Jimmy Butler's contract situation was evidently a big factor in his tumultuous ending with the Miami Heat, and also a significant reason as to why he and the Golden State Warriors ultimately formed a union in a blockbuster trade on Wednesday.
Butler wanted a significant extension the Heat weren't willing to give, leading to growing tension that eventually resulted in multiple suspensions for disruptive behaviour. Not wanting Butler to leave in free agency just after acquiring him, the Warriors signed the 6x All-Star to a two-year, $112 million extension that ties him to the same timeline as fellow veterans Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
The Warriors will benefit from Jimmy Butler removing his trade bonus
Many believe Golden State are doing Butler a massive favor by signing him to such an exorbitant extension, yet it shouldn't go ignored that the 35-year-old is also helping the franchise upon his arrival.
Butler had a small but actually very important trade bonus in his contract with the Heat. However, the veteran has chose to waive that trade bonus as Anthony Davis did in his move from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks.
As outlined by ESPN's front office insider Bobby Marks on Friday, Butler wouldn't have been able to waive his trade bonus and also sign an extension under the terms of the old CBA.
A change in the 2023 CBA has given Golden State more flexibility below the first apron and allowed them to sign Jimmy Butler to an extension.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 7, 2025
2017 CBA
*⃣A player that amends the trade bonus in his contract is not allowed to sign an extension or renegotiate for six months.
2023…
So why is this important for the Warriors? Well, as a team hard capped at the first tax apron, Golden State need all the money they can get in order to fill out the remainder of the roster in timely fashion. Even though Butler's trade bonus is small by NBA standards ($418,000), that actually goes a long way to signing at least two more players following Quinten Post's conversion from a two-way contract to a standard deal on Friday.
Instead of having $1.4 million to work with, the Warriors are now about $1.8 million below the first tax apron. As outlined by @gswcba on X (formerly Twitter), Golden State can sign two players to rest of season minimum contracts on February 17, or do one earlier and add someone on a 10-day contract.
With Butler waiving his trade bonus, the Warriors can skip the 10-Days and add 2 rest-of-season minimums as early as 2/17 or add 1 as soon as today and then do a 10-Day (and ROS after).
— GSWCBA (@gswcba) February 7, 2025
They have some flexibility. Roster can be under 14 for 28 days total (2 weeks at a time). https://t.co/v1L1JgKVZS
That's a significant aid rather than having to wait till later in the season by not only which point the best free agent options are probably gone, but also any signing would have less time to actually make an impact.
It will now be a wait and see on who the Warriors could potentially acquire in the buyout market, yet there's no doubt that their chances of landing a useful piece have been helped by Butler's decision to waive his trade bonus.