Category: NBA

Butler's agent hopes upset Heat fans exorcize anger in star's return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

One of Jimmy Butler’s closest confidants hopes disgruntled Heat fans can let bygones be bygones after the star forward’s return to Miami on Tuesday night.

Butler, now a member of the Warriors, will return to Kaseya Center for the first time since the blockbuster trade to Golden State on Feb. 5, and his agent, Bernie Lee, hopes the big matchup can help heal any resentment some Heat fans might have toward Butler after his rocky exit from the organization this season.

“My hope is Tuesday is cathartic for everyone,” Lee told the Miami Herald. “If you have some anger in your heart, get it out. Get it all out. But once that’s all released, my hope is we get to the next step, which is appreciation. Appreciation for a pretty incredible five years together.

“One unfortunate aspect of sports is the amount of change. Nothing ever stays the same and everything has a time limit. We hit ours, but once we get a bit of distance from the separation, what will hopefully remain is a really immense feeling of accomplishment and the profound connection Jimmy had with this city and community at large. He was the right person at the right time. And over time, I think more and more, we will all see and appreciate that.”

Lee found himself at the center of the Butler-Heat saga when he publicly refuted a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania about the then-Heat star preferring to be traded to either the Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets.

Alright listen. I gave you a pass yesterday because I was busy but if you don’t stop putting my name on your complete and utter made up bullshit because you know you normally arent worth my time to acknowledge.. (continued) https://t.co/1KOXza9kUI

— Bernard Lee (@BernieoLee) December 11, 2024

Butler eventually was dealt to Golden State (41-30), which has gone 16-4 since his debut with the Warriors on Feb. 8, and is surging toward an NBA playoff spot.

Meanwhile, the Heat (30-41) have gone 5-17 since trading Butler and are clinging on to the final NBA play-in tournament spot.

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Steph out for Warriors vs. Heat game with pelvic injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry will miss his second consecutive Warriors game as he continues to deal with a pelvic injury.

Curry, who was upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s contest against the Miami Heat, officially was ruled out of the team’s second game of a six-game road trip.

Steph Curry is now OUT tonight against the Heat @NBCSWarriors

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) March 25, 2025

Curry sustained the pelvic bruise when he took a hard fall to the ground during the second half of last week’s win over the Toronto Raptors. An MRI confirmed he sustained a pelvic contusion but avoided any structural damage.

He didn’t travel with the team to Atlanta for its first game of the road trip, in which the Warriors fell 124-115 to the Hawks and 7-4 while playing without their star point guard this season. Curry joined the Warriors in Miami where his status was upgraded before ultimately being ruled out.

Golden State (41-30) is in the midst of a pivotal six-game road trip as the Warriors cling to the Western Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed in a jam-packed postseason race. After Miami, they’ll face the New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers before returning home to battle the Denver Nuggets.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday the team expects Curry to play against the Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

In his 16th season, Curry is averaging 24.2 points on 44.7-percent shooting from the field and 39.4 percent from 3-point range, with 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists through 60 games.

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Why Kerr anticipates ‘heated atmosphere' for Butler's Miami return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jimmy Butler’s return to Miami might get a little … heated.

At least that’s what Warriors coach Steve Kerr anticipates for Golden State’s matchup against the Heat on Monday at Kaseya Center.

“I haven’t talked to him about it,” Kerr said Monday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs.” ” … Tomorrow will be a heated atmosphere, no pun intended. He was such an amazing player for this franchise and meant so much to the fans. I think it’ll be very emotional for him, for a lot of people.

“But Jimmy’s an incredible competitor. That’s the main thing I’ve learned about him. I know he’s going to go out there and compete like crazy and get through it fine. Hopefully, we can get back on track here.”

It will be Butler’s first trip to Miami since the blockbuster deal that brought the six-time NBA All-Star to Golden State at last month’s NBA trade deadline.

Despite Butler bringing the organization much success, including leading the team to the playoffs five times and two NBA Finals appearances, the last few months of his Heat tenure were filled with drama and nonstop headlines that led to his eventual departure.

