The Golden State Warriors first choice was a fairytale reunion with Kevin Durant, they settled for a short term hot fling with Jimmy Butler and they’ll hold their breath. In the end they didn’t have a better alternative.
While thoughts of Durant and Curry taking turns torching defenses again danced in the heads of anyone associated with the Warriors Wednesday morning, Durant himself shut off the music and stopped the party when ESPN Insider Shams Charania reported the former Golden State two-time Finals MVP wanted no part of a return to the Bay Area. KD was not a happy camper when he left after the 2019 NBA Finals loss to Toronto where he tore his achilles in game five and immediately took off for an ill-fated run with Kyrie Irving, James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets. Durant seemed to struggle not getting the accolades he felt were warranted on Steph Curry’s Warriors and he knew that would never change no matter how much he did to help the team win. This was Steph’s team and town. Durant had his team in Oklahoma City but never won a title, did win those titles in The Bay Area but seemed to be the most unfulfilled superstar around. He failed in Brooklyn to lead that threesome to success with Irving and Harden playing roles of brooding or hurt and he’s been unsuccessful in leading a big three in the desert flanked by Devin Booker and the flawed Bradley Beal. The Slim Reaper with the slimmer tolerance for outside noise, seems to be searching for an unattainable happiness of leading a team to a title on his terms, with his team and on limited time.
With the NBA trade deadline clock ticking, Warriors owner Joe Lacob had few options. His grand plan of Durant was gone, another old guy, last dance pairing with LeBron James was not happening and no player or players available were enough to change the Warriors fall further down the NBA hierarchy. Lacob was facing the real possibility of his franchise pillar and CEO Stephen Curry asking for a trade to a winner this offseason, given Curry had said numerous times and ways over the last month he wanted to be back in the winning business and had no interest in being on a middling team for the final act of his brilliant franchise and league changing career. Lacob was desperate.
In Miami, Heat CEO Pat Riley was desperate too. His star player Jimmy Butler had pulled every stunt in the handbook of how to act like a spoiled rotten child to alienate your team and get traded, but still to no avail just hours before the NBA trade deadline. Butler had first asked for a trade months ago, Riley countered to keep leverage by emphatically stating the team would not trade him, although everyone knew their relationship was strained after the Heat said in the offseason there would be no contract extension for the face of the franchise at age 35. After fines and suspensions plummeted Butler’s value over the last number of weeks, Miami knew equal value wasn’t happening and the best they could do was to match salaries with a team and get out of the Jimmy business with something of value. Butler reportedly turned down the Warriors early in the week. Reports also surfaced this week he wanted to team with Kevin Durant in Phoenix. Word was the Suns had a financial deal to extend Butler, but because once great, now bloated contract guard Bradley Beal, who has a full no trade clause, said he didn’t want to leave and halted the Suns pursuit. Beal, who was acquired in 2022 from Washington with no trade in hand, was supposed to be a big part of a title contending big three in Phoenix but his injuries and poor play have left them high and dry in the desert with no chance to make moves without his approval. This is why there was speculation Wednesday morning the Suns and their assertive owner Matt Ishbia would start over. They were stuck and Durant could have provided relief by way of players and picks for the future.
Now instead of Durant and Butler with the Suns, or KD and Curry with the Warriors it’s Butler with the Warriors and Durant stalled in Phoenix. Both past their primes and looking for one last run.
With the how established in terms of how this intertwined map led us to this point, the next how is how is this going to work out for the Warriors? There are two elements at play here: On the court and off the court. Keeping with the Durant theme, the last time the Warriors tried to fit in a player of this magnitude was Durant in 2017. Pundits howled there weren’t enough shots to go around, there was only one ball, it would never work. Curry gave away some control and his ego is always checked at the door. Klay only needed the ball for a brief moment to launch and Draymond Green did the dirty work like he always did. Two titles and a third denied by injury and although it was short, it was sweet. Off the court, the pot simmered at times and eventually boiled over reportedly due to a healthy portion of Green, a dash of Kerr and a heavy heaping of Durant not getting top billing on a team and in a city that was never going to be his.
Butler is 35 and although he has plenty of earned accolades, he’s not Durant, but he has some similar traits. Jimmy Buckets has been around the league, drafted by the Bulls, off to the Timberwolves, the 76ers and finally the Heat were his team. He led them to two NBA Finals, he is an All-Star, a finisher, an alpha and a dog. Playoff Jimmy is a thing. On the court, he knows he’s the number two option behind Curry, but he’ll get times to shine in the clutch. That part should be fine, the Warriors need more consistent scoring, shooting and playmaking and Butler can do that. On the defensive end, Butler may have slipped a bit and Andrew Wiggins, who was the big piece going the other way in the trade, may be the better defender at this point in their careers. However, Butler has always had a motor that revved hot and he will set a tone and effort on that end, that’s both good and possibly bad. Will Green and Butler lose their cool on the court and if so, will there be another Draymond-KD public rift? If so, don’t expect either to back down. The biggest issue seems to be ego driven and shouldn’t matter, but always does. Whose team is it, who leads and how. Not only with each other, but with young players and setting tones, rules and culture. The Warriors have a winning culture, but if they were what they used to be, the risky swing on Butler wouldn’t have been needed and he knows that. Jimmy isn’t one to wallflower and just fit in. How will Green and Butler not only coexist as emotional leaders but thrive together and know when to push and when to back off? These issues will be big factors in how this trade will ultimately be graded. It’s about basketball, but chemistry matters.