The Warriors made a bold move at the deadline in acquiring six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, consolidating four players to bring him in and change the makeup of the roster. In a media session ahead of Golden State’s game in Los Angeles on Thursday, members of the Warriors and Butler himself discussed the move.
“I’ve always loved him,” owner Joe Lacob told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “I love Draymond [Green]. So we’re dealing with something similar. Incredible competitiveness. My kind of guy.”
The Suns were considered the top suitor for Butler for weeks, with reports repeatedly citing strong mutual interest between the two sides. Phoenix was considered to be the team most willing to pay Butler the maximum-salary extension he sought, and the star forward liked the idea of a future playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
However, Bradley Beal‘s contract – which includes a no-trade clause – proved too difficult to move and thus, Butler wound up in Golden State and Durant stayed put in Phoenix.
“[Butler] was trying to get where he thought he wanted to go,” Lacob said. “He just happened to be thinking incorrectly at the time. That’s now been amended.”
Given their reported desire to make a change to the roster, the Suns even engaged in talks about the idea of a trade that would have sent Durant either Golden State or Miami. However, Durant was uninterested in a reunion with Golden State, which prompted the Warriors to pivot to pursuing Butler.
Green, who played with Durant from 2016-19, downplayed Durant’s reported unwillingness to reunite forces, according to Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina. “Didn’t affect my life one bit,” Green said.
“When you walk on the court and you look on the other end and you see guys that you respect, half the battle is fought,” Green said of the Warriors trading for Butler. “And with Jimmy, that’s half the battle. So that’s going to be fun because we can compete at the highest level.”
Warriors players, including Green, seemed grateful that Golden State’s front office made a move that makes them more competitive this year after the team slid out of the playoff field over the course of the last couple months. Tied with the Kings but sitting in 11th, the Warriors have the final two months of the season to climb into the postseason.
“We’re going in a direction,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. “We have three kind-of-older generational players. But the beauty of the whole thing to me is we’ve got a lot of good complementary pieces. We’ve got assets, we’ve got young players. So in some ways in terms of our financial stuff, there’s a commitment. But on the whole, we’ll have a lot of flexibility.”
The Warriors explored other moves leading up to the deadline, according to Slater, but they value what veterans on expiring contracts like Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II bring to the locker room.
The rest of the Warriors’ season will also be about replenishing their roster after they were left with four open spots on their 15-man roster. They filled one of those by converting center Quinten Post to a standard deal and Santa Cruz Warrior Kevin Knox could be another consideration, per Slater.
Dunleavy and Lacob both applauded one another for their willingness to be aggressive. This move allowed them to add a star player without sacrificing the likes of Brandin Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga. According to Slater, the Warriors will be able to reassess in the summer and still be in position to make another big move at that point if they see fit.
As for Butler, he expressed excitement about having the chance to play alongside the best shooter in the world in Stephen Curry, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. He’s hoping to make his Warriors debut on Saturday against the Bulls.
“I got a feeling I’m [going to] be back, in a big way, too,” he said. “So I’m smiling. I’ve been going at it, I’ve been training, I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. I know that I have my joy back now. I’m in a different situation, different group of guys.”
Butler himself was a big winner of the deadline, finding a team willing to pay him big money in a CBA landscape that makes teams have to be more conscious with how they allocate their finances. He and his new team reportedly agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension projected to be worth $111MM.
“I’m not going to say that was a big part,” Butler said of his contract playing into his exit from Miami and the new one he received from Golden State. “But I’m happy about it. I am happy about it. I think the biggest part was getting me to be able to play basketball again. I just want to be able to go out there and do what I’ve been doing for a very long time. And have fun, smile, rip and run and not feel like I’m just doing cardio majority of the game. So I’m very, very, very happy that I’m not getting suspended no more.”
“He was thinking incorrectly at the time” lmao Warriors-Jimmy relationship off to a great start!
Most of us think this is a great start. You of course were happy with one game under .500 and Andrew Wiggins and Dennis Schroder lol.
I was not happy with being under .500 but I fail to see how 35 year old Jimmy Butler is moving the needle at all, specially when the Warriors pay him 60 million at 37!
To me this says Jimmy will eventually be traded in a package for Giannis, in a multi-teamer of course.
Instead of saying for the 100th time it will not happen. Explain to me why the Bucks would do that and how much it would cost the warriors to make that trade?
@arc89
Of course he cant. Its all in his head that the Bucks would even do this trade.
Bucks would do it because Giannis would demand them to.
Kuminga, Butler, Moody and Podz gets it done.
SMH. Give it up that is less than what Suns wanted for Durant. Why would Giannis even pick the warriors if he demanded a trade. There are much better teams with better chances of winning than the warriors.
