Biggest Winners and Losers from Jimmy Butler 5-Team Trade with Warriors, Heat, More

You could almost feel the restlessness of Warriors fans all over the internet as the Los Angeles Lakers added Luka Dončić, the Sacramento Kings landed Zach LaVine and Kevin Durant reportedly had no desire for a reunion with Stephen Curry in the Bay.

Some fans were seemingly resigned to the team missing out on any big moves, especially after ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported that Butler would be “unwilling” to sign an extension with them.

Then, within an hour of the news of this deal breaking, we learned that Butler did indeed sign an extension with Golden State.

All the well-founded angst went flying out the window, and the Warriors didn’t have to give up a ton to get rid of it.

The Warriors may miss Wiggins’ outside shooting, but Butler is a clear upgrade over him in the starting five. Schröder has negative wins over replacement player since joining Golden State. And while Kyle Anderson has long been a solid backup playmaker and defender, adding Butler is worth losing him.

Even at 35, in a season in which he clearly wasn’t fully engaged for the Miami Heat, Butler’s had moments when he looked like the superstar who dragged Miami to multiple Finals appearances. In December, he had a game with 35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. A month earlier, he had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

His ability to create will take a ton of pressure off Curry, who’s often faced gimmick defenses and double-teams that Golden State has struggled to counter. Outsized defensive attention on him now will lead to big performances for Butler.

Getting this done without having to include any of the intriguing young players is huge, too. The Warriors (at least for now) still have Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis.