Jimmy Butler loves Miami and reportedly wants to stay there. He also hasn’t signed an extension with the Heat — Pat Riley said, “We don’t have to do that for a year,” and the club reportedly hasn’t offered one, certainly not the max — and Butler wants to keep. his options are opening, possibly becoming a free agent next summer (Butler has a $52.4 million player option for the 2025-26 season).
The Warriors – who pushed back this summer on landing another star like Paul George or Lauri Markkanen to sit next to Stephen Curry – are watching the situation and would have interest in Butler, The Athletic’s Sam Amick said on the TK Show podcast.
“Jimmy Butler will be a free agent next summer, didn’t do an extension. The Warriors, as you know, have interest there and I think probably made some calls over the summer.”
As Amick notes in that conversation, what the Warriors need is for the wheels to fall off with a team that has a star, and suddenly the elite shot creator the Warriors need next to Curry becomes available. Maybe that’s Miami, but it’s a franchise with a history of exceeding expectations when everyone expects it to slide. There are plenty of other situations to check around the league — from both teams in Los Angeles through Phoenix, Milwaukee and Cleveland — and wherever a good team stumbles, trade rumors will start to rise.
Despite losing Klay Thompson, the Warriors had a good offseason and should be a little better and deeper with the additions of Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson. However, if Golden State is going to get one more ring in the Curry era, they need another elite shot creator on the roster, and they should watch the market to see who becomes available. Expect plenty of Warriors trade rumors surrounding whoever that might be.