Giannis has always been infatuated with the Bulls. Look it up lol he’ll be a Bull at age 33 because it’s what we do.
I am just tired of the Giannis to warriors rumors that been going on for the last 5 years. Some fans think every player wants to come to the warriors.
He did the same thing 4 years ago under another pseudo username. Next up it’ll be Edwards or Wemby lol or Paolo. It gets old lmao
Davey….Lol….stick with Kevin Knox pal.
Why do you bother with this. Hes a ranter and venter. Doesn’t care about reality.
I saw that quote too and was kind of in shock. “Yeah he wanted to go play with KD but then we talked and he actually wanted to play with Steph and just misspoke”
Hoping that this quote was said while half chuckling and in response to being asked directly about Butler wanting to play with KD
Buyout market
I like PJ Tucker, Reddish and Bogdanovic
10 players under contracts
Age under 22
Kuminga
Moody
Pod
Santos
Brabo, time for the hard facts.
Only 3.5 months ago, with Wiggins coming off a horrible 2022-23 and a mediocre 2022-23, EVERY poster on this board (including me) wanted him gone.
MJD had tried for 9 mos., but Wiggins’ was a NEGATIVE contract, one of the worst in the NBA.
Today, 3.5 months later, after trading Wiggins for Jimmy Butler, we have posters calling Wiggins “our #2 guy”, “necessary for Steph to succeed”, and, saying that Wiggins is actually better than Butler.
3.5 months ago, EVERY Dubs fan says “yes” to Andrew Wiggins and a protected first for Jimmy Butler.
Maybe you should give it a few weeks before announcing the end of being a Warriors fan?
Wiggins been playing better than Curry this year. Curry’s knee problems is not allowing him to move as much. Now combine that with his thumb issues that has thrown off his shooting. Wiggins defense is twice as good as Currys defense.
arc89 said:
> Wiggins been playing better than Curry this year.
Rather than unpack that, I hope we can agree that there was no viable plan with Wiggins as greater than #3 player.
Wiggins is a #3 on a playoff team. The warriors are not a playoff team right now. So they might have a #2 in Butler but no #3 player.
arc89 ,
> So they might have a #2 in Butler but no #3 player.
Jonathan Kuminga is back after the All-Start break. Yes, he’s still here, just as Lacob said he would be, with Slater and Kawakami reporting yesterday that he’ll be given a 5 year extension after this season.
What’s your basketball argument against Kuminga…as opposed to, “I’ve been wrong for 2 years, so why stop now”. It’s time to take the “L”.
JK’s stats:
– for season: 16.8 ppg in 26 mpg, 23.2 ppg / 36 mins
– in starts: 24.1 ppg (that’s better than Steph, BTW)
– since Dec 20: 26.8 pts / 36 mins (better than Steph, BTW)
Continuing to deny that GSW is counting on Kuminga will continue to prevent you from making sense of what the FO is doing.
How long will it take for Kuminga to be back 100% and how will he adjust to Butler? They team missed his inside game but Kerr needs to use him in set plays not as Curry’s side kick.
> How long will it take for Kuminga to be back 100%?
He’s a 22 year old with an ankle sprain.
> how long will he adjust to Butler?
How long will anybody on the team adjust to Butler?
> The team missed his inside game but Kerr needs to use him
> in set plays not as Curry’s side kick.
Are we talking about the same Jonathan Kuminga?
“Set plays”? Kerr runs about 1 set play for JK per game.
“Sidekick?” Kuminga plays a smaller percentage of mins with Steph than other Warrior playing > 10 mpg. Kuminga’s appointed role is to provide offense when Steph is NOT on the floor. (Draymond has assisted on 3.5x more Kuminga buckets this year than Steph.)
The Warriors player that benefited most from playing with Steph was Wiggins (in no way a bad thing), who has been more likely to both take and make 3’s with Steph on the floor. Kuminga is less likely to take 3’s with Steph on the floor, probably on Kerr’s direction.
Wiggins was going through his father’s death last season and he has been really great the past 20 games, playing like his all star self. I never wanted to get rid of Wiggins and always saw him as the #2 guy because thats who he was.
I simply dont like Jimmy Butler, he is not a winner (no, losing in the Finals is not winning). He is old, overpaid, a non shooter and worse defender than Wiggins. This is almost as bad as trading Jordan Poole for CP3.
I agree with that. I just don’t see Butler bring much more than Wiggins. Now the pressure is on Butler to make them a playoff team.
arc89 and brabo ,
Obviously, it’s only one game, but watching Butler for one game yesterday against Chicago, I think we saw exactly the elements of his play that have not been raised in comparing him to Wiggins.
Playmaking for others, passing, IQ, drawing the defense away from Steph defensive physicality, leadership, etc.
