It’s been one of, if not the craziest year for trades in the NBA in 2025 than any other year in history. First, Dallas Mavericks mainstay Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Then, Jimmy Butler, who has expressed his discontent with the Miami Heat organization in the past few seasons (after helping lead them to the NBA Finals in 2020 and despite having a 37-27 record with them in the playoffs), was traded to the Golden State Warriors. Will Jimmy Butler joining the Warriors be a good move for the 35-year-old who’s still searching for his first NBA Championship ring when he joins up with four-time NBA Champion Steph Curry?
Former NBA player Dwayne Wade, who won three championships during his professional basketball tenure and shares the same alma mater as Butler, Marquette University, certainly thinks so.
“I mean, this is a three-year play,” Wade explained on a recent episode of his “The Why With Dwayne Wade” podcast. “This an all-in, probably for the next three years in Golden State. When you got one of the greatest players to ever put on a jersey, it is your duty to make sure they have an opportunity when they say ‘I need more,’ to make sure you give him more. And so obviously, they tried to pull off other moves, but this is the move they end up getting.”
Wade believes that Butler has already proven that he has the ability to carry a team deep through the playoffs and into the NBA Finals, and now that he has the most prolific three-point-shooter in NBA history by his side, Wade thinks that alleviated pressure will show a different and even better form of Jimmy Buckets.
“I go back to the Jimmy I knew in Marquette, the Jimmy I knew in Chicago at first before he became an All-Star Jimmy, the Jimmy that is just like a wild dog off the leash because he can now just be Jimmy,” Wade continued. “He don’t have to worry about scoring 56 this night. Now he can, but now he can just be a wild dog off the leash. And that Jimmy is different. That Jimmy can be different, so I’m excited about that.”
Though he’s only played two games thus far with the Warriors, Butler already seems to be playing in a much more relaxed fashion. In his first game playing for the Warriors, Butler finished with 25 points on just 12 shots, getting to the foul line 13 times. This helped free up Curry from three-point-range; Curry nailed eight threes in the matchup.
Though Butler struggled more in his second contest with the Warriors (4-12 shooting), the Warriors still beat the Milwaukee Bucks 125-111 thanks to Curry picking up the scoring slack with 38 points. Though Butler didn’t thrive from an offensive standpoint, he still more than helped the team on the defensive end, with 9 rebounds (6 offensive ones), 6 assists and 4 steals.
Butler, Curry and the Warriors will face the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday at 9:30 PM EST.
Do you agree with the comments made by Dwayne Wade on Jimmy Butler joining the Warriors? Do you think Butler will thrive with the alleviated pressure that Steph Curry’s offense provides? Let us know in the comments.
