The Golden State Warriors would not be denied. After their failed swings at LeBron James and then Paul George and Lauri Markkanen in the offseason, then a rejection from Kevin Durant at this trade deadline, they got a bona fide star.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Warriors are acquiring Jimmy Butler in a deal that sends Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick to the Miami Heat. Per Charania, it's a four-team trade that sends Kyle Anderson to the Toronto Raptors and Dennis Schroder to the Utah Jazz. The Heat will also acquire PJ Tucker in the deal.
The Athletic's Anthony Slater reports that the first-round pick is top-10 protected, and would be top-10 protected next season if it doesn't convey this year. The Warriors, Slater reported earlier, view it as a top-heavy draft.
Butler has played just 25 games this season, in part due to injury, and in part from suspensions. He is averaging 17 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game on 54 percent shooting and 36.1 percent from deep. He brought Miami to two NBA Finals (2020 and 2023) in his six years there.
It's a massive deal that, for the most part, equates to a Wiggins-for-Butler swap, plus draft compensation. Wiggins had to be included in any deal because of Butler's massive, $48.7 million salary, which would have grown to a $52.41 million player option next season.
But Charania and Brian Windhorst also repors that the player option will be wiped out, with the Warriors extending Butler on a two-year, $121 million extension.
That is particularly interesting because Butler, who is 35 years old and who has dealt with multiple knee injuries over the last several years, did not intend to sign an extension with the Warriors, according to Windhorst. Windhorst reported Sunday that trade talks between the Warriors and Heat ended because of that, but after the Durant talks fell through, the Warriors pulled the trigger anyway.
The major point of the deal is that the Warriors have sent away a resurgent Wiggins on a deal that will pay him north of $28 million next year, plus a more than $30 million player option in two years, which is a far more palatable figure.
If the Warriors had not negotiated a new deal, and instead left the door open for Butler to walk, it would have opened up a massive salary slot for the Warriors. They would have a potential to open up roughly $40 million in salary cap space. They opted, instead, to extend Butler, locking him up for this and the next two seasons, when he will be 37.