After several weeks and multiple suspensions, the standoff between Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat is finally over. He’s got his trade – just not to the Phoenix Suns, the team he preferred.
Butler is headed to the Bay Area, and the Golden State Warriors now have the second star they so desperately wanted.
On the third emergency episode of “NBA Daily” in the last week alone, Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni and Zena Keita were joined by Marcus Thompson to break down the developments.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in the “NBA Daily” podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Dave: Marcus, you helped break the news. Jimmy Butler is now a Golden State Warrior. How in the heck did this happen?
Marcus: I guess if I could put it into one word, it would be desperation. Actually, let’s go with thirst, I like thirst, thirst is a very all-encompassing word. Two thirsty parties. Jimmy hunting for a contract extension which he ends up getting. I think it’s $110 million guaranteed after this year, which is not what he wanted but better than nothing. And the Warriors has been just absolutely desperate for somebody to put next to Steph (Curry). So much so they didn’t always want Jimmy, Jimmy was not the apple of their eye. But sometimes, as Zena would never know, Es you know and I know you know Dave … sometimes you just take whatever’s left over in the club. You feel me?
Thompson: Warriors and Jimmy Butler a match made in mutual desperation
Dave: Ah, that’s not how we operate around here (laughs).
Es: You and your club references, man (laughs).
Dave: Listen, we talked about this the last time you were here, Marcus. They were maybe in on Cam Johnson, of course. They were in on Paul George. They’ve been looking for this wing-type of guy who can create. You think about Jimmy Butler with these guys, they already kind of have shooting concerns. I’m already thinking about the fit on the court and it’s not exactly the most seamless fit.
Marcus: I mean, it’s better than what they had. If we really just pull back and look at this, they were relying heavily on Dennis Schröder and Buddy Hield, that’s what we were talking about. And then they started 12-3 and it looked juicy, right? It looked good. But then at some point, it’s Dennis Schröder and Buddy Hield, that’s the reality. Obviously Jimmy’s not a 3-point shooter, but to me where he fits is they just don’t have dudes who can take two dribbles, get to a spot and take a shot. They don’t have that. They have it in Steph. But the other team is like Steph, you’re not shooting tonight. So, if Jimmy just lives in the mid-range, he gives them another layer of offense that they just desperately need.
Plus, there’s just something to be said about a star, man. If you guard Steph like they guard Steph, where they basically treat the rest of the team like a 24-hour fitness rec squad, Jimmy will torture you. I mean that’s what they needed, they needed somebody to say, ‘How dare you guard me like this, I will embarrass your family.’ Jimmy might say that. Jimmy’s a guy who’s like, ‘You better not do this to me.’ And they just haven’t had that. So there is some issues, but there’s just some fundamental things they lacked. And the best version of Jimmy definitely provides them that.
Zena: My thing is you said somebody that gets to the mid-range. We’ve been seeing Andrew Wiggins improve his game and being able to do that, especially with the absence of Jonathan Kuminga. He absolutely has become that go-to guy that can get to the post in the mid-post area, make a move or get to his spot in the middle of the paint. But I do agree with you … Andrew Wiggins does not attract that star power-level of attention on defense. But was there not an opportunity to work with Wiggins and move others on the team?
Marcus: Nah. I mean, first off; the money doesn’t work. They had to get to, I think Jimmy was at $49 million, and with any deal like that it’s got to be either Draymond or Wiggins. Those are the only two salaries. I haven’t seen a six-for-one deal ever in the NBA, but the Warriors are in a tough spot because they can’t do within 20 percent. They’re so close, they’re hard capped and they got about maybe $500,000 left. Which for regular old people like me, if I only had $500,000, I’d be good. But for them, they got to get really close to $49 million so it’s just hard to do it without those salaries. So that’s how you know they’re desperate because they did not want to trade Wiggins. And if you took a straw poll, which I did, about who would you rather have, Wiggins or Butler, it wasn’t a landslide. A lot of people was like, ‘Man, just let me keep Wiggins.’ But they’re desperate. And if you just watch the Warriors and just watch Steph, just watch Steph slowly deteriorating as he’s exhausted trying to carry a whole team. They just got desperate and had to do something.
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(Top Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