Nonetheless, he’s made it clear that he has a lot of love for the fans and city — even from afar.

“We had a practice today and he’s been here the last couple of days,” Kerr said. “He’s got a lot of people here who he’s connecting with. I think he’s enjoying being back.”

At the end of the day, though, Butler is one of the most competitive guys in the league. And while he might be enjoying mingling and catching up with old friends, once tip-off begins at 4 p.m. PT Tuesday, his focus purely will be on basketball and getting a dub for the Warriors.

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All eyes on Butler vs. Wiggins matchup in Warriors-Heat game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Programming Note: Watch “Warriors Now” with Dalton Johnson and Zena Keita at 1 p.m. PT today, streaming live on the NBC Sports app. Watch the show later on YouTube and Facebook.

Though Jimmy Butler III, in his second month with the Warriors after five years with the Heat, downplays the possibilities of getting emotional upon returning to Miami, his desire to win will be loud even if unheard.

On the other side is Andrew Wiggins, in his second month with the Heat after five years with the Warriors. He’s a low-key presence, easygoing and laconic. He speaks with his talent, his latest statement being a 42-point masterpiece on Sunday.

Butler and Wiggins will see plenty of each other partly because they were traded for each other last month but mostly because they will be playing the same position when the ball goes up Tuesday night at Kaseya Center. Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 3:30 p.m. with Warriors Pregame Live, with tipoff scheduled for 4:30.

There is no doubt that each wants to pin a defeat on his former team, but Butler would seem to have the higher incentive.

The Warriors (41-30) are in sixth place, locked in a riveting battle for playoff position in the rigorous Western Conference. It’s cutthroat time for Golden State, which will spend the final three weeks of the regular season fighting to remain in the top six, thereby avoiding the dreaded Play-In Tournament.

The Heat (30-41) are 10th in the East, securely in the Play-In Tournament with practically zero chance of rising above it or tumbling below it.

Though Butler and Wiggins have very different personalities, they have in common an immense sense of pride. And it’s evident that Butler so far has done more for the Warriors than Wiggins has for the Heat.

Butler has played in 19 of 20 games for the Warriors since being acquired at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. His individual per-game numbers – 17.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals – don’t shout yet his positive impact has been both tangible and intangible. The Warriors are 16-4 since his arrival and their metrics have taken an appreciable leap.

Asked recently about Butler’s influence, Kerr immediately cited his intellect.

“IQ,” he said. “Basketball IQ, toughness, competitiveness. Those are the marks of great players. And when you happen to have that package in a body like his, with that kind of strength, it all makes sense. The game makes sense to Jimmy and when he’s on the floor that translates to other guys.”

Wiggins was having a solid season with Golden State but his time in Miami has been limited due to illness and a couple minor injuries. He has missed eight of 21 games and is averaging 21 points and 3.9 rebounds. The Heat is 5-16 since Wiggins arrived, but he was fantastic in successive games last weekend, scoring 72 points on 76.5-percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent from deep.

Can Butler slow Wiggins’ sudden momentum? Can Wiggins keep Butler out of his comfort zone, aka the free throw line? The answers could dictate the outcome.

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Kerr likens Warriors' Butler-Draymond duo to Jordan and Pippen originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• Programming Note: Watch “Warriors Now” with Dalton Johnson and Zena Keita at 1 p.m. PT today, streaming live on the NBC Sports app. Watch the show later on YouTube and Facebook.

When discussing iconic NBA duos, there is one that stands out above the rest. Analysts and fans oftentimes use it as the most complementary comparison for two teammates, but rarely are any players worthy of it.

Warriors forwards Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, however, are worthy of it in coach Steve Kerr’s eyes.

Golden State’s coach spoke to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk for a recent story about the Butler and Green duo, and offered a high-profile comparison for the two Warriors teammates’ defensive acumen.

“[Scottie] Pippen and [Michael] Jordan,” Kerr told ESPN of his comparison for Butler and Green. “Just incredible intelligence and athleticism combined with versatility. There’s definitely some of that.”

Yes, you read that correctly.

