The trade of Butler ends a two-month standoff between the disgruntled six-time All-Star forward and the Miami Heat.
The saga of star forward Jimmy Butler’s falling out with the Miami Heat has reportedly ended with his trade to the Golden State Warriors before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
ESPN and The Athletic – quoting unnamed team sources – reported on Wednesday that the Heat were finalizing a deal to send Butler to the Warriors in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and a first-round draft pick.
Butler and the Heat had been at odds for months. As of Wednesday, Butler was still serving his third suspension by the team “due to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services”.
Butler, whose 17 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 25 games this season is his lowest scoring average since the 2013-14 season, had indicated in early January that he wanted to be traded, with the Heat apparently unwilling to provide the lucrative contract extension he sought.
The 35-year-old, who arrived in Miami from Philadelphia in 2019, led them to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023. At Golden State, he will bolster the ageing star duo of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
The Warriors are currently battling for a play-in berth in the Western Conference.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the deal came together about an hour before the Warriors took on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, where coach Steve Kerr suddenly closed the locker room to address his players.
After the Warriors’ loss to the Jazz, Kerr said he could not discuss any details of a trade that had yet to be finalized.
But he acknowledged the difficulty of preparing to play amid swirling trade reports and with players involved unavailable.
“I think the league should consider making the trade deadline at the All-Star break,” Kerr said. “Just so you don’t have to face these games where guys are getting traded half an hour before the game and you’re trying to process the emotions and trying to win a game.”
Butler, who had been repeatedly linked to a trade to the Phoenix Suns in the past two months, agreed to a two-year, $112m extension to stay with the Warriors through 2026-27, according to multiple reports. He has declined his $52m player’s option on his current contract for next season to sign the new extension.
