Five-time All-NBA forward Jimmy Butler is on his way to the Golden State Warriors, joining Stephen Curry and Draymond Green to form one of the most accomplished postseason trios in the NBA. News of the trade — which sent Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson to the Miami Heat, along with a handful of other players, teams and picks involved — broke shortly before the Warriors’ 131-128 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Butler also reportedly agreed to a two-year, $111 million extension with Golden State, pulling a 180 on reports from earlier in the week stating that he would do no such thing. That means that he, Green and Curry will soon all be under contract until 2027, giving them a few cracks at bringing another championship to the Warriors.
While Butler has been able to play alongside several different stars along the course of his career, there are always questions when a player of his caliber joins fellow stars who also require the basketball. Curry and Green are as unselfish as they come, but both need a certain amount of usage to be effective. There’s also the fact that Butler isn’t exactly a spot-up 3-point threat, meaning that there could be issues when playing alongside Green, another non-shooter.
After Wednesday night’s loss, however, Green expressed no concern about bringing Butler into the fold next to himself and Curry.
“We win. All three of us. So there’s your fit,” Green said, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, adding that Butler has “winning f—-ing pedigree.”
Indeed, while Butler has yet to win an NBA title, the legend of “Playoff Jimmy” has become engrained in his legacy, as he led the Heat — seemingly singlehandedly at times — to NBA Finals appearances in 2020 and 2023. Especially at this stage in his career, at age 35, Butler will likely do whatever it takes to win, whether that means scoring 35 points or five points on any given night.
“He’s a winner,” Curry said of Butler on Wednesday night. “I understand there was a lot of drama down there [in Miami]. Who really knows what the story is? We expect to have a motivated, committed Jimmy that’s ready to impact our team for the better.”
Curry added that he sent Butler a text at halftime of Wednesday night’s game and received a “very pleasant message” in return.
With Curry and Green having won four titles together and Butler having experienced incredible playoff success, this combination could work wonders in a playoff setting. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they have an uphill climb ahead of themselves to even get there, as they sat with a 25-25 record, No. 11 in the Western Conference — just outside the Play-In — after Wednesday night’s games.
