MIAMI — As the Heat got off to a hot start and as the Warriors somewhat stumbled out of the gate (both relative to expectations), the immediate reaction was to assess in the moment.
With Golden State to visit Kaseya Center on Wednesday night, there is something to be said about such timing.
But the Jimmy Butler trade never was about this moment, or even this season.
Had the Heat done nothing at February’s NBA trading deadline, there still would have been this season left on Butler’s Heat contract, or at least the player option for this season.
From the moment the Heat decided to wait a year ago on a Butler extension, and from the moment the trigger was pulled on the multi-team trade nine months ago, it was all about next season, 2026-27.
As in when the Warriors stepped up to the plate in conjunction with their acquisition of Butler and reworked his deal to include a fully guaranteed 2026-27 at $56.8 million.
As in when Butler will be 37.
Last season for the Warriors, as the Heat previously learned from their own marriage with Butler, was the honeymoon. It wasn’t quite Butler leading the Warriors to the NBA Finals, as he did in 2020 at the end of his initial Heat season, but there was a revival for Golden State, including an impressive first-round victory over the Houston Rockets.
This season, there is the Warriors reality of Butler now with a voice in the Golden State locker room, his opining already in full resonance.
Next season? That always was the question, whether the body could hold up, and whether he would be up to the challenge of playing for leading-man money.
Instead, the Heat are well-positioned below the luxury tax to perhaps extend Norman Powell, add a contributing component either with exception money or in a trade, sort out a future with Tyler Herro.
Rather than a clogged 2026-27 cap, there is a mostly clean 2026-27 cap.
With all the tentacles of the Butler trade having been settled, the upshot for the Heat comes down to packages in and packages out.
Outgoing: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson.
Incoming: Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Kasparas Jakucionis (with last June’s No. 20 selection acquired from the Warriors).
Yes, Kyle Anderson also arrived in the Butler trade, with his salary then rerouted this past offseason to finish off the Powell deal.
So putting aside the filler (with all due respect to Richardson, Love and Anderson), the in-the-moments aspect of all tentacles dating to the Butler trade lead to an in-the-moment question:
Which would you rather this season have Jimmy Butler or Powell, Wiggins, Mitchell and Jakucionis?
And that is and should be a debate, because at the moment Jimmy Butler remains, on any given night, capable of still standing as one of the game’s most impactful two-way players. Typically in any NBA trade machination, quality is favored over quantity, since it is a sport where only five play at a time.
So don’t be so quick to rule against the Butler side of the deal. At least in the moment.
And Butler certainly has been the right fit for the Warriors, which matters for a team trying to maximize Stephen Curry’s closing act.
But also consider that if Butler remained with the Heat, collecting the final year of the contract extension he signed with the Heat in the 2021 offseason, would Jaime Jaquez Jr. have had this opportunity for a breakout? Would Nikola Jovic have been given the runway for gains? Would the youth of Pelle Larsson have been served?
Further, consider the high-pace, attacking, quick-launch offense adopted by Erik Spoelstra this season. A year ago, when Spoelstra took the ball out of Butler’s hands and put it in Herro’s hands in camp, the Butler boil-over began. Imagine, having to sell him on an equal-opportunity offense for all five on the floor?
But, again, in the moment, the Warriors arguably not only have the better roster than the Heat, but also the better immediate postseason outlook.
But then also consider the $56.8 million million Golden State will have on its books for a 37-year-old Jimmy Butler next season.
Who won the Jimmy Butler trade? Playoff results this season, next season and perhaps beyond will answer that question.
But in dealing Butler, the Heat were able to rediscover their joy, create a new outlook and design a less encumbered future.
IN THE LANE
SPEAKING OF: Speaking of Jimmy Butler, it was more than a bit curious that one week out ESPN decided to pull Wednesday night’s Warriors-Heat from their schedule in favor of Cavaliers-Rockets, considering the re-return element with Butler to Kaseya Center. Or was the ESPN decision actually curious at all? The Warriors, who have been careful with their aging roster, play Tuesday night at Orlando, with the game in Miami their third in four nights. So could it have been as basic as Golden State making it clear to ESPN that Wednesday might be a night when starters will sit, including Butler, on the second night of the back-to-back set? In last season’s visit, six weeks after the trade, Butler received mostly jeers in closing with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting in a 112-86 Warriors loss, a game played with Stephen Curry sidelined. (As for ESPN’s switcheroo, the start time for Wednesday night has been moved from ESPN’s 7 p.m. to the typical 7:30 p.m. Kaseya Center tip-off.)
SPEAKING ABOUT: As for Butler’s voice in the Warriors’ locker room, it is resonating in a somewhat different way than with the Heat. Amid Golden State’s uneven start, Butler spoke of patience wearing thin. “We’ve got to get back to playing our roles to a T,” Butler said. “Giving a damn whenever we turn it over. Giving a damn whenever our man scores. We guard as a team; we score as a team. Everybody’s got to be on the same page. I think we’ve gotten away from that a little bit.” When Butler is engaged and content, he very much can stand as a leader, as he did for all but the latter stages of his Heat tenure.
STILL GOING: Yes, that is former Heat guard Victor Oladipo attempting to fashion an NBA return through play with the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. Having last played in the NBA in the 2023 playoffs with the Heat, when he suffered yet another devastating knee injury, Oladipo told The Athletic that he appreciates what the NBA wants to see. “I think right now, the narrative is it’s not about ‘what he’s capable of.’ It’s ‘can he play?’ ‘Can he still get up and down the floor and can he play a whole year?’” Oladipo, 33, said. “So, I understand that, and I get it. So, I’m willing to show guys I can, and it’s still at a very high level.” He added, “I’m looking forward to see where it goes.”
WILKENS MEMORIES: Lost in the Heat’s drama this past week were the fond remembrances by coach Erik Spoelstra in the wake of last weekend’s passing of Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who both coached and played in Spoelstra’s native Portland, Ore. “He’s a legend in Portland and in the Northwest,” Spoelstra said. “He played two years and was a player-coach for the Trail Blazers before he went to Seattle. Everybody in the Northwest is very familiar with him, in a similar way as Jack Ramsay. He’s one of the titans of the game.” Spoelstra added, “Everybody respected his career as a player and a coach, but more so respected him as a human being. And my interactions with him were amazing. He had so much grace and he followed the game and was very complimentary. It was a sad day.”
NUMBER
3. Seasons the Heat have won at least their first five home games, with a 5-0 start this season at Kaseya Center before Wednesday night’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat started 8-0 at home in 2012-23 on the way to a 66-16 record and NBA championship. They opened 11-0 at home in 2019-20 on the way to a 44-29 record and appearance in the NBA Finals.
