Michigan State Legend Sounds Off on Potential Jimmy Butler Trade
There has been some speculation that the Golden State Warriors could potentially swing a trade for Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler, but it won't exactly be an easy process.
As with any trade for a star player, so many details must be fine-tuned, and perhaps the most difficult thing is matching salaries.
Warriors star Draymond Green is well aware of that.
During a recent episode of "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis," the former Michigan State Spartans star revealed his take on a potential Butler trade to Golden State.
“It’s hard to trade a guy that make $52 million a year," Green said. " ... Say you want to trade for Jimmy with the least amount of players that you could on our roster. That means either you've got to trade Jimmy straight up for Steph [Curry], or you have to trade Jimmy for me and [Andrew Wiggins]. ... I don’t think you’re going to do that."
It's definitely hard to imagine the Warriors parting with Green and Wiggins for Butler, and we obviously know they wouldn't trade Curry.
Butler has been suspended by the Heat three times this season, most recently because he walked out of practice. It's clear he no longer wants to be in South Beach, but the Bay Area may not exactly be the best location for him, either.
Green—who is currently sidelined with a calf injury—is averaging 8.4 points, six rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 blocks and one steal over 27.8 minutes per game on 41.5/36.2/61.5 shooting splits this season.
It may unfortunately be time for Golden State to admit that its dynastic run has come to an end, as the Warriors have been struggling to stay above .500 throughout the 2024-25 NBA campaign.
Golden State could try and make a move to bolster its roster before the NBA trade deadline, but at this point, it may not be worth it for the club.
The fact that Green is opposed to a Butler trade is not surprising, and the fact that he expressed it publicly is even less jarring.
There is a reason why Green has a future in media, after all.
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Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.