While the outcome of the Jimmy Butler trade will take longer than 10-15 games to fully evaluate, the early results have been very obvious for the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat.
The Warriors have been dominant since the blockbuster trade in early February, having gone 11-1 with Butler in the lineup while holding the second-best net rating in the league following the All-Star break.
The Miami Heat have hit rock-bottom after sending Jimmy Butler to the Warriors
Things couldn't have been any different for the Heat who have now lost 11 of their 15 games since the trade. The last of those was a woeful collapse against the lowly Charlotte Hornets at home on Monday, falling 105-102 despite leading by 17 in the first-half.
Miami have now dropped to six games below .500 and are now in serious threat of missing the playoffs at ninth in the Eastern Conference standings. Heat fans have quickly realized the current state of this team is rather bleak, with the franchise having refused to pay their veteran star who had led them to two seperate Finals appearances in a five-year stretch.
From a Heat legend in Jimmy Butler exiting how he did to the Heat constantly blowing leads, this has become one of the most joyless and soul-sucking years a Heat fan can endure," Alexander Villasis of All You Can Heat wrote after the loss to the Hornets.
"The Heat look lost. They've forgotten how to win. There's a lack of continuity, a lack of understanding, maybe even a lack of faith in one another," Wes Goldberg also wrote on All You Can Heat while declaring the franchise had hit rock bottom.
While Butler's end to his Miami tenure was unceremonious, it's easy to envisage that it could have all been avoided had the franchise been willing to pay him. Do they regret that decision now? One thing is for sure, Golden State certainly aren't regretting their decision to trade for the 6x All-Star and give him a two-year, $112 million contract extension in the process.
Butler is engaged, having fun and making his teammates better while competing turning around his new team's fortunes. Former Warrior Andrew Wiggins has failed to have the same impact, having missed five games since his arrival in Miami while also shooting just 40.8% from the floor and 31.3% in the eight games he has played.
Butler's much-anticipated return to Miami is now just two weeks away, with the 35-year-old undoubtedly highly motivated to return with a vengeance when the two teams face off on March 25.