Right before the NBA trade deadline this February, the association was in uproar. Most notably from the Luka Doncic trade that sent the entire world into shock. That news made many believe the source’s X account had been hacked. Following up on that were smaller trades, including Zach Levine to the Kings and De’Andre Fox to the Spurs. There was another notable cog in all of this— Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. To say he and the team were at an impasse would be putting it very politely. Reports indicated that Butler wasn’t showing up to practice, wasn’t traveling with the team, and was essentially checked out.

Miami put out a statement that they were not trading Butler. He then responded in a press conference that he “had no joy” at Miami and wanted to be traded. Miami quickly changed their tune and announced they were accepting offers for their star player.

It was around this time that the Golden State Warriors, my favorite NBA team, were getting pummeled in the media. Every talking head said they needed another superstar to help Steph Curry out, and his window for another chip was running out.

I’ve been a Warriors fan for a while now, and I really liked our team this year. The players were all great, and they had great chemistry. There were several issues though. They could not close out games to save their lives. The Warriors lost 32 games where they lost by less than 5 points this season. Imagine if they even won half of those games, how the West would look different. I can tell you— they would be in a solid second place behind OKC.

Going back to Butler, I have never been a fan of his personality. Where Draymond doesn’t bother me and I even like him as a player, Jimmy always rubbed me the wrong way. The whole debacle with Miami just cemented my feelings. He was showing that he couldn’t be trusted to put the team’s needs over his own. So the absolute last thing I wanted was for Golden State to trade for him. Lots of pundits discussed how it would be a great trade and may have suggested that GS trade Kuminga. I hated this idea, as I think Jonathan is really the future of our offense once Steph decides to retire. I did not agree with the idea of mortgaging the future to possibly win another chip now. I still don’t, to be honest - I think that is shortsighted thinking.

But my worst fears came to pass and Golden State did trade for Butler right before the deadline. I was so pissed and I let everyone on X know it. We were a small but dedicated group of Warriors fans who did not think Butler could control his ego to help the team. I’m never super happy to be wrong, but in case I was, I was pretty thrilled. We were really wrong.

Jimmy Butler has turned out to be a great asset to the Warriors this season. He has gelled with the bench, Steph, Draymond, and lately even had some playing time with Kuminga. Luckily, the Warriors did not part with Jonathan; however, we did lose Andrew Wiggins, which was a blow. Wiggins is beloved in Golden State, and I don’t anticipate that changing anytime soon.

However, the Warriors are going gangbusters with the Steph - Draymond - Jimmy triangle. My boy Trace Jackson-Davis has been superseded by Quinten Post as well, who has been playing really well lately. Not enough can be said about this young man. Loody, Looney, and GP2 have been outstanding as well.

So we’re now looking at a potentially decent playoff run. The conversation has changed drastically about the Warriors from earlier in the season, and it is all thanks to Jimmy Butler. The trade I railed against and threw a fit when it happened, but boy did it work out, and I am so glad - in this one instance - to be wrong!