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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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
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!!
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”.
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.”