The Golden State Warriors made it clear before February's mid-season deadline that they weren't interested in trading Jimmy Butler, but that won't stop trade rumors and speculation this summer that involves the 6x All-Star.
Butler was terrific in the nearly 12 months between arriving at the Warriors and January's devastating torn ACL, but the reality is that injury -- and the 36-year-old's $56.8 million contract -- is now staring the front office right in the face.
Warriors can't shake Jimmy Butler trade rumors no matter what they do
Golden State don't want to trade their star forward. After initial reports of his desire not to join the franchise before the trade was made last February, Butler has fit in seamlessly both on and off-court the court, delivering the Warriors a strong 46-22 record in the games he's played.
The fact is though that Butler will still be out through the early portion of next season, and that Golden State need another star to support Stephen Curry to ensure that when Butler does return, the season isn't already done and dusted from a playoff sense.
How do the Warriors go about acquiring that star player? Matching contracts for a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant is almost impossible for a team with only six players currently under contract. That's unless, of course, they're willing to trade Butler.
This is the reason why Butler's name will routinely come up in trade hypotheticals. We're not even through the first-round of the playoffs and we've got a blockbuster scenario from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report detailing how Golden State can land Antetokounmpo, while The Ringer's Bill Simmons also includes Butler's contract as part of a wild plan for the Warriors to add Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson AND LeBron James this offseason.
Jimmy Butler shouldn't be immune to trade rumors
These scenarios, whether truly realistic or not, are floated by fans and analysts out of a desire to see Stephen Curry play more meaningful basketball before his career is out, rather than see the 2x MVP sail away into the sunset without another deep playoff run.
Curry should also be the number one priority for Golden State. As a result, nothing outside the superstar guard should be completely off the table, including Butler despite his stature as Curry's main sidekick.
The ideal scenario is the Warriors build a contending team that includes a successful Butler return, but if the only path to another championship is using his $56.8 million deal for an upgrade, that might be a sacrifice the franchise simply has to make.
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