Of course, Kerr is speaking about the duo’s defensive partnership, not their overall games. However, in terms of NBA comparisons, that’s about as good as it gets.

The Warriors are 16-4 overall since Butler first took the court for Golden State on Feb. 8, and his impact has been felt both offensively and defensively.

With the Warriors (41-30) hoping to make another championship run this season, Kerr certainly hopes the Butler-Green duo can have a familiar Jordan-Pippin-like impact in the NBA playoffs.

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Holiday makes strong case for Pritchard to win Sixth Man of the Year originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is so convinced that Payton Pritchard is the Sixth Man of the Year that, if the John Havlicek trophy isn’t sitting inside the Auerbach Center by early May, then Holiday is calling shenanigans.

“If he’s not Sixth Man of the year, then this is rigged,” said Holiday.

“My man, he’s breaking records … We really need him and I think he’s realized that we really need what he brings to our team, in terms of scoring and playmaking and big-shot making. So it’s really cool to see, just even the elevation from last year to this year, to be able to take that big of a leap is pretty cool.”

Earlier this month, Pritchard broke the NBA record for most 3-pointers off the bench in a single season. Even after a spot start in his native Portland on Sunday night, 232 of Pritchard’s 236 3-pointers this season have come off the bench as he leaves Wayne Ellington’s previous record mark of 218 bench 3s in the rearview mirror.

The next record in Pritchard’s sight could be besting the Celtics’ single-season record for 3-pointers made. He’s jockeying with teammates Jayson Tatum and Derrick White for a new franchise record, and might have the edge if those two veterans get rest to the finish line of the season. Tatum sprained his left ankle in Monday night’s win in Sacramento.

Pritchard leads the NBA in bench points at 997. He will soon become only the fourth Celtics player in team history to score 1,000 points off the bench in a season (Kevin McHale did it 3 times; Ricky Davis and Malcolm Brogdon each did it once).

Pritchard’s 22 games with 5-plus 3-pointers this season is a franchise record. His 20 games with 20+ points off the bench leads the NBA this season. Earlier this month, Pritchard and White became the first Celtics duo in team history to score 40 points apiece in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

After early foul trouble limited his output in Portland on Sunday during his lone start of the year, Pritchard joked that maybe he needs to stick to coming off the bench.

Holiday has loved watching Pritchard’s progress.

“We talked about it, I think his first points were against [Milwaukee] when I was with the Bucks. And I think it was a 3,” said Holiday, who was indeed on the floor when Pritchard drilled a second-quarter triple for his first career points in his NBA debut on Dec. 23, 2020.

“I think to be able to witness that and see, even a time like that where he wasn’t playing much, you could see that everybody kind of has potential. And him just being steady, stay working, you could see. If it’s off-days or optional [workout] days, he’s still in the gym. He’s not taking any days off. He wants to be the best player he can, and I think that means a lot. I don’t think he does it just for himself. I think he does it for our team.”

Holiday doesn’t need any reminders on how competitive Pritchard can be.

“I used to play against Payton, so the times that I’ve seen him play and played against him, you could tell that he’s always had a chip,” said Holiday. “And I’m pretty sure, even in terms of being shorter, he has always had that dog in him.

“To be his teammate, I’m glad to be on his side.”

‘Celtics City' beyond the episode: Larry Bird ushers in new era originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics were in a difficult place in the late 1970s.

Bill Russell had been retired for about a decade. John Havlicek retired after the 1977-78 season, which also was Tommy Heinsohn’s last year as head coach. Dave Cowens was still a very good player but no longer MVP-caliber.

For the first time in many years, the team was not a championship contender. The C’s were losing a ton of games and didn’t have a superstar player to lead them into the 1980s.

That is, until, the team drafted one of its greatest players, Larry Bird. Celtics executive Red Auerbach scouted Bird and knew he had incredible talent and the type of play style required to win championships.

More ‘Celtics City’

• Episode 1: “Founding Fathers”
• Episode 2: “No Final Victories”
• Episode 3: “All Swept Up”

The Celtics took Bird with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. But the talented forward didn’t make his debut for Boston right away because he returned to Indiana State for his senior season. The delay was tough for Celtics fans, who were eager to see if the hype surrounding Bird was legit, but he was definitely worth the wait.

