Warriors Land Jimmy Butler in Blockbuster Trade Pitch

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Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat is fouled by Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors.

With the February 6 NBA trade deadline fast approaching, the Heat are pressed against time to trade Jimmy Butler. Among the teams in Butler’s reported preferred destinations are the Warriors.

In light of those reports, ESPN’s Bobby Marks proposed a three-team trade that would see the Warriors acquire Butler for a haul of players and assets.

Warriors would receive: Jimmy Butler

Heat would receive: Kyle Anderson, Gary Payton II, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 Warriors first-round pick (top-4 protected), 2028 Warriors first-round pick

Pistons would receive: Kevon Looney, 2026 Lakers second-round pick (via Heat)

Marks explained that, although the Warriors face certain restrictions due to being a first-apron hard-capped team, they have the requisite contracts to acquire Butler.

“The Warriors do have the contracts to make a Butler trade and still remain below the hard cap, he wrote. “Including Andrew Wiggins’ $26.3 million salary, Golden State has seven players earning between $5.8 million to $13 million. Four of those players — Schroder, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga — are on expiring contracts. To take back the Butler salary, the Warriors would need to send out at least four players and remain under the first apron after their roster is filled out.”

Should Warriors Trade Youngsters?

In the aforementioned trade pitch, the Warriors hold onto their core young players Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Such a move could be ideal since the Warriors can continue to work on their dual-timeline plan of competing for a title while also building to the future.

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton explained why the Warriors can be flexible in their trade packages for Butler and work around the Heat’s demands.

“Golden State can choose from a variety of trade options, including moving Jonathan Kuminga and newly extended Moses Moody,” Pelton wrote. “The Warriors could also choose to deal the recently acquired Schroder, so long as a deal is completed at the trade deadline or the day before.

“From a financial standpoint, Miami probably would be best off prioritizing shorter contracts around Wiggins as a Butler replacement. That means most of the value to the Heat here is in two first-round picks, though they have to give up a second-rounder to shed Looney’s salary and make this trade legal.”

Warriors Not Interested In Butler?

It’s worth noting that the Warriors may have soured off on the idea of trading for Butler after the latter was suspended for seven games for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.” Shortly after Butler’s suspension, The Athletic reported that the Warriors preferred the idea of holding onto Wiggins and Kuminga.

“That [a Butler trade] hasn’t been appetizing to the Warriors, according to team and league sources,” the report read. “When gauging their interest in the evolving trade market, they are more often attached to players on mid-tier, more palatable contract numbers. It’s why they flipped De’Anthony Melton for Dennis Schröder’s expiring $13 million deal. Schröder’s contract can’t be aggregated in another trade until the day before the deadline.”

ESPN’s Marc Spears corroborated the report on the January 7 episode of “NBA Today,” noting that the Warriors are prioritizing trading for a big man over a wing like Butler ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline.

“I’m hearing that the Warriors literally want to go bigger than Jimmy Butler, and what I mean by that is they’re one of the most undersized teams in the league,” Spears said. “So they’re trying to get a big guy to go alongside Draymond Green. People on their list include Nikola Vučević, who has probably been the top guy on that list.”