Jimmy Butler loves Miami and reportedly wants to stay there. He also didn’t sign an extension with the Heat — Pat Riley said, “We don’t have to do that for a year,” and the club reportedly didn’t offer one, certainly not the max — and Butler wants to keep his options open, potentially becoming a free agent next summer (Butler has a $52.4 million player option for the 2025-26 season).
The Warriors — who struck out this summer on landing another star such as Paul George or Lauri Markkanen to put next to Stephen Curry — are watching the situation and would have interest in Butler, The Athletic’s Sam Amick said on the TK Show podcast.
“Jimmy Butler’s going to be a free agent next summer, didn’t get an extension done. The Warriors, as you know, have interest there and I think probably made a couple calls during the summer.”
As Amick notes in that conversation, what the Warriors need is for the wheels to fall off with a team that has a star, and suddenly the elite shot creator the Warriors need next to Curry becomes available. Maybe that’s Miami, but it’s a franchise with a history of beating expectations when everyone expects it to slide. There are plenty of other situations to monitor around the league — from both teams in Los Angeles through Phoenix, Milwaukee and Cleveland — and wherever a good team stumbles, trade rumors will sprout up.
Despite losing Klay Thompson, the Warriors had a good offseason and should be a little better and deeper with the additions of Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson. However, if Golden State is going to get one more ring in the Curry era, they need another elite shot creator on the roster, and they should be watching the market to see who becomes available. Expect a lot of Warriors trade rumors around whoever that might be.