The 1980s Celtics and Bird’s arrival in Boston were the focus of the fourth episode of Max’s Celtics City docuseries, titled “Great Hope. Period”. In NBC Sports Boston’s Keys to the City recapping the episode, Jackie MacMullan shared her perspective on Bird.

“He’s the most authentic superstar I’ve ever been around in my life in any sport,” MacMullan said. “He is who he is, and you can take it or leave it. He’s not going to change the way he thinks or speaks because you don’t like it, or because it’s going to get him more endorsements — because he usually wanted less of those, anyway.

“I just thought, in this episode, you just see him unvarnished — developing into the great superstar he became. There’s a scene when they’re beating the Sixers and he hits that big shot (in Game 7 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals) and Red’s talking about, ‘I like people who want the ball at the end of the game.’ He says that throughout this documentary. Bird’s got the ball and he’s like, ‘Look, I know the time I’ve put in, the work I’ve put in. I know most of my teammates have not, so I’m going to take the shot because I’m going to make it.’ That was him.”

Bird alone wasn’t going to bring the Celtics back to championship glory. The Celtics had the No. 1 and No. 13 overall picks in the 1980 NBA Draft. The No. 1 pick was obtained from the Detroit Pistons in a trade the previous September. Auerbach then engineered one of the greatest trades in league history by sending both picks to the Golden State Warriors for center Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick, which the C’s used to select Minnesota forward Kevin McHale.

Two future Hall of Famers in one trade? Not bad.

Parish and McHale teamed with Bird to form the Celtics’ “Big Three” and establish one of the best frontcourts the game has ever seen. Bird won Rookie of the Year in 1979-80 as the Celtics’ win total improved by 32 from the previous season, which, at the time, was a league record.

Led by Bird, the C’s would make the NBA Finals five times in the next seven seasons, including titles in 1980-81 (vs. Rockets), 1983-84 (vs. Lakers) and 1985-86 (vs. Rockets). The 1985-86 Celtics are considered by many people as the greatest team in league history. Bird won Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986, while winning league MVP three straight years from 1983-84 through 1985-86.

The epic rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers, and more specifically, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, vaulted the league to a new stratosphere of popularity during the decade. These teams met in the Finals three times in the 1980s, with the Lakers winning in 1985 and 1987 and the C’s prevailing in 1984.

Bird retired after the 1991-92 season as back injuries had taken their toll. By that time, the Celtics were still competitive but no longer were legit title contenders.

The 1980s Celtics will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of Boston sports fans. It wasn’t just that the C’s won so many games during this span, it was the beautiful way they played — prioritizing team basketball, strong fundamentals and playing with relentless effort.

For more on the 1980s Celtics and Larry Bird, check out NBC Sports Boston’s exclusive footage and interviews below:

The 1985-86 Celtics are the greatest team in NBA history. They went 67-15, including a 41-1 record at home, before dominating in the playoffs en route to the franchise’s 16th title.

Here are some of Bird’s best highlights:

The story of how the Celtics drafted Bird:

Wiggins eager for Warriors reunion, has ‘love' for former team originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• Programming Note: Watch “Warriors Now” with Dalton Johnson and Zena Keita at 1 p.m. PT today, streaming live on the NBC Sports app. Watch the show later on YouTube and Facebook.

MIAMI – The spotlight found Andrew Wiggins at a young age because of his supreme basketball talent. Everything that comes with that isn’t what Wiggins asked for. 

Wiggins is a man of few words. Not in a rude or standoffish way, but in a respectful manner. It’s who he is. Private and to himself, always extending his big smile Warriors fans fell in love with at the perfect time.

As Wiggins prepares to play the Warriors for the first time since being traded to the Miami Heat on Feb. 6 for Jimmy Butler, he doesn’t have a long answer of reflection. He knows how he feels about his five-plus seasons with the Warriors and vice versa. Wiggins didn’t want to leave the Warriors, and a line of people within the organization fought for him to stay. 

