Biggest Winners and Losers from 5-Team Jimmy Butler Trade with Warriors, Heat, More
Biggest Winners and Losers from Jimmy Butler 5-Team Trade with Warriors, Heat, More0 of 4
Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
The Golden State Warriors finally got their co-star for Stephen Curry, when they acquired Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania shared the initial details on the deal:
Shams Charania @ShamsCharaniaBREAKING: The Miami Heat are finalizing a deal to send Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors for Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/82mWHKCnVM
And more steadily poured in as the night progressed.
P.J. Tucker is headed back to the Heat. The Detroit Pistons picked up two players—Lindy Waters III and Josh Richardson—in the deal, while Dennis Schröder went to the Utah Jazz and Kyle Anderson went to the Toronto Raptors.
Butler is the principal piece here, but he’s far from the only one.
The biggest winners and losers in this mega-deal can be found below.
Winner: Warriors1 of 4
Stephen Curry and Jimmy ButlerEzra Shaw/Getty Images
You could almost feel the restlessness of Warriors fans all over the internet as the Los Angeles Lakers added Luka Dončić, the Sacramento Kings landed Zach LaVine and Kevin Durant reportedly had no desire for a reunion with Stephen Curry in the Bay.
Some fans were seemingly resigned to the team missing out on any big moves, especially after ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported that Butler would be “unwilling” to sign an extension with them.
Then, within an hour of the news of this deal breaking, we learned that Butler did indeed sign an extension with Golden State.
Shams Charania @ShamsCharaniaNew Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler has agreed to a new two-year, $121 million extension with the franchise through 2026-27, sources tell me and @WindhorstESPN. Butler is declining his 2025-26 player option for this new $121M deal.
All the well-founded angst went flying out the window, and the Warriors didn’t have to give up a ton to get rid of it.
The Warriors may miss Wiggins’ outside shooting, but Butler is a clear upgrade over him in the starting five. Schröder has negative wins over replacement player since joining Golden State. And while Kyle Anderson has long been a solid backup playmaker and defender, adding Butler is worth losing him.
Even at 35, in a season in which he clearly wasn’t fully engaged for the Miami Heat, Butler’s had moments when he looked like the superstar who dragged Miami to multiple Finals appearances. In December, he had a game with 35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. A month earlier, he had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
His ability to create will take a ton of pressure off Curry, who’s often faced gimmick defenses and double-teams that Golden State has struggled to counter. Outsized defensive attention on him now will lead to big performances for Butler.
Getting this done without having to include any of the intriguing young players is huge, too. The Warriors (at least for now) still have Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Loser (for Now): Heat2 of 4
Pat RileyCarmen Mandato/Getty Images
If there was ever a team and executive that might dig its heels in deep enough to hang onto Butler after everything he did to force their collective hand, it was Pat Riley and the Miami Heat.
That felt especially true after Butler seemingly tanked his own trade value with all the signals that the Phoenix Suns were the only team he wanted to play for.
But in the end, Miami relented, moved Butler, didn’t get a single young prospect for him and only got one protected first-round pick.
If this exact package for Butler had been floated in a mock trade article this past summer, it would’ve been mocked. Probably ruthlessly.
But hanging onto Butler was probably untenable. If he’d picked up his player option for 2025-26, all this drama would’ve followed him into next season. He could’ve made things real uncomfortable for the rest of the team (as he once did with the Minnesota Timberwolves).
And there’s always some potential with a future pick, even if it winds up in the middle or end of the first round.
This feels like a loss for the Heat right now, but they can move forward with the core of Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jović and Jaime Jaquez Jr., sans distractions. Wiggins will be a good complementary player on a decent-value contract.
And that future pick could one day be a difference-maker.
Winner: Jimmy Butler3 of 4
Jimmy ButlerIssac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images
Butler may have had his heart set on the Suns, but this is a great situation for him.
He’s now on a team with one of the most selfless superstars of all time. And even with his 37th birthday around the corner, Curry commands tons of attention outside the three-point line. That will make Butler’s life significantly easier.
Driving and cutting lanes will be wider than they typically were for him in Miami. He’ll be playing with two dynamic playmakers to set him up in Curry and Draymond Green. And he and Green will wreak havoc on defense most nights.
The Warriors aren’t suddenly a favorite in the West, but they’re probably closer to contention than the Heat were. And Playoff Jimmy and Curry are a duo no one will be dying to see in the postseason.
Loser (for Now): Dennis Schröder4 of 4
Dennis SchröderThearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
As mentioned before, plenty of other moving pieces ended up on teams other than the Warriors and Heat.
Tucker is on the Heat, but he’s likely a few years past making a difference for a playoff run. Depending on how they felt about their warm-weather cities, Waters and Richardson might be a little bummed about moving to Detroit.
But none of the above feel like clear “losers.”
That’s not true for Schröder, though. He’s headed to his third team this season, and his stint with the Warriors couldn’t have gone much worse.
Schröder was solid with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 18.4 points and 6.6 assists. He ably ran his team’s offense and put a lot of pressure on the paint, but his jumper abandoned him in Golden State, where he shot 41.9 percent on twos and 32.2 percent from three.
And now he’s going from a team with a playoff shot to one of the most obvious tankers in the league in the Utah Jazz.
Of course, you can probably sell this as an eventual win for Schröder. He instantly becomes a buyout candidate who could wind up on a different postseason contender before the season ends. And even if he doesn’t playing for Utah could mean more opportunities to showcase his one-on-one abilities in anticipation of this summer’s free agency.
