After Miami Heat President Pat Riley tried to hose down speculation with a public statement just over a week ago, the Jimmy Butler saga exploded to life on Thursday as the possibility of the Golden State Warriors acquiring the star forward suddenly reignited.
Butler confirmed that he was unlikely to rediscover his on-court joy while playing in Miami, before ESPN's Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst reported that the 6x All-Star has indicated a desire to be traded away from the Heat prior to the deadline.
Warriors should only trade for Jimmy Butler under one condition
Butler has not provided a list of preferred destinations to the Heat, and is reportedly willing to go anywhere such is his desire to leave the franchise he took to a pair of NBA Finals appearances. However, the Warriors have been strongly linked as a suitor for the 35-year-old over the last month, along with the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
It's going to be difficult for the Suns to trade for Butler and his $48.8 million salary given it would require Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause, not to mention the Heat would have to be willing to take on what's an undesirable contract. The Rockets meanwhile have consistently stated that they want to keep their young core together, while Butler doesn't make a whole lot of sense for the Mavericks next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Other teams are sure to come calling about Butler over the coming weeks, but there still doesn't appear to be a huge market given the financial complexities involved. The most important factor here is that, according to Charania and Windhorst, "teams have been informed that Butler intends to decline his 2025-26 player option and become a free agent in July."
That means teams will be hesitant to give up significant assets for what could result as a short-term rental. Given the circumstances, Golden State should only be trading for Butler under one condition -- that he comes at a very low price.
The Warriors would automatically need to include Andrew Wiggins and at least three other players to match salaries, but they certainly shouldn't be mortgaging too much in the way of future picks for the veteran forward.
They should also be looking to keep Jonathan Kuminga, giving them the flexibility to at least bring one of he or Butler (perhaps both) back in free agency during the offseason. It will also be interesting to see if they're willing to sacrifice Brandin Podziemski, having been unwilling to move the former 19th overall pick during the offseason.
There's no doubt there will be more to come in regard to Butler across the next few days and weeks, with the Warriors interest potentially dictated by their January form which made a strong start against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.