Could Jimmy Butler join the Warriors?

Miami is listening to offers for Butler. The Warriors were interested in Butler this summer. Golden State is one of his preferred destinations.

Ever since the summer, the Golden State Warriors have been linked to a number of stars that might be available in trades. The Los Angeles Clippers simply let Paul George leave as a free agent. The Utah Jazz took Lauri Markkanen off the table with a lucrative contract extension. And no one really believes the Warriors are trading for LeBron James.

But the rumor mill must continue to grind and the clocks must be baited, so this week’s new rumor is that the Miami Heat are “open” to trade offers for All-Star Jimmy Butler. Not only that, but the Warriors are among Butler’s top four preferred destinations.

These rumors stem from Butler’s uncertain contract situation after this season. He’s being paid $48.8M in the final year of his deal, and has a player option for 2025-26 worth north of $52M. The Heat didn’t want to give him a contract extension before the season, and they don’t want to pay the luxury tax next season if they’re not a contender, something Butler opting into his contract would almost certainly ensure.

Even if he wants to leave Miami, Butler is better off getting traded than opting out and becoming an unrestricted free agent, simply because he wouldn’t have to navigate the NBA’s new complicated restrictions on sign-and-trade deals. It’s not a coincidence that All-Stars rarely change teams in free agency.

The Warriors have reportedly had interest in Butler since May, and why not? He’s the ideal second scorer/secondary ball handler behind Steph Curry, plays strong defense, and is comfortable in a complicated offensive system like both the Heat and Warriors run. In recent history, paying the luxury tax is not something that has deterred the Warriors.

A trade would be complicated and almost certainly have to involve extra teams, but the Warriors do have a collection of young talent and draft picks that a move like this would generally require. But it’s easy to see how a trade like this would benefit both sides. And there’s off-the-court benefits as well.

Big Face Coffee

It started as a small business during the NBA Bubble. Jimmy Butler sold coffee drinks out of his hotel room at exorbitant prices, a cafe he called “Big Face Coffee.” Every drink cost $20 and Butler only accepted cash, a brilliant-if-predatory approach for players sequestered in a hotel with limited access to ATMs.

Now it is a real brand with its own merchandise and proprietary coffee blends. There’s even a real storefront in Miami.

The Bay Area is a competitive market for coffee, but one with extensive demand for high-end beans. Butler might even negotiate a smaller contract extension if he could make it up in the back end of his coffee business. Can Thrive Plaza support a Big Face franchise?

Steph and Dray need more old guys

It’s nice that the Warriors have a group of energetic young players who play hard defense and know what the word “rizz” means. But for Curry and Draymond Green, there’s a real lack of aging peers on the roster for them to hang out with. The next-oldest guys are Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II, who were both born after Bill Clinton was elected president. Curry was born in the Reagan Administration! Those two players and Kyle Anderson may be the only Warriors who remember 9/11.

Jimmy Butler is 35 years old, and already curmudgeonly. When his teammates played badly in a 2023 game, Butler punished them by blasting Nickelback in the locker room, a classic Dad response that combines discipline and making young people listen to your music. He’s a spokesman for Michelob Ultra, a beer whose selling point is its lack of calories — crucial for a guy in his thirties who loves having fun but hates carbs. Butler is close friends with Dad-movie favorite Mark Wahlberg, an actor most Warriors probably have no idea was a member of the Funky Bunch.

This is a player the Warriors should roll out the red carpet for, and then get that red carpet the hell off his lawn!

He loves beating the Celtics

Sure, Butler, Curry, and Green all love their families and the sport of basketball. But after that, crushing the dreams of the Boston Celtics might be next on their list of favorite things. If the Warriors made this move, it would be out of a belief that they could win a title. While it’s early, that path leads through Boston. The Warriors beat the Celtics in the playoffs once, but Butler has done it twice, haunting the dreams of Ben Affleck, Dave Portnoy, John Krasinski, and former Aerosmith guitarist Jimmy Crespo.

Erik Spoelstra wanted to fight him

Remember this scene from a Warriors-Heat game in 2022? Butler and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra almost came to blows in the huddle.

We don’t really know that this is true, but after watching some of Steve Kerr’s rotations while coaching Team USA the past two years, we’re pretty sure there were moments where Spoelstra wanted to fight Kerr during a timeout as well. Butler and Kerr should certainly bond over that.

It’s clear. Jimmy Butler should become a Warrior. Please forward this blog post to Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and tell him I’m sorry for the things I said about him in 2005.