I did see Butler brought some energy to the game and seeing a warrior player got to the mine instead of no calls. I thought they should have traded TJD at the trade deadline since I just see his game as nothing more than a bench player.
brabo –
As to “I simply don’t like Butler”, I get it. But making statements like “he’s not a winner” or he’s a “worse defender than Wiggins” undermine the credibility of the rest of your argument because the basketball world at large sees Butler as a winner and a superior defender.
> I never wanted to get rid of Wiggins and always saw him as the
> #2 guy because thats who he was.
That’s your opinion, but surely you see that nobody affiliated with the Warriors, from Steph and Draymond, through Kerr, MJD and Lacob, sees Wiggins as a viable #2 option going forward? They had to make a move to get better.
They had to get Steph help — a proven bucket-getter that could punish teams for double- and triple-teaming him. Wiggins doesn’t do that.
GSW also needed a legitimate scoring threat that they can run the offense through when Steph isn’t on the court. Watch tonight, in Butler’s first game, when Steph isn’t on the court.
(Aristotle) I disagree, most analysis I saw placed Wiggins as a better defender than Jimmy and honestly thats a fact, the stats back it up. While Jimmy is a better creator and overall shot maker than Wiggins, that was never the problem.
The problem with the Warriors are their 3 pt shooting (that just got a WHOLE LOT worse) and their defense. Jimmy doesnt really help in either of those. And did I mention he is making double what Wiggins was making? He better produce twice as much then…
Brabo, can you please show me the analytics you refer to that compare Wiggins to Butler? You’re obviously reasonable and smart, so I’m hoping we can engage on the topic in (unlike the way the dialogue has gone to this point), openly.
Analytics are a personal interest…which doesn’t mean my analytics-based takes are right. But I want to summarize some data that I culled from various services over the past couple of hours. Maybe it’ll interest you and maybe it’ll pre-empt our disagreement about it in the future.
If you’d like me to post the stuff here, just say so. Otherwise, no need to waste anybody’s time. Cheers.
@aristotle I only say Wiggins was our #2 guy behind Steph because his salary was the second-highest. Now Jimmy is our #2.
Davey , your position agrees with mine. Wiggins is a solid #3 or #4 option on a contending team.
I’m mostly talking to Brabo because he’s made so many posts to the effect that Wiggins has been and is a viable #2.
(EasyMoney) Who was the Warriors #2 in 2022?
Yes, Wiggins isn’t a #2 on any contender, but, like in 2022, he was part of a group with Steph, Klay, Dray, Poole, Otto, Looney + GP2, all of those guys were very necessary to the title. If he lands in another situation like that, he is a valuable piece. He’s still is inconsistent and not a leader in any way, but he spaces the floor amazingly well, is middling defensively and offensively makes 20-25 PPG money to put up 16-18.
Wiggins defenders are people I do not agree with any of their takes with. Wiggs is “just a guy”. Certainly not a negative, but not a star even though he ridiculously made one of the all-star games, which was a poor choice when it happened and now. He closed his Warriors career averaging 16.7 PPG. He never really gelled with Steph offensively. Harrison Barnes has cleared Wiggins every season. Jimmy also clears Wiggins now and next year, despite being way older than him.
No. You just dont agree with anybody who has a legitimate point against your “Warriors”. Nuff said.
Jimmy just wanted to get paid. That’s it. Miami said no. Phoenix and the Warriors said yes.
In this league that contract is the pecking order and bragging rights. Many of these guys make more money outside of their basketball salary, but their NBA contract means everything with respect and hierarchy.
Bottom line is Butler was right about his value. He turned $48m contract to $121m guarantee. Thats a huge difference.
MIchol-
FWIW, it’s $111m, not $121m. The original report was wrong. (Credit to Chapman.)
He also waived a trade bonus today. Maybe Chapman can explain the significance.
Joyboy probably going to do same thing in summer.
That’s not correct. He has a contract signed and in his pocket. Did you miss that part?
That’s his love language. The wallet. Now he’s ready to go to war. To think otherwise is to have blinders on.
Gary you are right, but also, Jimmy’s massive salary can now be flipped for a superstar (Giannis) or group of high paid players in this upcoming offseason. I don’t hate this move for GSW, they just need to be active on the buyout market as much as they can be. Adding Reggie Jackson, Kelly Olynyk and Ben Simmons would make me very confident about this season.
This is Lacob deal. After seeing what the Suns wanted for kuminga it look better to have Butler. Lacob forced the GM to make the deal.
Suns wanted Kuminga+ for KD
KD doesn’t want to play under Kerr
GSW pivots to Jimmy + Kuminga
GSW keeps its 6-man youth core of Kuminga, Moody, Podziemski, Jackson-Davis, Post and Santos
GSW gets rid of the guy who has missed more games due to “personal reasons” than anyone over the last 3 years
Hopefully Jimmy can mentor young players (lol)
They also wanted 3 1st round picks to go along with Kuminga and Butler.
