Ira Winderman: Still too many variables to fully assess Butler trade, but Heat built bridge to future

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Nov 16, 2025

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MIAMI — As the Miami Heat got off to a hot start and as the Golden State Warriors somewhat stumbled out of the gate (both relative to expectations), the immediate reaction was to assess in the moment.

With Golden State to visit Kaseya Center on Wednesday night, there is something to be said about such timing.

But the Jimmy Butler trade never was about this moment, or even this season.

Had the Heat done nothing at February’s NBA trading deadline, there still would have been this season left on Butler’s Heat contract, or at least the player option for this season.

From the moment the Heat decided to wait a year ago on a Butler extension, and from the moment the trigger was pulled on the multi-team trade nine months ago, it was all about next season, 2026-27.

As in when the Warriors stepped up to the plate in conjunction with their acquisition of Butler and reworked his deal to include a fully guaranteed 2026-27 at $56.8 million.

As in when Butler will be 37.

Last season for the Warriors, as the Heat previously learned from their own marriage with Butler, was the honeymoon. It wasn’t quite Butler leading the Warriors to the NBA Finals, as he did in 2020 at the end of his initial Heat season, but there was a revival for Golden State, including an impressive first-round victory over the Houston Rockets.

This season, there is the Warriors reality of Butler now with a voice in the Golden State locker room, his opining already in full resonance.

Next season? That always was the question, whether the body could hold up, and whether he would be up to the challenge of playing for leading-man money.

Instead, the Heat are well-positioned below the luxury tax to perhaps extend Norman Powell, add a contributing component either with exception money or in a trade, sort out a future with Tyler Herro.

Rather than a clogged 2026-27 cap, there is a mostly clean 2026-27 cap.

With all the tentacles of the Butler trade having been settled, the upshot for the Heat comes down to packages in and packages out.

— Outgoing: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson.

— Incoming: Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Kasparas Jakucionis (with last June’s No. 20 selection acquired from the Warriors).

Yes, Kyle Anderson also arrived in the Butler trade, with his salary then rerouted this past offseason to finish off the Powell deal.

So putting aside the filler (with all due respect to Richardson, Love and Anderson), the in-the-moments aspect of all tentacles dating to the Butler trade lead to an in-the-moment question:

Which would you rather this season have Butler or Powell, Wiggins, Mitchell and Jakucionis?

And that is and should be a debate, because at the moment Butler remains, on any given night, capable of still standing as one of the game’s most impactful two-way players. Typically in any NBA trade machination, quality is favored over quantity, since it is a sport where only five play at a time.

So don’t be so quick to rule against the Butler side of the deal. At least in the moment.

And Butler certainly has been the right fit for the Warriors, which matters for a team trying to maximize Stephen Curry’s closing act.

But also consider that if Butler remained with the Heat, collecting the final year of the contract extension he signed with the Heat in the 2021 offseason, would Jaime Jaquez Jr. have had this opportunity for a breakout? Would Nikola Jovic have been given the runway for gains? Would the youth of Pelle Larsson have been served?

Further, consider the high-pace, attacking, quick-launch offense adopted by Erik Spoelstra this season. A year ago, when Spoelstra took the ball out of Butler’s hands and put it in Herro’s hands in camp, the Butler boil-over began. Imagine, having to sell him on an equal-opportunity offense for all five on the floor?

But, again, in the moment, the Warriors arguably not only have the better roster than the Heat, but also the better immediate postseason outlook.

But then also consider the $56.8 million million Golden State will have on its books for a 37-year-old Butler next season.

Who won the Butler trade? Playoff results this season, next season and perhaps beyond will answer that question.

But in dealing Butler, the Heat were able to rediscover their joy, create a new outlook and design a less encumbered future.

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