As the Golden State Warriors reflect on their blockbuster acquisition of star forward Jimmy Butler, they must certainly be happy with the results despite disappointing back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat.
While some questioned what the level of Butler's commitment and intensity would be with a team that was not his first choice throughout his final weeks with the Miami Heat, the 6x All-Star has transformed the Warriors from a play-in team to sneaky championship contenders since the trade.
Moreover, with Sam Amick of The Athletic's recent comments on Zach LaVine's fit with the Sacramento Kings, Golden State can breathe a sigh of relief that they ultimately made the right choice.
Zach LaVine could have been disastrous for Warriors
Golden State, who desperately needed another scorer prior to their acquisition of Butler, pursued LaVine in a package with Nikola Vucevic when he was still with the Chicago Bulls. Those talks ultimately fell apart, leading the team into trade discussions with the Heat for Butler.
LaVine was eventually part of another blockbuster trade -- the three-team deal that sent De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs and LaVine to re-join his ex-teammate DeMar DeRozan in Sacramento.
Yet despite Sacramento's drastic mid-season coaching and roster changes, they still sit at just 35-37 and the ninth-seed in the Western Conference. LaVine, through 22 games with the Kings, is averaging 21.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Amick has reported on the Ringer NBA Podcast that he is "not hearing great things about how Zach (LaVine) is enjoying his time so far in (Sacramento)."
He goes on to state that he believes this is due to an imperfect fit between LaVine and the rest of the roster. Especially if the Kings fail to make the playoffs, LaVine could be on the move again just as quickly as he arrived in Sacramento.
Independently of how well Butler has done with the Warriors, the franchise can now see that LaVine would have been an equally imperfect fit in Golden State. While a bona-fide three-level scorer, the 3-year-old is beginning to exit his prime level of athleticism that has enabled him to post the numbers he did with the Chicago Bulls. It is almost certain that he would not have provided the same level of boost to the Warrior offense, particularly in regard to making teammates better.
While, at the time, Golden State's failure to finalize a deal with Chicago seemed like a serious mistake on the front office's end, their ultimate success in trading for Butler and signing him to an extension has since flipped the script. While LaVine's fit in the Bay would certainly have been different than his fit in Sacramento, the Warriors now have two more years beyond this one to chase a title with their current core.