The Golden State Warriors just made a massive move at the trade deadline. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Warriors have landed Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Miami Heat, sending out Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Dennis Schroder, and a protected 2025 first-round pick. That said, Schroder will be rerouted to the Utah Jazz in a multi-team deal.
Now, Butler will team up with Stephen Curry in Golden State as the organization looks to help the star point guard win his fifth championship. Butler’s move to the Warriors ended a long, drawn-out dispute with the Heat that included multiple suspensions, including an indefinite suspension to end it all.
But this is a dangerous move for the Warriors.
Jimmy Butler situation with Warriors could look like Heat drama by end of tenure
Just a couple of days ago, Butler reportedly told the Warriors that he wouldn’t sign an extension if they traded for him. He made it fairly clear that he didn’t want to join the Warriors, likely because he was focused on landing with the Phoenix Suns.
Evidently, a lot can change in a couple of days. Clearly, there were no better options available for Butler, so he went back on his word. And that’s a brutal game for the Warriors to be playing.
If Butler didn’t want to be with Golden State in the first place, who’s to say he’s going to be happy there for the next couple of seasons?
Plus, Butler was clearly the Warriors’ second option, too. Earlier in the day on Wednesday, before they traded for Butler, Golden State was trying to trade for Kevin Durant. But when Durant made it clear that he didn’t want to return to Golden State, they moved their attention to Butler and got a deal done.
The Warriors were Butler’s second option, and Butler was the Warriors’ second option. That reeks of a situation that could turn ugly in the long run. It may even end up looking similar to Butler’s situation in Miami this year.
Miami learned their lesson with Butler, and if things don’t go smoothly in Golden State, they could be in danger of learning the same lesson, especially considering Butler’s awkward pathway to land with the Warriors.
For now, Butler signed an extension, and from that fact alone, he seems to be okay with landing in Golden State. But it wasn’t his first option.
And if Butler grows unhappy with the situation with the Warriors, there’s no guarantee that he won’t cause a scene similar to the one he just left in Miami (and the one he made on the Minnesota Timberwolves).