Sources: Butler traded to Dubs as KD deal fizzles

The Jimmy Butler saga with the Miami Heat ended Wednesday night when he was traded to the Golden State Warriors as part of a multiteam megadeal, sources told ESPN.

The Warriors closed the deal for Butler after negotiations to acquire Kevin Durant ended when the Phoenix Suns star informed the team that he did not want to return to Golden State, sources said. The Warriors, Heat and Suns had been nearing an agreement on a trade that would have landed Butler in Phoenix and Durant back where he won championships in 2017 and 2018.

As part of the agreement, Butler will decline his $52 million player option for next season and is planning to sign a new two-year, $111 million deal that carries through the 2026-27 season, sources said.

The Warriors will send forwards Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson plus a top-10-protected 2025 first-round pick to the Heat, sources said. Also, guard Dennis Schroder, acquired by the Warriors in December, will be sent to the Utah Jazz. Utah will ship forward P.J. Tucker, who played with the Heat in 2021-22, to Miami. Guard Lindy Waters III will go from Golden State to the Detroit Pistons, and Josh Richardson will go from Miami to Detroit.

There were a number of other parameters in the deal that the teams were still ironing out Wednesday night.

Heat forward Nikola Jovic called Butler his “brother” and said that he and many of the Miami players would miss him.

“He’s someone who did a lot for this franchise,” Jovic said of Butler. “He’s someone who helped me so much where I’m not sure if I’ll be here right now if there wasn’t him. I’m sad and happy in the same moment. Sad you’re not going to see him anymore. But I’m really happy that he got what he wanted.”

The trade was agreed to while the Heat were playing against the 76ers in Philadelphia and the Pistons were hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. Warriors coach Steve Kerr called a team meeting to inform players just before Golden State played against Utah in Salt Lake City.

Golden State, which had been looking for another star ahead of the deadline, now has a six-time All-Star in Butler to pair with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. While Wiggins was the team’s second-leading scorer at 17.6 points per game and one of its best defenders versus guards and bigger forwards, Butler should be an upgrade.

The Warriors have desperately needed a dependable second scorer to alleviate pressure on Curry, especially in clutch time. Butler averaged 20 points or more in the four seasons prior to this campaign. He and Green also should form a formidable defensive duo for Kerr.

Curry said he texted with Butler at halftime of the Warriors-Jazz game, expressing his excitement to get going with Butler.

“We know who Jimmy is. Being in two Finals, he’s a winner,” Curry said. “I understand there’s a lot of drama down there, and who really knows what the story is. We expect to have a motivated, committed Jimmy that’s ready to impact our team for the better.”

Wiggins went through his pregame warmup before the Jazz game, but upon walking back to the locker room, he was greeted and dapped up by an assistant coach, a Warriors security guard and Curry. When he got back to his locker stall, a couple of players walked over to him to shake his hand.

Minutes later, the Warriors’ locker room was closed to the media during regular availability so Kerr could address the team. Players including Curry, who was on the court warming up, were brought back into the locker room for the closed-door meeting.

About 15 minutes later, Kerr emerged from the locker room with his head down, and Curry went back onto the court to resume his warmup.

“It’s tough,” Kerr said. “You develop these relationships with guys. They give you everything and commit to the team. They got families. Wigs just had a baby boy last week. Wigs is one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. Just a beautiful soul, a wonderful human being. We don’t hang that banner in ’22 without him, everything he brings, every single day, the laughter, the smile. I am going to miss him, the other guys too.”

A few weeks ago, Kerr and Curry said they did not want to see the Warriors organization make any “desperate” trades that would mortgage the future in an attempt to win this season. Kerr reiterated that about half an hour before he addressed the team behind closed doors.

“Feel the exact same way: Don’t do anything crazy,” Kerr said. “We are not in that position. I think it is important for every organization to know where they are and understand the circumstances, and then you see the possibilities. Draymond, Steph and I have talked about this privately; we have talked about this with [Warriors GM] Mike [Dunleavy Jr.]. There is a responsibility to the organization to do the right thing and to not beg for some crazy trade that is going to put the next 10 years in jeopardy.”

To Kerr’s point, the Warriors held on to young prospects Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, two players they were reluctant to give up last summer when the Warriors explored deals for Lauri Markkanen and Paul George.

The Warriors did lose some of the depth that Kerr has touted all season. But Golden State went into the game at Utah in 10th place in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, the blockbuster deal concludes a drawn-out divorce between Butler and the Heat.

Miami suspended Butler three times this season, twice for conduct detrimental to the team and once after he missed a team flight. His most recent suspension began Jan. 27 after he left shootaround following news that he would be coming off the bench for Miami’s next game. The Heat announced that the indefinite suspension would last at least five games, which took things up to Thursday’s deadline.

Butler hasn’t played since Jan. 21.

The contentious parting seemed telegraphed last offseason when team president Pat Riley said the Heat did not plan to extend Butler this season. Butler has a history of messy exits after previously forcing his way out of the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Heat had called into question the 35-year-old’s effort at times this season. Butler’s 17.0 points per game is his lowest since his third season in the league.

His marriage with Miami seemed a perfect pairing, as Butler’s strong-willed attitude fit well with the franchise’s “Heat Culture” ethos. Over six campaigns in South Beach, Butler led the Heat to the playoffs in each of his first five, with three trips to the Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals appearances. Butler was named to two All-Star teams and made three appearances on All-NBA teams as a member of the Heat.

He will return to Miami on March 25 when the Warriors visit to play the Heat.

“Our biggest obstacle right now that we have to get over is consistency,” guard Tyler Herro said of the Heat finding clarity with Butler’s departure. “So being able to know your role, night in and night out, obviously without injuries is part of clarity, is part of consistency. So right now we’re just trying to all get everything in line and just continue to stack good days, and we’ll find consistency in that.”

With news of the trade, the Warriors’ odds to win the NBA championship shortened from +4000 to +3300 at ESPN BET. They moved from +3000 to +2000 for the Western Conference title and from +1800 to +1200 for the Pacific Division crown.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.