On September 13, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported the Golden State Warriors “probably made a couple of calls during the summer” to inquire about Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler after he did not receive an extension this offseason.
Naturally, the news led to trade speculations.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey came up with a mock trade for the Warriors to land the six-time NBA All-Star wing.
Golden State Warriors receive: Jimmy Butler and Josh Richardson
Miami Heat receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, a 2025 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick swap
Butler, who turns 35 on Friday, September 14, fits the timeline of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Butler’s defensive toughness and skill set are what the Warriors need to get back into title contention after losing Klay Thompson and the decline of Wiggins’ play.
While Kuminga showed plenty of promise last season, he’s still young for the Warriors to rely on as Curry’s co-star, especially in pressure-packed situations.
Butler is no stranger to that as he is known for raising his game when the pressure is high. He’s not called “Playoff Jimmy” for nothing.
“The Warriors almost certainly need more raw talent to get back to the title contenders’ tier, ” Bailey wrote. “And the potential one-two punch from Curry and his unparalleled outside shooting and Butler’s inside-the-arc scoring is easy to imagine.
A defense led by Butler and Draymond Green could cause plenty of heartache for opponents, too.”
For the Heat, acquiring Kuminga in this trade scenario to run with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo still makes them a relevant team in the weaker Eastern Conference while the Warriors’ draft capital set them up for the future.
Jimmy Butler’s Time in Miami Is Ticking
Butler’s future in Miami has been clouded with uncertainty ever since Heat president Pat Riley put him on notice by not extending him this summer.
“We don’t have to do that for a year,” Riley said about Butler’s extension while speaking to reporters during his exit interview on May 6. “And so, we have not discussed that internally right now, but we have to look at that, making that kind of commitment.”
Butler has a $52 million player option for the 2025-26 season, which he could decline to sign a new long-term deal.
According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, Butler was seeking a new two-year extension worth $113 million.
Riley said he wants to see overall changes from Butler before committing a large extension with the Heat star going into his late 30s.
“I don’t want to go through the litany of factors right now because they all blow up into different hypotheticals, but yeah, that’s a big decision on our part, to commit that kind of resources unless you have somebody who’s really going to be there available every single night,” Riley said. “That’s the truth.”
Warriors Seek to Maximize Steph Curry’s Window
Warriors owner Joe Lacob has openly said they have been active in pursuing trades to surround Curry with the talent necessary to compete for more titles.
While their efforts have yet to lead to a star trade, Lacob does not believe they have been wasting Curry’s remaining years in his prime.
“I gotta be honest I don’t really think of it that way,” Lacob said Lacob said on the “TK Show” podcast on July 26. “It matters to me every bit as much as it matters to our fans, for Steph. I don’t ever want to be not trying or be bad or be laissez-faire about trying to win. I hope people understand from the time we as a group bought this team 14 years ago, going on 15 now, we’ve tried to be competitive as much as we can.”
Since the February trade deadline, they have swung and missed on LeBron James, Paul George and Lauri Markkanen.
Will they hit the home run with Butler?
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
