Why anxious Warriors not desperate enough to pursue Butler originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The idea of a marriage between the Warriors and Jimmy Butler might be intriguing at first impulse but is improbable for too many reasons. The first is that in pure acquisition comparisons, it’s more Kelly Oubre Jr. than Kevin Durant.
Yes, the Oubre deal still haunts the Warriors. It taught them a costly lesson about the perils of desperation overriding initial misgivings and lack of consensus.
An extended stretch of bad basketball has the Warriors growing anxious – that much is clear – but they’re not reckless enough to ignore their collective instinct and intellect.
The Warriors, according to league sources, were “skittish” about adding Butler even amid reports that the Miami Heat star would be interested in coming to Golden State. Even though he fits the bill of a legitimate star to pair with franchise player Stephen Curry, Butler’s checkered history is a massive red flag.
Golden State had concerns about Butler’s age (35), deeper concerns about his salary ($48.8 million this season, with a $52.4 million player option for next season) and, perhaps most troubling, his increasing unavailability. A variety of aches and ailments caused him to miss 18 regular-season games in the 2022-23 season, 22 last season and 12 of 32 so far this season.
That’s a lot of liability and uncertainty at much too steep a price. Butler is a risk the Warriors were unwilling to take.
And that was before this week, when he displayed seeming indifference on the court and went rogue off it, telling the world that he would welcome a divorce from the Heat. Butler’s week of petulance led the Heat to hit the star with a seven-game suspension on Friday:
“Through his actions and statements, he has shown he no longer wants to be part of this team. Jimmy Butler and his representative have indicated that they wish to be traded, therefore, we will listen to offers.”
This comes five years after the Heat acquired Butler in what seemed a compatible match. He had a reputation of being ultra-competitive, willing to do what it takes – even if it meant testing teammates and coaches – to chase success.
This seemed the ideal leader for Miami’s all-in approach, with its famed “Heat Culture” established by team president and franchise icon Pat Riley and implemented by respected head coach Erik Spoelstra.
This, though, is the Jimmy Experience. Great player, but a mercurial personality. Capable of taking a team to great heights or drive it toward turmoil. Butler is willing to join his fifth team because emotions eventually soured with each of the first four.
The Warriors, displeased with their 17-16 record, are browsing the market for a trade that makes sense within their locker-room culture and system – coach Steve Kerr refers to it as “fit” – but also their payroll.
Ignoring those factors led Golden State to Oubre in November 2020. Klay Thompson was nearing the end of his rehabilitation from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee when he ruptured his right Achilles’ tendon in an on-court workout. Devastated by this news, the Warriors scrambled for a replacement, someone who could offer the two-way element missing without Thompson.
Their solution was Oubre. Despite internal disagreement, they swapped a moderate amount of draft capital to bring him in at an exorbitant cost. The acquisition doubled Golden State’s luxury tax bill ($66 million to $134 mil). Adding salary to the equation, Oubre cost the team more than $80 million. His impact was minimal, the Warriors finished 39-33 and their season ended in the inaugural Play-In Tournament.
That’s not an experiment easily forgotten. And it’s why the Warriors will continue to search for a deal that, according to a team source, “makes sense,” referring to the altered roster and the financial impact.
Chicago’s Nikola Vučević, a 6-foot-10 center with a nice shooting touch but a poor defender, is being considered, according to a report in The Athletic. Atlanta is willing to part with center Clint Capela, who is a better defender but does not space the floor at all, but he’s a much less appealing option.
Neither move would be as splashy as adding Butler, but the Warriors are considerably more likely to go that route rather than invite the jeopardy that comes with Miami’s disgruntled star.
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