
The ESPN report of how Butler grew discontented this season… I had some understanding for the guy. I truly did. But it baffles me that he could miss a third of the games in the season by December and think we should orient the entire offense around him. That’s nonsense.
The team’s success two or more years ago with a younger version of Butler, has nothing to do with this season. He is no longer “Playoff Jimmy” and is not worth the $111M Golden State has agreed to pay him for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. By the way, this is almost exactly the same amount as Bradley Beal’s contract with Phoenix. Beal is 31 and Butler is 35.
For the record:
Miami was 13-12 with Butler and 12-12 without him this season. See below.
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/miami-heat-record-with-jimmy-butler-this-season
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/miami-heat-record-without-jimmy-butler-this-season
The Godfather and Spo impressed Durant during that meeting in 2016. Durant’s people are on record saying he would have come to Miami but couldn’t pass up creating that super team. It worked out for him.
Which brings me to Windhorst saying Durant and Suns heading for divorce this summer. We have a great supporting cast. Calling it now. Durant comes this summer. 😛 😛 😛
He should of came here in the first place, this organization actually knows how utalize a super team, buy I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes here, since he’s running out teams that interests him, plus the supporting cast will be here, along with bam,herro,ware, Wiggins. Additionally we already have established leaders pat, spo, bam, herro.
If we could land Durant with just a contract and not giving anything up, watch out. They would be contenders for 1 to 2 years. His scoring is still that good. Who knows how long it will last.
I dont want him here. He doesnt fit in.
Agree
The front office has now tried to get him at least twice, probably three times. They obviously think highly of him.
with those porzingis type legs kds running out of time .he might be a top 10 -15 player all time what a scorer he was a 7footer who played like a 2 guard.not great duncan defender but his scoring was unreal.love to see him down here its a long shot .
Definitely agree, and his archetype/shooting ages better than Jimmy’s game. His scoring will still be there, with adequate d, with that size, even at advanced age like other greats lbj,mj,curry. Imagine a lineup of herro,Wiggins,kd,bam,ware. Just wishful thinking 🤔
catching kd little late but better late than never.if he has a team to pick to win a ring theres alot better choices obviously so why do u think he would come here.
I think a starting five of Ware, Bam, KD, Wiggins, and Herro would be as good as any in the league.
yes chances of kd coming here i give about 10%
Why? It’s all about the Benjamins.
id say dallas or nyk front runners for kd heat might be in top 5
hfl keeps it real. It’d be nice, but the down side is we would be giving him a big chunk of change, would strap our options somewhat. I agree he still has a little more left than most his age, but I do think that more often than not we should beware of the aging superstar.
Yes, but that didn’t answer my question. A starting five of Ware, Bam, KD, Wiggins, and Herro would be equal to any starting five in the league. Now, if the issue is he’d rather play in a different city that might provide a better opportunity for endorsements, fine.
I’m keeping all eyes on Luka.
He’s not eligible for the super-duper max anymore cuz of the trade. He’s probably gonna give teams an audience when his current contract is up. Reporting all says he admires the Heat org. With Bam and Ware, and microwave scorer in Herro, that’s a really dope team.
Dragic may have a little influence there as well.
Interesting article appearing in AllUCanHeat
2 Heat trade deadline additions fix a weak spot and change goals for the seasonIn this week’s 5 Things U Can Heat, The Miami Heat snag high-level defenders at the trade deadline.
https://allucanheat.com/2-heat-trade-deadline-additions-fix-a-weak-spot-and-change-goals-for-the-season?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
yesd just keep dunc off ct tylers allowed and we have a good defensive team.wiggins the wrong mitchell bam ware pelle hh plus defenders
We have more and better defensive options now. People often overlook how important that can be.
I was just thinking that if Jimmy was not such an Immature, thin skinned, money hungry, egotistical, arrogant, entitled [insert profanity here], the Heat could have had a pretty good starting unit by the playoffs.
Butler jumped the gun before finding out what kind of potential the team has with the emergence of Ware and the next phase of Nico’s development. With a starting line-up of 7’0″, 6’10”, 6’9″, 6’7″ and 6’5″ and considering the team’s strong bench, the Heat could have done some damage, if healthy. The thing is, with 6’7″ Wiggins replacing 6’7″ Butler, the new line-up can do similar damage.
I’m glad to see that all three players obtained via trades are good defenders, especially Mitchell and Wiggins. Having them available in crunch time when the team is trying to close out games can’t hurt. I’m also hoping Mitchell has floor generalship skills similar to or better than Drew Smith’s. I think he may be a better playmaker and defender than Smith.
If nothing else, with the completion of this season’s trades, hopefully the team will be calmer, the new players are able to bond quickly with the other players and we see the players having more fun. We’ll know how things are going if we see a smoother/more structured offense, more consistent defensive intensity and more smiles on the faces of players, coaches and fans.
