Is Golden State better with Jimmy Butler? Is Miami better without him? Five questions on what happens now.

Jimmy Butler’s Trade to the Warriors: A New Chapter in the NBA Saga

Feb 5, 2025, 09:35 PM ET

In a move that has been the talk of the NBA for months, Jimmy Butler has finally been traded from the Miami Heat to the Golden State Warriors. This blockbuster trade, finalized on Wednesday night, sees Butler joining forces with Stephen Curry in the Bay Area. The deal also includes a two-year, $121 million extension for Butler, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The trade is a complex, multiteam affair involving several players and teams. Andrew Wiggins, P.J. Tucker (via the Utah Jazz), Kyle Anderson, and a protected first-round pick are heading to Miami. Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder is moving from the Warriors to Utah. The Detroit Pistons are also part of the deal, acquiring Lindy Waters III from the Warriors and Josh Richardson from the Heat. Miami had initially hoped to send Anderson to the Toronto Raptors, but that deal fell through, and they are actively seeking a resolution.

Butler’s time with the Heat had been tumultuous, marked by three suspensions since January 3, with the latest starting on January 27. He hasn’t played since January 21, making this trade a significant turning point for both Butler and the Heat.

Now, the big question is: Does Butler’s arrival in Golden State immediately elevate the Warriors, who were sitting at No. 10 in the Western Conference at the time of the trade, back into playoff contention? And what does this mean for the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference? Our NBA Insiders weigh in on the biggest questions following this major NBA trade.

This trade is _____?

• Tim MacMahon: A mediocre ending to a miserable saga in Miami. The Heat accomplished their major goal of not taking back any salary that stretched into summer 2026, when the Heat will be in position to persuade another star to take his talents to South Beach. It’s a desperate swing by the Warriors to pair another star with Stephen Curry, but the desperation isn’t evident in the cost.
• Baxter Holmes: Certainly something! And the Warriors needed to do something splashy to help maximize Curry’s window. The Warriors didn’t give up a ton, all things considered, but Butler’s fit will be interesting. The Warriors’ culture starts with Curry, and Draymond Green provides the edge for this team. Butler, however, is accustomed to being the center of every team he has been on. But the move gives the Warriors a fighting chance in the Western Conference.
• Chris Herring: Simply a trade. Getting Butler out of Miami was something the Heat desperately wanted to get done, given how big a distraction it had become. Miami received enough in return to be competitive, and Golden State got the established name it wanted so badly. But just because these teams had hoped to make something happen doesn’t mean it will change their overall outlook for the time being.
• Jamal Collier: A little lackluster. After the shocking and league-altering Luka Doncic-for-Anthony Davis trade, this one — which we knew was coming in some form before the deadline — is fine. The fit in Golden State next to Curry seems like a much better landing spot for Butler — who gets an extension and gets out of Miami — than replacing Bradley Beal in Phoenix would have been. Still, it doesn’t seem like this trade will have any major implications at the top of the Western Conference.

Does Butler alongside Curry and Green make the Warriors contenders this season?

• Collier: What does “Playoff Jimmy” look like next to Curry? If Butler is motivated to prove Miami wrong, that’s at least more interesting than the situation Golden State was in before, especially considering the top of the conference is filled with young teams. Still, altering the roster so dramatically on the fly will be difficult to pull off, so it’s hard to call Golden State a contender right away.
• MacMahon: Does this deal make Golden State better? Yes. Good enough to contend in the loaded Western Conference? Probably not. The Warriors likely will still make the playoffs via the play-in tournament, considering the adjustment period of implementing such a major addition. And there will be some spacing issues with Butler and Green — two players whom opponents are comfortable shooting 3s against — as key cogs for Golden State.
• Holmes: Butler makes the Warriors better, but being a contender means being up there with the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets — and the list goes on. Right now, the Warriors are 10th in the West. They have a long way to go, and I don’t see this as a transformational trade that suddenly vaults them to the top of the standings. It might have been different had they picked up Butler five years ago, but he’s 35 now with plenty of mileage and a long injury history.
• Herring: There’s still a sizable gap between the Thunder and everyone else out West. I wouldn’t have the Warriors in the second tier, either. But if Butler has the right approach — seemingly more likely with the contract extension hammered out — this move figures to make Golden State better, even if it isn’t enough to push the Dubs into contender status by the end of the regular season.

Fact or Fiction: Golden State will be Butler’s last NBA stop?

• Holmes: If we use history as our guide, then it’s safe to say this won’t be Butler’s last stop. For one reason or another, his tenures in Chicago, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Miami have all ended — often in volatile fashion. There’s an undeniable pattern, and it’s hard to envision that breaking anytime soon.
• MacMahon: If this trade deadline has taught us anything, it’s to assume nothing — except maybe that the ending won’t be pretty with Butler, whether or not it is his last stop. That certainly has been a consistent theme.
• Collier: Fiction, because I’m not going to make that bet for anyone right now.
• Herring: Fiction. Unless this experiment goes swimmingly, the Warriors likely will find themselves in a position where they want to retool around Curry with another star before it’s too late. That might require them to see what they can get for Butler if and when they determine he isn’t the right fit. (Plus, as everyone has said, when have Butler’s tenures ever ended in a pretty fashion?)

What is Miami’s ceiling this season after the trade?

• Herring: We’ve seen the Heat reach the second round as an underdog before, and it could happen again. Coach Erik Spoelstra has proved he is a fantastic coach, and the organization always will be known for its grit and willingness to turn any matchup into a fight. But advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs would seem more improbable this time around.
• Collier: The Heat have a chance to stay out of the play-in tournament and reach the top six of the East, which would be a nice accomplishment after this ongoing saga threatened to derail their season. But it’s hard to see a first-round matchup that would be favorable for the Heat to make any noise in the playoffs.
• MacMahon: You have to give the Heat a sliver of a chance to get out of the first round, considering Spoelstra’s track record. But Miami seems like first-round fodder. It’s hard to envision the Heat beating the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, or Milwaukee Bucks in a series if any of those opponents’ stars are healthy.
• Holmes: I’m sure there will be a sense of relief in Miami now that the Butler saga is over, but it’s hard to see the Heat going far in the postseason, even in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. At their best, I don’t see them challenging Boston, New York, or Cleveland. Maybe they could make some noise in the first round and extend a series a game or two beyond a sweep, but I’m not sure how much further they could go beyond that.

What should the Suns do to pivot after losing out on Butler?

• Herring: It doesn’t seem like Suns governor Mat Ishbia’s M.O. at all, but remaining open to the idea of dealing Kevin Durant would seem wise. The organization isn’t going anywhere with this group, so doubling down on it would make less sense than trying to build for the future around Devin Booker.
• MacMahon: Take a deep breath and massage the egos of the stars they’ve been dangling on the trade market. “There’s crazy things that can happen,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said minutes before news of the Butler trade broke. “There’s conversations that happen and then we’re going to coach. All those guys [on the Suns], I love ’em. So, I think the vibes will be good if they’re here.”
• Holmes: Don’t do anything rash. Ishbia has proved since day one that he loves to take big swings, no matter the cost, and he has received criticism about compromising the Suns’ future to do so. Right now, patience is the watchword. Take and make calls, but if there’s nothing there, the Suns don’t need to force it. They have a lot of talent on the roster as it is.
• Collier: Sure, they probably should take a breath and keep going forward, but they are trending toward the play-in tournament after getting swept out of the last playoffs in the first round and are probably going nowhere. I’m intrigued by a Durant trade and don’t think they should shut that door so quickly.