Golden State landed a star in Jimmy Butler, but who was, at best, their second choice.
Well, that was awkward. According to various reports, Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors spent the past several weeks outlining reasons why they did not want each other, and now he is one of them.
The Warriors traded Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected first-round draft pick in the multi-team deal that returned Butler from the Miami Heat, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. Butler reportedly signed a two-year, $121 million contract extension with Golden State as part of the deal.
That comes as a bit of a surprise, since on Monday ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that “Butler has communicated to the Warriors that he is not interested in signing a contract extension there.” He much preferred the Phoenix Suns, who were offering more money, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
Likewise, “there was zero push from any layer of the organization to get something for Butler done” in Golden State, according to The Athletic’s Slater and Marcus Thompson II. There were reportedly concerns about the strong-headed Butler’s cultural fit on a team that boasts Draymond Green, concerns shared by both Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor said.
There is no denying that the Warriors have spent much of the past 48 hours pursuing Kevin Durant, not Butler, and only after reports that Durant had no interest in a reunion did Golden State pull the trigger. The Athletic even reported that the Warriors preferred Zach LaVine to Butler prior to Sunday’s trade.
We do not know what to believe; surely the players will not, either. Maybe Butler was leveraging more money from the Warriors. Maybe Golden State’s concerns were only a ploy to lower Miami’s asking price. Maybe both of them got what they wanted out of this deal. He was still, at best, their second choice.
All of this comes less than a month after Green told Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill of a trade, “If something is going to happen, it needs to be the right thing. We’re not going to jump and make the wrong decision because we panicked. That’s how you set your organization back five to seven years.”
The question is whether they did that just now. Butler is 35 years old. Curry will be 37 next month, when Green turns 35. These are the final years of their primes. It has to happen now, if it is going to happen at all, for a variety of reasons, chief of which is this: Just about every time Butler has come up on a new contract, he has torn a franchise asunder, and the time for his next extension will arrive quickly.
Then again, the price tag to upgrade from Wiggins to Butler was expiring contracts and a protected pick — hardly dealbreakers. The Warriors have flexibility to make another move on Thursday, as they retained some draft capital and all of their young talent. This move did not mortgage Golden State’s entire future.
Defensively Green and Butler are among the league’s most competitive players. That quality could make them one of the best defenses in the league. They could also drive each other crazy, rotting from within.
Offensively Butler and Curry can both play on or off the ball or both off of Green. Butler’s unwillingness to shoot from deep could make for some spacing issues, but they will get creative. These are veterans. They should figure it out. And they have Curry, the greatest shooter to ever live. They should be fine. Whether or not they will be fine enough to compete for a championship this season will depend on how quickly they jell.
If they do not win it all this season, they return a year older next season. There is massive risk involved — the kind that could cost them their best chance to maximize the end of Curry’s career — but if you can’t land Durant, you acquire the next best thing and cross your fingers. That does not make it less awkward.
