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Warriors star Draymond Green called out fans who claimed Haywood Highsmith should have started over Jimmy Butler during their time together on the Heat

The Golden State Warriors have their new big three in place, as they acquired Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Miami Heat midway through the 2024-25 campaign, pairing him up with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. This trio will once again lead the way for the Warriors in the upcoming season, with the hope being that they can lead Golden State back to the top of the NBA’s proverbial mountain.

Butler’s departure from the Heat was full of controversy, and he certainly wore out his welcome towards the end of his stint with the team. It got so bad that some fans were calling for veteran wing Haywood Highsmith to start over him for Miami. Now that he’s been traded to the Brooklyn Nets, though, Green took a second to loop back around to this absurd request.

Draymond Green Calls Out Jimmy Butler’s Haters

As the 2024-25 season wore on, it became clear that Butler did not want to be in Miami anymore. His effort on the court was lacking, and he was suspended by the team multiple times for various behind-the-scenes issues. While he initially shot down a potential trade to Golden State, Butler changed his mind and ended up approving a trade to the Warriors.

Once he was there, Butler looked more like himself, averaging 17.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. The Dubs went on a run to the Western Conference semifinals before Curry suffered a hamstring strain that the team was unable to overcome, as they eventually lost in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the wake of the Butler trade, the Heat have been retooling their roster, and earlier this week, that involved them trading Highsmith and a 2032 second-round pick to the Nets in exchange for a protected 2026 second-round pick. Simply put, Miami was looking to free up some salary by moving from Highsmith, and in the wake of the trade, Green called out the fans who believed he should have started over Butler.

“Y’all (internet experts) wanted Jimmy to come off the bench behind dude, and 5 months later The Heat traded him for a bag of chips. That’s wild,” Green said in a post on Threads.

Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler Looking to Go on Title Run with Warriors

Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors celebrates a basket with Jimmy Butler III against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs.

Highsmith took on the biggest role of his career last season with Miami, particularly after Butler was traded. In 74 games, 42 of which were starts, Highsmith averaged 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. He’s a solid role player, but it’s telling that he was moved to Brooklyn in a salary dump.

Regardless of this, the only thing that matters for Green is that he and Butler are on the same squad together now, and they will have one goal for the upcoming season; win the NBA Finals. It’s going to be easier said than done, but if they can get on the same page with Curry and the rest of the squad, the Warriors could turn themselves back into the dangerous squad they appeared to be last season before they flamed out of the postseason.

Owen Crisafulli Owen Crisafulli is a Breaking News Writer at Heavy. In addition to writing for Heavy, Owen serves as the Lead NFL Editor at ClutchPoints while also working as a Content Producer for More Views Media. His work has also appeared on The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. More about Owen Crisafulli