“There is a rising belief leaguewide that the Heat are indeed willing to trade Butler before the Feb. 6 trade deadline despite the great success they’ve enjoyed together over the past five seasons,” Stein wrote. “More teams consulted than not believe that Butler is also eyeing seriously eyeing new locales for the first time. It’s a notion reinforced by the widespread belief that Butler is determined to bypass next season’s $52.4 million player option — no matter where he is on Feb. 7 — to become a free agent on June 30.”
Butler listed four teams, which included the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks.
Warriors, Jimmy Butler have mutual interest
Though Jimmy Butler named four teams, the Warriors seem to be the one that has interest in him, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
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“The Warriors inquired about Butler’s availability before sending Thompson to the Mavs and before agreeing to free agency deals with Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson, sources said. The Heat held no interest in discussing Butler in trade talks, which is why nothing ever materialized. With Butler reportedly being open to a Warriors trade, this is once again something for Golden State to ponder,” Siegel wrote.
In order for the Warriors to make the move, they’ll have to match Butler’s money with some of the contracts that they have. Andrew Wiggins could possibly be in the deal, but they could also center a deal around Jonathan Kuminga, especially since the Warriors did not give him a contract extension before the season.
