Warriors Commit To Stephen Curry’s Timeline With Jimmy Butler Trade

For the past half-decade, the Golden State Warriors have been trying to contend for championships around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green while developing their next generation of stars. Their two-timeline approach did pay off with another title in 2021-22, but it otherwise resulted in one playoff series win and two trips to the draft lottery over the past few years.

On Wednesday, the Warriors decided to commit to Curry’s timeline by trading Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters III and a top-10-protected 2025 first-round pick for Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst.

The Warriors didn’t have to give up prized prospects such as Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski or Trayce Jackson-Davis for Butler. They still have veteran guards Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II along with center Kevon Looney, too. However, their trade for Butler made it clear which of their two timelines they’re prioritizing for now.

As part of the trade, Butler signed a two-year, $111 million maximum extension that runs through 2026-27. Curry, Butler and Green could all become unrestricted free agents during the 2027 offseason, which likely gives this core a two-and-a-half-year window (at most).

However, there’s no guarantee that any of the Warriors’ young prospects will turn into stars, much less all-time greats like Curry. They owed it to him to give themselves a puncher’s chance of going on a deep playoff run. Adding Butler could help them do that.

The Price Is Right

A month ago, the thought of the Warriors acquiring Butler seemed far-fetched. Anthony Slater, Marcus Thompson II and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported in early January that the Warriors were not “seen as a viable option” for Butler, and there had “been no substantive talks or traction to get any type of deal done.”

What changed over the past month? For one, the Heat grew increasingly desperate to rid themselves of their Butler headache by the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. In late January, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Heat were “really, really trying” to trade Butler and had lowered their asking price. That brought the Warriors back to the table, according to Charania and Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor.

Wiggins was a key part of the Warriors’ 2021-22 championship team, and he’s having a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign. However, Butler is a six-time All-Star who helped drag the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances over the past half-decade. He’s a clear upgrade over Wiggins in terms of ceiling.

Schröder had struggled since coming to Golden State via trade in mid-December, averaging only 10.6 points on 37.5% shooting (including 32.2% from deep) in 24 games. Anderson, whom the Warriors acquired via sign-and-trade this past offseason, is averaging only 15.0 minutes per game this year. That’s his lowest mark since the 2016-17 campaign.

The Warriors did have to sacrifice their depth to acquire Butler, but their strength-in-numbers approach ran out of steam after a hot start the season. They entered Wednesday tied with the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings for the ninth-best record in the West. They correctly deduced that they needed more high-end talent alongside Curry to challenge for a championship.

We’ll soon learn whether Butler was the right fit.

Can Butler Bring Them Back To Glory?

Butler’s relationship with the Heat deteriorated this year because they refused to give him the extension that the Warriors just did. However, his credentials during his tenure in Miami are unimpeachable. He made three All-NBA teams and routinely raised his game in the postseason enough that he earned the moniker “Playoff Jimmy.”

It’s fair to wonder how the oft-cantankerous Butler will mesh with Green, who’s had his fair share of chemistry-threatening blowups in recent years. Neither Green nor Butler is a prolific three-point shooter, so lineups featuring both could cramp the offensive spacing around Curry. Granted, they might make up for it on defense, as both are versatile havoc-wreakers on that end of the floor.

Butler has missed at least 15 games in each of the past six seasons, which is among the reasons why the Heat balked at handing him a two-year max extension this past offseason. Given his age—he’s turning 36 in September—he might no longer be able to carry a team like he did in Miami for the past few years. Alongside Curry, he won’t have to.

If the Warriors make the playoffs, no team will be excited to draw the combination of Butler and Curry together in the first round. Their lengthy history of playoff heroics should inspire fear in any opponent, no matter what seed the Warriors are. After all, Butler dragged the No. 8 seed Heat to the NBA Finals two years ago after upsetting Giannis Milwaukee and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

The acquisition of Butler doesn’t necessarily mean that the Warriors are abandoning their two-timeline plan. Again, they still have Kuminga, Moody, Podziemski and Jackson-Davis, all of whom are 25 or younger. They’re also expected to convert two-way signing Quinten Post to a standard contract once the Butler trade is complete, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

With that said, Butler’s arrival will all push them down one notch on offense. Kuminga, who was angling for an extension worth “well beyond” $30 million per year, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole, figures to be Golden State’s No. 3 option at best now. It may be tougher for him to justify a max or near-max price tag in that role, which could result in contentious negotiations this offseason.

That’s a problem for down the road. Besides, the Warriors couldn’t keep pinning their hopes on some early 20-somethings expediting their development enough to fill out a championship-caliber supporting cast around Curry. They needed a bona fide co-star who’s been there, done that in the playoffs to help draw defensive attention away.

Given how the end of his Miami tenure unfolded, Butler figures to be laser-focused on proving the Heat wrong for cutting bait on him. That should help Curry and Green in their quest for a fifth career championship.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

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