That’s how the business goes sometimes. That also doesn’t change the love Wiggins still has for the Warriors. Those feelings, as cliché as they sound, never will go away from either side.

“I had a great time there,” Wiggins said to NBC Sports Bay Area in an exclusive interview Tuesday morning, hours before the Heat play the Warriors at Kaseya Center. “I love and appreciate everybody. Great fans. My teammates were great, the coaching staff was great. The city, meeting new people and building new relationships. I had a great time.

“Great time. Great time with the organization.” 

He won Rookie of the Year in 2015. He has been an All-Star, and a key player to a championship team. The path first laid out for Wiggins after being the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft also never was a straight line to success from the start. 

Twists and turns were placed upon him without his doing. Rumors swirled that his bags would be packed before even being selected with the first pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers after it was announced LeBron James was coming home. Wiggins couldn’t settle in and call Cleveland home. 

Minnesota became home two months later for the first five-plus years of Wiggins’ career. Then came the Warriors calling, making what at the time was seen as a risky move, and what wound up becoming a heist to the highest order. Finally, the Toronto native felt home.

Wiggins doesn’t remember many details from the trade that sent him to the Warriors on Feb. 6, 2020. Five years later, he’s happy with where he landed if he had to be sent packing once again. 

“Any trade in mid-season is tough,” Wiggins says. “You don’t want to get traded mid-season. But I’m happy I landed here. It’s a great spot. Great city, great organization, great organization all around.” 

Wiggins scored 25 points his final game as a Warrior, and then tallied a combined 24 points his first two games with the Heat before starting to get in a groove with his new team. Between a leg injury and an illness, Wiggins has missed eight of the 21 possible Heat games he could have played. 

But in the 13 games he has played, Wiggins is averaging 21 points for the Heat on 48 percent shooting and 36.3 percent on 3-pointers. His last two games have been his best, scoring 72 total points while going 26 of 34 from the field (76.5 percent), 8 of 12 from deep (66.7 percent) and 12 of 16 on free throws (75 percent). 

“They’re very detailed here,” Wiggins says. “Very detailed. And I feel situated, getting more and more comfortable on the court with every game. I feel like they just want to get the most out of me.” 

The last two coaches Wiggins has played for, Steve Kerr with the Warriors and now Erik Spoelstra for the Heat, are “legends in the world of basketball,” as he puts it. Kerr and Spoelstra deeply respect one another and surely exchanged messages about Butler and Wiggins after the trade. Among the contingent of people who vouched for Wiggins to not be involved in a trade, Kerr was at, or near, the top of the list. 

Kerr loved coaching Wiggins. A humanitarian first and a basketball coach second, Kerr has been waiting to see Wiggins’ smile in person Tuesday night. Well, as long as Wiggins doesn’t go off for 42 points against the Warriors like he did Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets to snap the Heat’s 10-game losing streak. 

“We’re all thrilled to see Wiggs,” Kerr said Monday after Warriors practice. “Wiggs is one of my favorite guys. I wish we still had Miami in the Bay, so that will have to wait until next year. Wiggs will get an enormous standing ovation when he returns to the Bay in front of our fans, both for his contributions and just for his humanity – who he is, what kind of person he is. He’s beloved in our locker room and throughout the Bay. 

“It’ll be great to him, and hopefully he doesn’t have 42 against us.”

The Warriors stood by Wiggins through highs and lows. They rewarded him with a new contract after the 2022 championship, which in retrospect was a very team-friendly deal and showed how both sides felt about each other. They gave him the space to make his decision regarding getting vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic. When he had to tend to family matters during two straight seasons because of his late father’s health, the Warriors didn’t blink in telling Wiggins to do what’s best for him. 

Countless friendships were formed, and they’re not going away. Wiggins says he still has stayed connected with some former Warriors teammates and coaches the best he can. The business part of sports is cruel and heartless. Navigating it all can be an obstacle course of friendly fire neither side wants. 

The Warriors, then, now and forever, will be a special part of Wiggins’ story and will hold a warm spot in his heart.