Were going in a direction
-MDJ
Yeah, straight to the lottery
Uh, ya.., no.
Well see.
The Warriors were going to the lottery without Jimmy Butler or even worse, a play-in elimination.
Watch tallballer come up short
-that’s what she said
I’d rather have lottery – and get back that 2025 first rounder sent to Miami – than play-in or 1st round bow-out. No, I’m being honest, you guys. I already discussed it – in depth – in a previous post. Let’s not kid ourselves about the 2024-25 Dubs. Retool, reload…..and wreak HAVOC on the league next season when we either have a healthy Kuminga or Cam “The Freaking Maaaaan” Johnson to complete the quartet of BALLERZ.
I would rather have the 1st round pick and miss the play in than being the 9th or 10th spot in play in. why give it up for 1 playoff game?
They still believe this iteration of the Warriors can go all the way this season without a big. And no Draymond does not count as this is not 2015-2019 Draymond, this is 2025 Draymond.
Warriors would need a lot of injuries to opposing teams and a 100% healthy team. Once Kuminga is back after all star breaks you will know what warriors have. they will need a 5 or more winning streak to be contenders again.
The Warriors won in 22 without a big man against a much bigger Celtics team.
Defense is their problem more than a big man. Losing their best defender in wiggins is tough to over come. MDJ need to sign a defensive PF with the space available.
Butler was amazing in Miami. He carried the team literally to 2 nba Finals. One of the best postseason players in the game. He’s well rested, healthy amd should be ready to go. Yes, he needs time to adjust to Warriors system but his style of play works instantly anywhere. Let’s go Warriors!!!
Playoff Jimmy + your reigning Clutch POY Steph = playoffs gunna be interesting at least!
If only Durant has been on board with going to Golden State. He could’ve in a convoluted way been traded for himself. Durant for Russell, Russell for Wiggins, Wiggins for Durant.
Yes! I was just thinking about this!
Durant isn’t a fit. He wants to be the “THE MAN”. His ego is why he left Golden State.
2x finals mvp, pretty sure he was the man on that team. Draymond is a d**khead and money was running out contract wise at the time. Draymond pushed KD out and got himself paid in the process.
Oh my gawd!! Davey J wants the Warriors to add Ben Simmons from the buyout market. Does Davey realize how bad Simmons is!! The Nets could wait a couple of months and he would be history. Brooklyn can’t get rid him fast enough. Why would a potential playoff team want him?
For all those saying the Warriors can’t make the playoffs, they sucked in ’22 and won it all. They were in the same place as they are now that season. They have enough time to get Butler going. Wiggins wasn’t a #2 scorer in Minnesota; he wasn’t a #2 scorer with the Dubs. Schroder never fit in with Curry.
Podz and Moody have improved since the beginning of the season. Post is showing signs he could be around awhile. Kuminga will be working hard for that big paycheck.
Could be a fun end to the season.
The Butler trade doesn’t raise the Warriors’ floor but it does raise their ceiling. They’re not a top tier contender but if everything goes right and SGA breaks his wrist then maybe they have a shot.
Wiggins is a very good player but this situation isn’t like ’22. He can’t be the 2nd best player on this Warriors squad because Curry isn’t the same player he was then. He needs more help. He needs a guy that can help create offense and knock down big buckets in the playoffs as to take some offensive pressure off him. Butler may not be capable of being that guy anymore but we know Wiggins isn’t. Butler just might have it him for one more run.
Reeks of desperate.
Taco, that’s the best post on this thread, especially as regards Steph.
A minor add: Jimmy doesn’t have to be “that guy” to raise the ceiling. As in, he doesn’t have to be 1A like he was in Miami. Butler’s mere presence on the court is positive because his IQ and intensity are off the charts. The analytics for Butler’s career in Miami are similar to prime Draymond’s: both offensive and defensive numbers for the rest of the team are better.
Jimmy is a solid fit there. Plus he’s hungry. Cant rely on Wiggins on anymore. Jimmy will also be good for Kuminga. Cause his game is most like his. Young players still getting better. Is what Warriors have to hope for. Like Cavs coming together this yr.
Warriors still need a big. Fact they don’t see the urgency of that. Tells me they are still searching for dreams. Bamba and Theis should be working out there today.
Al – Lately I’ve felt like you’d been missing a bit on the Dubs, but this post is dead-on.
1) you are right about the positive effect of Jimmy on Kuminga, esp because, as you say, their games are so similar.
2) you are right in seeing how the FO is counting on the progress of the young players in the next 2 years. They are part of the plan.
3) you are right in asking “why no bigs!?”