Jimmy Butler unwilling to sign extension with Warriors, stalling trade talks
The Butler prospects are as good as dead.
Per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the mercurial Jimmy Butler — a rumored Golden State Warriors trade target — has signaled to the Warriors that he is unwilling to sign a contract extension should he be traded to the Bay Area.
The Heat’s Jimmy Butler has communicated to the Warriors that he’s unwilling to sign an extension there & therefore trade talks to send him to Golden State have ended for now, sources told ESPN.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) February 3, 2025
Butler’s unwillingness effectively ends any hopes for him to become a Warrior. As such, the Warriors are now forced to find other deals with the Butler option off the table and Zach LaVine being traded to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal that sends De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors’ only remaining hope is trading for Nikola Vučević in the hopes of pairing Steph Curry with a bona fide stretch five — effectively a beefed-up version of rookie Quinten Post. If the Warriors also end up being unable to acquire Vučević, not many options for them will be left.