“It’ll be good to see those guys,” Wiggins said. “It’s all love. I love those guys. I had a great time over there. Great people, great organization. Obviously we have a competitive game to play, but I’m looking forward to it.”

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The Orlando Magic ended a six-game home losing streak by inflicting a third straight defeat on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and LeBron James added 24 and eight assists for the Lakers, who led 60-58 at half-time.

However, Orlando outscored the visitors 34-18 in the third quarter and went on to wrap up a 118-106 victory.

Franz Wagner contributed 32 points and nine assists for the Magic, while Paolo Banchero added 30 points and seven rebounds.

"We look tired," said Lakers coach JJ Redick. "I don't know what contributes to that. We weren't able to sustain the level of intensity that we started the game with."

The Lakers, who have lost seven of their past 10 games are fourth in the Western Conference with 11 games of the regular season remaining. The top eight qualify for the play-offs and they have eight more wins than the ninth-placed Sacramento Kings.

The Magic occupy eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and have 10 games left.

Elsewhere on Monday, in a match featuring two sides unlikely to make the play-offs, the Dallas Mavericks welcomed Anthony Davis back from injury in a 120-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Davis scored 12 points in 26 minutes as he returned from six weeks out with an abductor injury - suffered in his first game for Dallas after his trade from the Lakers in exchange for Doncic.

Latest updates on Tatum's ankle injury from Celtics' win vs. Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics extended their win streak to six games with a 113-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings on the road Monday night, but it came at a cost.

Superstar forward Jayson Tatum injured his left ankle with 3:35 left in the third quarter. He made a 3-pointer but landed on Kings forward Domantas Sabonis’ foot, which caused him to roll his ankle. Sabonis was called for a flagrant 1 foul for contesting the shot in Tatum’s landing area.

Tatum was helped to the bench but returned to the court to take his free throws. He then exited the game and didn’t return. He finished with a team-high 25 points.

The good news for the Celtics is that it appears Tatum has avoided a serious injury, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reported that Tatum “left the arena tonight with no crutches or boot, and just a very slight limp.”

“He seems to be doing OK,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters postgame.” He’s just icing it right now. I didn’t see the play, but they made the right call. It was a flagrant foul. Fortunate that he was able to shoot the free throws. [He’s] taking care of it right now.”

The Celtics have just 10 games remaining in the regular season. With the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference nearly secured, it’ll be interesting to see how the Celtics handle Tatum’s workload over the next couple weeks.

Giving him as much rest as possible before the playoffs is the best course of action.

The Celtics resume their Western Conference road trip Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.

It felt like the end, again.

The Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, but they stormed back from the abyss in 2022 to beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals. Steph Curry was 33 for most of that season. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were 31. The Warriors’ return to the pinnacle of basketball had the whiff of a last hurrah, and indeed, their championship core faded for a second time after that: a second-round exit in 2023, a play-in tournament flatlining in 2024. Curry and his four-time championship-winning teammates continued to get older in the way athletes do.

Last year’s missed postseason was a crossroads. Thompson left in free agency for the Dallas Mavericks. Curry and Green returned for what would be their age-36 and age-34 seasons, but these Warriors, the ones that collected all those titles under Steve Kerr, were finally cooked. They had to be.

Or did they? Golden State are now the hottest team in basketball as the playoffs approach. They have 14 wins and three losses since 13 February. That stretch began one week after they made a blockbuster wing swap with the Miami Heat, trading Andrew Wiggins for Jimmy Butler. The move saw Golden State send away a key player of their second championship core, Wiggins, for a player who looks poised to be part of a third iteration under Curry and the still-trucking Steve Kerr. The Warriors were tied for 10th in the Western Conference on the day of the Butler trade, looking ticketed for the play-in again. Now they’re up to sixth and looking, at least for the moment, like an honest title contender.

Related: Nikola Jokić is putting up record numbers. So why is he unlikely to be NBA MVP?

