SALT LAKE CITY — The Warriors have their second star.
Jimmy Butler is heading to the Warriors in a blockbuster trade, a source confirmed to this news organization. ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the trade and details of it.
Butler, Charania reported, is also committing to a two-year, $121 million extension with Golden State that will keep him under contract through 2027.
The 35-year-old Butler is averaging 17 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He’s a six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA and five-time All-Defense player.
Per Charania, the Warriors are sending out Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters III and a protected first-round pick. Schroder is heading to Utah and Anderson to Toronto in a complicated, multi-team deal.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported that the outgoing pick is protected 1-10 in this year’s draft.
Combining multiple reports in an evolving situation, here’s an overview of the trade:
Warriors get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Andrew Wiggins, Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick (1-10 protected; if not conveyed, top-10 next year and unprotected after that), PJ Tucker
Utah gets: Dennis Schroder
Raptors get: Kyle Anderson
Pistons get: Lindy Waters III, Josh Richardson
In Butler, the Warriors have a secondary playmaker and scorer to take the offensive burden off superstar guard Steph Curry. Although Butler’s usage is down this season amid a tumultuous campaign he ranks highly in several key advanced metrics.
One of the best two-way wings and playoff performers in the league, Butler led the Heat to two NBA Finals.
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Butler became available because the Heat didn’t want to commit to him with a long-term deal. Comments from team owner Pat Riley about his availability soured the situation to the point that Butler quit on the team. The Heat suspended him three times, including an indefinite suspension, for conduct detrimental to the team, disregarding team rules and intentionally withholding services.
Butler’s preferred destination was reportedly Phoenix, but the Warriors pursued him after talks with the Suns around Kevin Durant fell through.
The Warriors aggressively pursued star-caliber players in the week leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, hoping to turn their .500 season around with an infusion of talent. Butler, after Zach LaVine, De’Aaron Fox moved, became the most high-ceiling option available.
Butler joining the Warriors gives them more athleticism and playmaking juice on the wing. Although he’s not a great outside shooter, Butler is an excellent, smart cutter. When fully healthy, Golden State could run out lineups with Curry, Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Draymond Green. Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II — on expiring deals — weren’t included in the blockbuster, so more moves could be coming.
To be sure, losing Wiggins hurts the Warriors. Even Butler won’t be able to replace his point-of-attack defense. Wiggins, who was pivotal in the Warriors’ 2022 title run, was a beloved figure in the locker room for his five seasons with Golden State.
Right before news of the trade broke, Steve Kerr closed the locker room to the media and called all the players off the court. The doors closed for 15 minutes before Curry emerged for his pregame warmup.
Just before he closed the locker room, Kerr had repeated the notion that the Warriors aren’t in the position to “do anything crazy” and sell off future assets for a reckless, win-now move. He’d also addressed the team about trade deadline angst earlier in the week.
“It’s always a hard time, and especially in a season like this,” Kerr said in the Delta Center. “We’ve had a couple of them since I’ve been here, when you know you’re not good enough so you know the team is going to look to do something. The other years are great, when you’re doing well and it’s so unlikely that anything’s going to happen, and you don’t worry about it too much. But these are the years where you just know something’s possible. It’s the hardest part of the job, whether you’re a player going through it or a teammate, coach. You build these relationships and you have really powerful connections to people, then all of the sudden they’re gone. It’s a bizarre part of the profession.”
