The Golden State Warriors surge from 11th-place in the Western Conference standings to second-round of the playoffs has already made them early winners of the Jimmy Butler trade, but their clear fleecing of the Miami Heat is now becoming more obvious based on the latest trade rumors.
The Heat received Andrew Wiggins and the 20th overall pick from the Warriors as the key assets in return for Butler, yet there's growing speculation that the Heat are now looking to move on from both and potentialy sooner rather than later.
Former Warrior Andrew Wiggins could be on the move again
Miami are reportedly looking to use Wiggins' contract and the 20th pick to look for an upgrade, but could also simply look to move the 2022 All-Star on to provide themselves with more financial flexibility entering next offseason.
Michael Saenz of All You Can Heat states that eliminating salary will be 'key' for Miami, telling fans that they should prepare for Wiggins' departure from the franchise just months after his arrival.
"Stapling Wiggins' contract alongside the No. 20 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft wouldn't be a terrible plan for Miami," Saenz wrote. "Whether they'll be able to upgrade the roster with a veteran or take a flier on a forgotten young talented prospect, the key will be to eliminate as much salary off their books beyond the 2025-26 NBA season."
The Heat had been hoping to turn Wiggins and assets into another former Warrior in Kevin Durant. Essentially turning Butler into the 2x Finals MVP would have been a good outcome for Miami, but they're unwillingness to relinquish young center Kel'el Ware proved a stumbling block that forced the Phoenix Suns into a deal with the Houston Rockets instead.
As valuable as salary relief is, and as prominent as financially-driven trades have been in the past 48 hours, the potential of dealing Wiggins for nothing but cap room should still be viewed as a fairly underwhelming result.
It also goes to show you where Wiggins' value currently sits, and how well Golden State did to turn him and a late first-round pick into a player of Butler's calibre, something that was undoubtedly impacted significantly by the 6x All-Stars antics to conclude his Heat tenure.
Wiggins' future will be interesting to monitor from a Warrior perspective, with even suggestions that the franchise could consider a reunion with the former No. 1 overall pick given the Heat's reported interest in Jonathan Kuminga.
The sign-and-trade complications still makes that outcome appear unlikely, but either way the Warriors can sit back knowing they got the best of the Heat on the Butler trade.