The Butler trade is a convenient start point for the turnaround. Butler has not even found his jump shot yet; he has made 22.7% of his three-pointers as a Warrior and has struggled to make baskets from all over the floor. However, Butler has five all-defensive team honors to his name and is still a hellacious defender at 35. The Warriors have allowed 107.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, a defensive rating that would make them roughly the best defensive team in the NBA if the team maintained those numbers all the time. (Without Butler, Golden State have allowed 113.1 points per 100 trips.)

Those numbers stand in stark contrast to those of Wiggins, who had arguably been a drag on the team by the end of his time in the Bay. This season, Golden State have posted a net rating 7.2 points better when he was off the floor than when he was on it. Butler has reversed that, with the Warriors doing 9.4 points better per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor than not.

Despite not finding his shooting form yet, Butler has not gummed up Golden State’s offense, which scores roughly the same amount when he’s off or on the court. Imagine his usefulness once the shots start falling more frequently.

But while Butler has been a swell addition, the thing that really makes Golden State tick has not changed. Curry remains a marvel and has arguably been carrying more of a load than ever this year. His 32 minutes per game are a bit below his career average, sensible for a player who turned 37 this month. But these are intense minutes, with Curry using up 30% of the Warriors’ offensive possessions, a higher rate than he did 10 years ago. Kerr gave him a night off last week and said his star point guard was “exhausted.”

Managing Curry going forward will make or break Golden State’s chances of making another deep playoff run. Curry took a hard fall on Thursday against Toronto and exited the game with what the team called a pelvic contusion. While it doesn’t sound like Curry will miss much time, there are no minor injuries for 37-year-olds who are trying to lead NBA teams to championships. The 11-time All-Star has been playing inspired ball in this second-to-last year of his contract (and maybe of his career, though that depends on whether Curry wants to quit before a major decline).

Though the Warriors have been on a great run, they won’t really contend for another finals appearance unless they get serious offensive contributions from someone other than Curry. Some regression to the mean with Butler’s shot-making will help, but the Warriors’ offensive cupboard is not well stocked. The only other rotation regular averaging more than 11.3 points per game is bench forward Jonathan Kuminga, who is having the least efficient shooting season of his four-year career. Other than Curry and Butler, there is a good argument that Golden State do not have even one above-average offensive player. There is a lot of promise, though, in free-throw magnets Butler and Kuminga spending eternity at the foul line.

To what extent can Golden State keep rolling like they have the past month and a half? The Warriors have something here. The fun of the past few weeks has been learning that the magic of the Curry-Kerr Warriors is not yet depleted, even with Thompson now playing in north Texas. Green isn’t the player he used to be, but he is still useful, and the Warriors are better when he’s playing than when he isn’t. When Green is the primary defender within two feet of a shooter, those shooters make 38.1% of their shots – less than they made against Green 10 years ago, when he was in his heyday.

Kerr has been adept at finding good role players to round out a roster whose salary cap is eaten up rapidly by Curry and his aging buddies. This year has been no different, with the Warriors getting lots of useful bench minutes out of players that a lot of basketball fans have barely heard of. The team has stayed above water when giving minutes to bench power forward Gui Santos, the 55th overall pick in 2022, who spent two years averaging 14 points per game in the G-League. Guards Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski, first-round picks in 2021 and 2023, have become significant reserve contributors the past two years. That backcourt youth movement has been more helpful this year than Buddy Hield, the veteran shooting guard whose salary dwarfs theirs but whose production has not.

The Warriors who won the title in 2022 did so by managing to bridge the gap between Curry and their future. Golden State are trying to repeat that trick now, and they may have just enough in the tank to make it happen again. Curry will be the straw that stirs the franchise’s drink until the moment he retires, but the past few years, Golden State lacked enough ingredients to create anything interesting. But now that Butler has walked through the door, the Warriors – for the first time in three years – are impossible to ignore as we go deeper into the spring. As usual, there’s an unshakeable feeling that we’re watching this happen for the last time. But with Curry, Butler, and Green all under team control next year, too, perhaps it’s time to stop assuming that the laws of gravity apply to Golden State.