GO HEAT!!!
Check out this Davion Mitchell clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XNN7o-Cmp4
if spobot listens to us and starts ware from day 1 dont think thiss mess happens,leagues gonna have to adjust to jovic.guys auto on 3s hes gonna get the dunc treatment cant wait to see the second best mitchell in nba play.sounds like the d is there offense we shall see;dru was playing at a good level in all phases if mitchell is comparable will help the team.guess stevens not ready .all in all team looks ok post jimmy but tyler or bam cant be your best player
Mitchell is not known for his offense. His career average is 7.3 ppg. I think he can get more with the Heat.
As for this mess, the seeds were sown last year when Butler sleepwalked during the season, took days off, was more interested in tennis matches, etc. Then came the post season interview with Riley and no extension offer.
I don’t remember SM suggesting Ware should start on day 1. I think he said by all star game. I remember saying it was unlikely he’d start day 1. I don’t think he was ready on day 1. I also don’t think it should have taken 40 games – I was hoping he would be getting a lot of minutes after about 20.
i believe alot of his sleepwalking was because he was 35 and breaking down and trying to get himself close to 100% for the real season.the nba season needs to be trimmed down at least 15-20 games.come the playoffs there are just to many injuries just due to wear and tear,those floors are very hard reason why nfl did away with artificial turf,jimmy before he went whacky was afierce fierce competitor in the playoffs.i believe alot of his whacky behavior was because he knew he couldnt get a ring down here and wanted out .i wish him the worse in gsw btw.true coward. lgh
Now that the issue got resolved, I don’t wish him anything bad. We ended up with some good players and a draft pick that I think will be in the 18-22 range.
i want him to play bad.he did us wrong.
That’s right RC. I didn’t think Ware was ready to start on day 1. However, I did feel he should be getting minutes long before Spo started using him for anything other than “garbage time.” I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect him to blossom so quickly once he did start receiving meaningful minutes.
I’ve also been advocating that Johnson and to a lesser extent Stevens get more minutes. Personally, I see a little Jimmy Butler and a little Amen Thompson in Johnson’s game. He has the potential to be a real beast as a SF. I still think that if he can develop into a solid rotation player by the playoffs, the Heat will be in very good shape. The PG issue was addressed with the trade for Mitchell, although I think Stevens is a better assist man.
I don’t think Butler ever got over Riley telling him to keep his mouth shut if he wasn’t playing. Riley’s decision not to consider extending his contract until he proved he could be available also angered him. This was compounded by Butler’s conclusions that:
Although Butler had previously said money wasn’t everything to him and that he already had more than enough money, I think he views his contract as a gauge of his value. I don’t think Butler felt as though he was being valued enough for his past performance/contributions to the team’s success. When he realized he wasn’t going to get what he wanted during the season, he felt there was no other alternative than to go full blown “scorched earth Jimmy” in order to force a trade, preferably to a team willing to offer him a maximum extension before the trade deadline. As it had in the past when he played for other teams, his tactic appears to have worked. Too bad he had to put the team and the fans through so much drama to get what he wanted.
it brought of alot of attention to the heat.if we had a big to go against jokic i believe we would have beaten the nuggets.bam was so small compared to him it was laughable or cryable.a little slowing down the cheap shot artist was all we needed.ah kelel ware few years to late pat
Yes, I’ve always agreed about Keshad and Stevens. At times, I felt like I was on lonely island also advocating for Pelle. Due particularly to that last game, people are beginning to see what he can be (I also think his offense will be fine).
I am just glad the drama and frustration is over. I watched his intro yesterday and he said all the right things, but it was pretty awkward. I didn’t know Dunleavy was the GM there. It’s funny that the GM and coach, both 3 point shooters, manage the greatest 3 point shooter in history.
averaged like 10 pts in college hes a stopper.offense is an extra dont expect much from the swedish stopper but man if he doesnt foul he is one heckua of a dunc defender.
I think the rookies would have got more run if our record was better.
I really wanna see Keshad get more run too. If he can just hit that corner 3….
I had another beef with Jimmy. He said a lot of things which sounded good but turned out to be untrue. The comment he made about beating Boston if he was healthy was typical of him becoming more and more unrealistic in his assessments. His self image may have been healthy, but it often differed from reality as time went by.
what it is he was saying is my team is not good enough u know something he was right.he carried us in the playoffs every year we went as far as he could take us.if he was lebron prob wearing some jewelry.go f yourself in crummy sf miamis way better place to live quitter.no tennis in sf.coco gauff lives down here.to.
Just an afterthought regarding the 2025 NBA draft.
