NBA trade deadline – Four Butler deals to shake up the league
Remember when the Jimmy Butler saga was the top storyline of NBA trade season, you know, three days ago?
A lot has changed after weekend blockbusters sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs and Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings.
What hasn’t changed? Butler’s team, as the Miami Heat haven’t found a deal for the disgruntled former All-Star wing. Let’s change that.
We asked our NBA experts (Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton and André Snellings) to come up with Butler megadeals that could shake up the league even more, including trades that feature Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal, Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle.
Let’s get to the deals, starting with a new big three in Milwaukee.
Jump to a team:
Milwaukee | Denver | Phoenix | Golden State
Butler joins Giannis in Milwaukee
Milwaukee Bucks get: Jimmy Butler
Miami Heat get: Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, 2031 first-round pick (more favorable of Miami and Milwaukee), 2029 and 2031 second-round picks (via Milwaukee)
Detroit Pistons get: Pat Connaughton, 2031 first-round pick (less favorable of Miami and Milwaukee)
Inside the deal
The Bucks have been mentioned as a landing spot for Bradley Beal in a possible three-team deal for Butler. If the price gets low enough, however, could Milwaukee cut out Phoenix and acquire Butler instead? The return for the Heat in terms of players would be the same: Middleton as a replacement for Butler on the wing and Portis as a scorer off the bench.
But the Bucks have few draft picks to offer, particularly given the need to compensate the Pistons for taking on Connaughton’s $9.4 million salary for each of the next two seasons. I’ve structured this as a 2031 first-round swap for Miami, with the lesser of the Heat’s and Bucks’ picks going to Detroit.
That’s a paltry return of draft picks for Butler. But this allows the Heat to remain competitive the rest of the season as Middleton works back from offseason ankle surgeries. Butler gives Milwaukee more championship upside, and this deal also saves in luxury tax payments for the Bucks and Heat. — Pelton
Butler to Denver in nine-player deal
Denver Nuggets get: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson
Miami Heat get: Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, Zeke Nnaji, Vlatko Cancar
Minnesota Timberwolves get: Russell Westbrook, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith
Inside the deal
The Nuggets are led by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, but they do not get consistent support from their other players. Butler and Jamal Murray have both earned a reputation for stepping up in the playoffs, and a big three of Jokic, “Playoff Jimmy” and “Playoff Murray” could be the nucleus of another championship run.
The Heat would get two significant players in this deal. They have reportedly been interested in Randle and would like to add him next to Bam Adebayo and rookie Kel’el Ware. Porter would replace Robinson, giving Miami a younger, taller, more talented wing still capable of long-range shooting. This deal would make the Heat younger and help them remain competitive in the short and longer term.
The Timberwolves would trade Randle for three starter-level players. Randle didn’t mesh well in Minnesota, and the Timberwolves would still have franchise player Anthony Edwards and a strong frontline with reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid alongside Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Per Basketball-Reference, the two most common five-man units on the Timberwolves featured Randle and Gobert together, and both units have negative point differentials (average -0.6 points per 100 possessions in 693 minutes). Meanwhile, the four units featuring Gobert and Reid that have played more than 50 minutes together have a positive point differential (average plus-18.8 points per 100 possessions in 301 minutes).
Westbrook would fill the Timberwolves’ biggest need as a playmaking floor general who can create his own shot or set up others. And the fast-break athleticism of Westbrook, Edwards and Jaden McDaniels would be challenging for opponents. Robinson would give Minnesota one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, and Highsmith is a proven rotation-level 3-and-D role player. — Snellings
Butler to Phoenix leads to Beal’s D.C. homecoming
Phoenix Suns get: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson
Miami Heat get: Khris Middleton, Richaun Holmes, Ryan Dunn, 2025 first-round pick (via Cleveland)
Washington Wizards get: Bradley Beal, Oso Ighodaro, 2027 first-round pick (least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah), 2029 first-round pick (least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah), 2031 swap rights with Milwaukee (top-5 protected)
Milwaukee Bucks get: Kyle Kuzma, 2025 second-round pick (via Denver)
Inside the deal
This deal gets Butler to Phoenix and returns Beal to the team that drafted him, but it would come at a significant cost for the Suns.
Besides the monetary commitment to Butler in the future, Phoenix would send three first-round picks that were acquired from Utah in January and two players who would have been part of their future in Dunn and Ighodaro.
The Wizards would inherit the $111 million owed to Beal but acquire three draft assets, including the right to swap firsts with Milwaukee in 2031. After trading Kuzma to Milwaukee, Washington has the flexibility to take on Beal’s salary in the next two years. (The Wizards’ offseason goal would be to extend Beal but with the caveat of reducing his $57 million player option in 2026-27.)
The Heat would gain $20 million in financial flexibility with no salary that stretches into 2026-27 and attain some building blocks for the future. They would add a late first-round pick in June from Cleveland and get rookie forward Ryan Dunn, who has been a solid contributor (7.0 PPG in 19.6 MPG) this season for the Suns.
The addition of Kuzma, who has two years left on his contract after the season, would give Milwaukee more length on defense to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez in the starting lineup. But Kuzma’s offensive production has slipped this season. After back-to-back seasons of over 20 points per game, Kuzma is averaging 15.0 points and a career-low 28% from 3. But the Bucks would save nearly $22 million this season toward the luxury tax. — Marks
How the Warriors could land Jimmy
Golden State Warriors get: Jimmy Butler
Miami Heat get: Andrew Wiggins, Bruce Brown, 2025 first-round pick (top-14 protected; Miami gets back its 2025 second if not conveyed), cash considerations (from Washington)
Toronto Raptors get: Dennis Schroder, Gary Payton II, Josh Richardson, 2026 second-round pick (via LA Lakers), cash considerations (from Miami)
Washington Wizards get: Kevon Looney, 2031 second-round pick (least favorable of Golden State and Minnesota), cash considerations (from Golden State)
Inside the deal
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Monday that the chances of a Heat-Warriors trade are slim because Butler will not sign an extension in Golden State. But, as this weekend proved, stranger things can happen with NBA trades.
The Warriors trading for Butler is a risk-reward scenario. The risk is how Butler fits with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the court and within the locker room. The Warriors also must weigh how much they’re willing to commit to Butler long term and how that will affect their financial flexibility. By removing the $28.2 million owed to Wiggins next season and replacing it with the $52.4 million player option of Butler, Golden State gets $11.9 million below the luxury tax. But the Warriors will blow past the threshold and exceed the first apron (they are $19.9 million below) if they sign restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
The reward is Butler improving a Warriors team that is 12-21 since Nov. 22 and helping Golden State compete to reach the play-in tournament.
The Warrior’s first-apron restrictions present a challenge in how they construct the trade. Because they are $330,000 below the first apron and Butler earns $48.8 million, the Warriors must trade four players who have combined salaries equaling that of Butler.
Getting Wiggins and Brown accomplishes Miami’s two goals when it began exploring Butler trades. The team gets two wings who can help now while gaining financial flexibility next season. Brown is on an expiring contract and Wiggins’ $28.2 million is almost half of Butler’s salary. But Wiggins’ $30.2 million salary in 2026-27 will carve into the Heat’s cap space.
In this deal, the Wizards and Raptors each get a second-round pick and cash considerations to offset the salary owed to Payton, Schroder and Looney. Because teams can have only 15 players on their roster, Garrett Temple (Toronto) and Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Washington) would need to be waived.
Schroder was dealt mid-December from Brooklyn and because of the aggregation rules, he is not allowed to be traded if his salary is combined until Feb. 5. — Marks
Source: espn.com