The Golden State Warriors finally made good on one of their star pursuits on Wednesday by landing Jimmy Butler in a four-team trade with the Miami Heat, Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons, as confirmed by CBS Sports NBA insider Bill Reiter. Golden State is sending its 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected), Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson to Miami, while Dennis Schroder, whom Golden State acquired from Brooklyn in December, heads to Utah. Detroit gets Lindy Waters and Josh Richardson.
The deal is still being finalized on the margins, but what we know is that Butler is headed to the Warriors and, importantly, is signing a two-year, $111 million extension to stay there through the 2026-27 season, ESPN reports. This is seemingly the tape that held this deal together as it has been previously reported that Butler was saying he wouldn’t sign an extension with Golden State, which of course made them reluctant to trade valuable pieces for what could amount to a three-month rental.
Butler joins forces with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, who are looking for their fifth titles while Butler tries to win his first on his fifth team. Curry and Green (if he uses his $27.7 million player option) are both also under contract through the 2026-27 season.
But the truth is, they didn’t have to give up that much anyway. Wiggins is having a good season but Butler is an obvious upgrade, and Schroder played far better in Brooklyn than he did in his short time with Golden State.
The Warriors keep Jonathan Kuminga, their prized asset, along with all of their future picks other than 2025. In the offseason, once the draft passes, they would have the 2026, 2028 and 2032 picks eligible to trade, but if you’re talking about before Thursday’s trade deadline they can only move 2027 while remaining in compliance with the Stepien rule.
That’s relevant because might not be done before Thursday’s deadline. They still have attractive parts if they want to add to the incoming juice Butler brings. But at the very least, the Butler extension gives the Warriors, in theory, a three-year window (this year, next year and 2026-27) to make a run at one last title before Curry nears 40 years old, with assets still in their bag to further fuel that endeavor.
