The Warriors got what they wanted in a blockbuster trade that landed them six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.
But ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith still isn't convinced Golden State has what it takes to make it out of the Western Conference. When asked how much more dangerous the Butler addition makes the Warriors, Smith shared a blunt response on ESPN's "First Take" on Thursday morning.
"No more dangerous than they were yesterday," Smith said. "I'm not moved at all. And that's no knock against Jimmy Butler. But what we're not going to do today is call this a mega deal. The fact of the matter is if Jimmy Butler had ended up in Phoenix with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, that would've been a mega deal. But him being in Golden State, you got to understand something: we're accustomed to seeing Steph Curry with Klay Thompson. Jimmy Butler's not a Klay Thompson's type of player.
"He's big time, he's Playoff Jimmy, he will produce, his numbers go up every series in the playoffs. There's no doubt about that. I'm just saying in terms of this system, who he's playing with, the personnel surrounding Jimmy, no. This is not a mega deal. This is something that's saving them money. It's a business deal."
.@stephenasmith believes the Warriors are "no more dangerous than they were yesterday" after the Jimmy Butler trade 😅 pic.twitter.com/FNgDiR7CXn
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 6, 2025
As part of the multi-team deal, the Warriors traded beloved forward Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson plus a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick to the Miami Heat, Lindy Waters III to the Detroit Pistons and Dennis Schröder to the Utah Jazz before he ultimately was moved to the Pistons.
Golden State has been trying to find a No. 2 scorer to pair with Steph Curry since Thompson's offseason departure in the offseason. The team, per multiple reports, tried to take a swing at Paul George and Lauri Markkanen over the summer, and pushed for a reunion with Kevin Durant and a trade for LeBron James before this year's deadline that didn't go through.
With just hours to spare before Thursday's 12 p.m. PT deadline, Golden State ultimately pulled the trigger to acquire Butler, who long had been connected to the organization in recent weeks.
Butler has played just 25 of Miami's 49 games this season, averaging 17 points on 54.0-percent shooting from the field, with 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 30.6 minutes.
There's no denying the talent Butler possesses, but his availability always is his biggest flaw. Hopefully for the Warriors, he and the team can prove Smith wrong. The league know how dangerous a motivated, ticked off Butler can be.
