NBA Trade Rumors: Exploring three realistic deals that would help the Golden State Warriors pry Jimmy Butler away from the Miami Heat.
With roughly two months before the NBA Trade Deadline, the rumor mill has certainly been heating up. Of late, the biggest topic of conversation has been Jimmy Butler. After it was reported that the Miami Heat are finally open to hearing trade offers for the perennial All-Star, the speculation around his potential suitors quickly began. Naturally, the Golden State Warriors emerged as a potential landing spot for Jimmy.
And one ESPN's Get Up, Brian Windhorst seemed to stoke those flames. Windy noted that the Warriors have Jimmy on their trade radar heading into the trade deadline season and admitted that he's probably the most realistic path the team has to land a star at the deadline. Whether the Warriors will aggressively pursue a trade for Jimmy remains to be seen but there are a few paths toward a deal getting done. In fact, let's explore three of the most realistic paths toward Jimmy ending up on the Warriors via trade.
The simplest path toward a Jimmy Butler trade for the Warriors
If the Warriors and Heat are looking for a simple way of getting a deal done, there is a pretty seamless path. In this deal, the Warriors would trade Andrew Wiggins, De'Anthony Melton (expiring contract), Kyle Anderson, and a protected first-round pick to the Heat for Jimmy Butler. It's simple and painless. The Warriors would get their upgrade on the wing and the Heat would get a respectable (and younger) replacement for Jimmy.
However, if there's one thing in the NBA, it's that nothing is ever that simple. Because this deal is unlikely to be that elementary, it's only natural to explore other potential realistic deals that could come across the table for both the Warriors and Heat if they do end up pursuing a blockbuster deal centered around Jimmy. That leads us to our second proposed deal.
The Warriors-Heat get a bit more creative with a blockbuster offer
In this second proposed deal, I decided to get a bit more creative with this offer. Not only would the Warriors get their second superstar-level player next to Curry but they would get two new rotation pieces in Haywood Highsmith, who is an underrated two-way player in the league, and Josh Richardson, who is a quality veteran with much-needed playoff experience. The other added important piece to this deal is Jonathan Kuminga heading to Miami.
With the uncertainty of his future with Golden State still very much an issue, it would make sense for the Warriors to at least explore the option of including him in such a deal. Miami could use Kuminga and he could be a great fit next to Bam in the frontcourt. In this deal, the Heat would essentially be trading Jimmy and two rotation pieces for Wiggins and Kuminga. That seems like a pretty fair trade-off if you're the Heat.
A three-team deal that could get complicated
In this final deal for Jimmy Butler, the Warriors and Heat would resort to looking for a third team to help make this deal go-round. In this situation, they could look to the Washington Wizards, who will likely be in the market to get a deal done at the deadline. In this deal, the Warriors would get both Jimmy and Duncan Robinson as the Heat would be able to quickly retool around Herro and Bam with a new supporting cast of Wiggins, Malcolm Brogdon, and Buddy Hield.
The Warriors would also throw in a protected first-round pick to get the deal across the finish line. For help, the Wizards would get a collection of expiring contracts and four second-round picks (two from the Heat and two from the Warriors. From an objective perspective, this could be a deal that makes some sense for all parties involved.
There's no question that the Warriors have at least some level of interest in trading for Jimmy. The question is, how aggressive are they willing to be in an all-out pursuit of him ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline? The answer to that question will ultimately determine how likely Jimmy is to end up in Golden State. One thing is for sure, there is a path toward a deal getting done.