Grade the Trade pitch: Warriors land Jimmy Butler in scorching blockbuster deal

Laying out the details of the trade

Quantifying the value of Jimmy Butler is not easy. On the one hand, he is a perennial All-NBA player when healthy, someone who has led his teams to the Conference Finals many times and the NBA Finals twice. He can handle the ball, score at a high rate, and plays strong defense.

On the other hand, Butler cannot shoot, and suddenly the true space for the Miami offense is limited by Butler's lack of gravity. He is also playing on the last year of his contract, with a player option he can exercise or not for next summer. Sprinkle in a checkered injury history and you get a player with a very high ceiling and a somewhat low chance of being on the court to realize that ceiling.

The Heat are not built in such a way as to completely dissolve and tank this season if they move on from Butler. More likely, they look for a trade package that includes some win-now players to retool the roster around Bam Adebayo and a younger core of players.

On a recent podcast, The Ringer's Bill Simmons brought up Butler's poor performance on opening night and considered some potential trade partners for his services. The Warriors came up as a potential landing spot, and Simmons suggested the package of Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney.

That structure doesn't quite work; the Heat are over the tax apron, so they have to send out more money than they receive, but the Warriors are just underneath it and can't afford to take back money themselves. The solution? A third team.

Here is what a deal could look like:

The Charlotte Hornets have shown a willingness to be facilitators in trades all summer, and this deal is a solid one for them to enter into. They use Vasilije Micic as their backup point guard, but by taking on a few hundred thousand more in Kevon Looney's contract they get a needed backup center and move off of Micic's salary for next season.

The Miami Heat get out of the Jimmy Butler game and in the process get deeper and younger. Andrew Wiggins is a worthy starter on the wing, Gary Payton II gives them an elite defensive guard who would fit like a mitten next to Tyler Herro or Terry Rozier. Jonathan Kuminga can potentially grow into their No. 1 scorer and would have more opportunity to hit his ceiling in Miami.

If the Heat and Hornets are on board, should the Warriors make this trade?