Hope blossomed briefly before reality came crashing down.
For a couple of exciting days on Trade Deadline week, the possibilities for the Golden State Warriors opened up. LeBron James. Kevin Durant. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Who was the team going to land as the second star for Stephen Curry?
Then the truth was unfurled on Wednesday night: Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III were traded for Jimmy Butler, with at least one protected first changing hands to the Miami Heat. The Warriors then immediately agreed to a contract extension with Butler that will keep him paid through 2026-27.
The Warriors were desperate to make a move and they made one, bringing in the mercurial Heat star. Will he prove to be what the Warriors needed to allow Curry another shot at a playoff run? Or did they shoot themselves in the foot with a deal that will see the end of an era?
Unfortunately, it seems much more likely to be the latter, with the Warriors making not one but two colossal mistakes on Wednesday night. Let's look at both transactions and evaluate why they will spell doom for the end of Stephen Curry's prime.
The Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler
The Warriors have been circling Jimmy Butler for quite some time, but it always seemed like they would think better of it and avoid trading for the unpredictable forward. Reports that Curry and Steve Kerr didn't think he would be a good fit in their locker room should have ended things, but rumors kept flaring back to life.
Ultimately they built into a real fire, and Jimmy Butler is now coming to the Warriors to team up with Curry and Draymond Green. Here is the cost just for the Warriors as currently reported:
Incoming: Jimmy Butler
Outgoing: Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters III, 2025 TOp-10 protected first-round pick.
The pure asset value for the deal is not atrocious; Anderson was having a mediocre season, and Schroder was always a candidate to be moved. Losing Wiggins hurts, especially since the player coming back in exchange for him is old, expensive (more on that in a moment) and injury-prone.
What's more, the shooting on this team just went from bad to worse. Jonathan Kuminga is going to be forced to the bench once again, with Butler, Draymond Green and a center likely to start. It could be rookie two-way center Quentin Post, who has been starting the last few games, but that's a lot to put on the penultimate pick in the draft during his rookie season.
Andrew Wiggins on his contract is arguably more valuable to the Warriors than Jimmy Butler, and that's without the first-round pick and the other players sent out. Missing out on other stars is painful, but trading for Butler anyway at the cost of Wiggins is a significant blow. This deal might make them better in the short-term, but it probably doesn't, and then you have the opportunity cost moving forward. The Warriors should have walked away.
The Warriors extended Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler had the ability to hit free agency this summer, putting a lot of pressure on teams interested in trading for him to sign him to a contract extension.
The Warriors were understandably hesitant to sign Butler to a massive new deal, even if the over-38 rule limited the downside. Yet in the end, to get the trade done, they worked out a lucrative new extension: two-years, $112 million, with Butler declining his player option to get it done. It will pay him $58 million in 2026-27, when he will be 37 years old before that final season even begins.
Will Butler be worth $58 million by then? Almost certainly he will not, as he isn't worth it right now and he will be two years older then. Butler is continually dealing with nagging injuries and is a threat to lose his cool and start pouting at any point. If he and Draymond Green don't get along -- what are the odds of that -- they cannot get out of this deal. They are in the Jimmy Butler market for the foreseeable future.
The Warriors made a short-sighted, desperate trade on Wednesday night. To make it happen, they also added on a massively expensive contract extension that doesn't win back any of his salary demands. In short, they made not one but two mistakes and it will likely mean the end of their run of relevance as a team.