If Miami (25-24) and Golden State (25-26) both fail to make it out of the play-in round, Miami will get to keep it’s own 2025 pick and will also receive Golden State’s pick. Both would be top 14 lottery picks in a reportedly stacked draft!
If Miami makes the playoffs, it’s 2025 pick goes to OKC. If Golden State makes the playoffs, the pick they sent to Miami via the Butler trade will likely be in the #15-20 range.
yep. nice bit of pick stacking by Pat Riley. No future unprotected picks in 2057 that might be #1, but an extra pick in the teens next year, where the Heat have had a ton of success in the draft
Butler praising the Heat org in his presscon with warriors. But not mentioning any names lol. Thank you Jimmy for giving hope in this franchise during your tenure. You were the boogieman to a lot of east teams. Sad you had to play diva but still thanks! See yah around. Go Heat!!
milw bost testify lal denver not testify
You always find the good in everything.
me 2?lol
So…after all the dust has settled…
The Miami Heat are currently the 6-seed in the East. They are 3 games ahead of the (9) Hawks to be in the lower play-in series, and they are 3 games behind the (4) Pacers to host a first round playoff series.
If none of the Jimmy Butler drama had happened, and I told you before the season this is where the Heat would be in the standings, you would have shrugged your shoulders and said “yeah, about what I expected”.
The fact is, the Heat have weathered the Butler drama, Tyler has become an all-star, and Ware is looking like a RoY candidate. And now they’re getting re-enforcements from Wiggins, Slo-mo, and Mitchell. No all-stars, but they are adding three more guys that can definitely be in a playoff rotation.
We’ve been saying it for two years: the Heat are a play-in team with or without Jimmy Butler. This team looks like they can be better than a play-in team. Can they compete for a Championship? Realistically, probably not. Can they beat the Knicks or Pacers in a playoff series? Absolutely! Can they sneak past the Celtics or Cavs in a playoff series? Maybe.
Most importantly…this team is already the 6-seed. And they undoubtedly just got better. For people who only care about championships, this probably isn’t exciting. But if you care about the regular season and the playoffs, this is a huge improvement.
LETS GO HEAT!
Yeah, buddy!
With another playoff appearance giving the younger players another year of that type of experience it has the team in perfect position for the next big FA to say that team is ready and only missing an alpha like me. That can happen in the next season or two. In the meantime get that experience, nail another 1st round pick, and have your books ready for the pounce.
yeah, i do like the extra first round pick. Judging by where the Warriors currently sit in the standings, it will probably be in the teens. Same place we drafted Ware, Bam, Herro, etc.
It’s said to be a stacked class. I’m not saying we’re going to land another one of those guys, but there is a very damn good chance lol
Thank you Pat for standing pat lol. Looks like the top 3 teams in east is almost fixed. So 4-6 is up for grabs. Wattya all think? Do we have a shot now that our Butler drama series is finally over?
oh hell yeah. looking forward to a 4/5 date with Indiana
Hey, I wish you would go back to writing stuff that I can disagree with, but this ain’t it 😆. The team has had to play under difficult circumstances and you can see the chemistry building. I do believe they can be the 5 or 6 seed, maybe 4 if everything falls into place. Ware, Bam, Wiggins, and Herro make for a strong starting rotation. I think if Duncan flails, flubs, fouls, and doesn’t provide offense, there should be an early substitution. Spo can utilize the bench in a myriad of ways depending on the situation.
lol. It’s tough to have bad takes when everything is finally coming together. By next offseason I promise I’ll be making dumb statements like “Dru Smith should be the starting Point Guard”.
Excellent assessment. It’s unreasonable to expect the Heat to be a championship caliber team each and every year. What is expected is that the team will be competitive, give 100% and not embarrass the city like it did during last year’s first round series vs Boston. As long as we see progression and improvement, most of us will be satisfied with that. Personally, I enjoy seeing competitive basketball games, the younger players developing over the years and the camaraderie among the players. After all, it’s just a game. It’s supposed to be fun.
Here here! It’s great and natural to want and hope your team wins the championship every year, but unrealistic to expect it. The Locked On Heat guys said the same in their podcast yesterday. We can expect our team to be competitive and entertaining. If you get more than that? Sports fan ecstasy!
Oh my goodness, they give Wiggins Butler’s number. Granted, that it’s been Wiggins’ number for years, but it still is a bit strange.
Let’s you know that they ain’t retiring that shit lol
Maybe it has something to do with the turmoil he created. Someday we will be able to assess the Butler era with a better perspective.
wow. didn’t notice that, good call
To be fair, they also gave Lowry Goran’s number. It happens? *shrug*
That’s Riley’s way of kicking him in the @$$ on the way out the door.
“By the way, we’re giving your number away.” And if you think your name is going up in the rafters some day, you got another thing coming.”