Analyzing Butler's impact on Warriors across first 20 games originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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The first question I asked Jimmy Butler III inside the Warriors’ locker room at Chase Center was almost as simple as his response.

“How do you manage to always stay cool no matter the chaos around you?”

“I’ve been doing this s—t a long time. Ain’t nothing gon’ faze me.”

It shows. Warriors coach Steve Kerr separates the season into four quarters, roughly 20 games each, believing it’s a sufficient sample to assess the quality of a team. Butler has been part of the team for 20 games, 16 of which ended in victory. His production has been satisfactory, but his composure has made an even greater impact, giving serenity to coaches, to decorated veterans like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and to youngsters finding their way in the NBA.

“He’s a been very good for us,” says assistant coach Ron Adams, in his 32nd season coaching in the NBA. “He settles everybody down, and that’s something we needed, especially when closing games. He’s made Steph and Draymond better. He understands the game, and the other guys respect his presence.”

The Warriors were one game below .500 (25-26) when they took the court at United Center in Chicago for Butler’s debut after being acquired from the Miami Heat at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. They tended to squander leads, even against opponents with inferior rosters and records.

When general manager Mike Dunleavy and CEO Joe Lacob traded for Butler – parting with Andrew Wiggins, who was terrific in the 2022 NBA Finals victory – Golden State was trending not toward the playoffs but fighting for a berth in the play-in tournament.

Less than two weeks later, after winning three of four games with Butler on the roster, Green was predicting a championship. Considering the Warriors were 28-27 and in ninth place in the Western Conference, it was an outlandish proclamation.

The Warriors since have posted the second-best record (13-3) in the West, behind only the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (15-2). Golden State takes a 41-30 record into Kaseya Center in Miami on Tuesday night when Butler will face his former team.

The bullet train to the postseason slowed a bit last week, however, as the Warriors posted a mediocre 2-2 record. Still, Butler played quality hoops. He was essential to their 117-114 victory over the Toronto Raptors last Thursday, posting a triple-double and making two crucial defensive plays in the fourth quarter, including a block with 20.9 seconds remaining.

“He just understands the situation, and he wants the ball, and he asks for it,” Kerr was saying after that game. “Different areas and attacks. He did a fantastic job. His shot wasn’t going but he was creating everything for us. Triple-double. The defensive play of the game with the blocked shot at the rim. It’s the beauty of guys like Jimmy and Draymond, that they can impact the game at such a high level regardless of what’s happening with their offensive games.”

Since coming to Golden State, Butler has played 19 games, with only two negative plus/minus totals. He’s averaging 17.3 points, 6.5 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He has attempted 151 free throws and made 84.8 percent of them. His frequent trips to the line, and conversions once there, have filtered through the roster. The Warriors were last in the league free-throw percentage before Butler and second since he arrived.

Turnovers are down, and efficiency is up. The offense that posted a 111.8 rating (18th in the NBA) before Butler is at 118.2 (ninth) with him. Curry’s efficiency, which was trending downward, has soared.

“He sees the whole floor,” Curry says of Butler’s impact on pick-and-roll actions. “He can take up space. They have to make a decision whether they’re going to switch or whether they’re going to go under or show and get back to me. There’s like four different ways you can guard it.

“But he’s very good at just staying under control, making the right play. You can tell he hadn’t really looked to score as much right now just because he’s reading the defense and taking what they’re giving him. But having the ball in his hands is usually a good thing.”

Kerr’s decision to have Butler on the floor whenever Curry gets a breather was a logical move that generally has been successful. Kerr tried to sneak in a few minutes with both on the bench, and the Warriors almost fumbled away the game. Never again.

The immediate response to Golden State’s acquisition of Butler was mixed. Some thought he prove beneficial, while others were skeptical – partly because of the contentious breakup with the Heat after five years, including two trips to the Finals. By all accounts, even beyond the 16-4 record, he has been exceedingly valuable as an individual and a teammate.

“Phenomenal,” Kerr says. “I mean, just the way he looks after our young guys, playing 1-on-1 with them after practice, pulling them aside during games, talking. He’s been an amazing leader.”

Through 20 games, Butler looks like the most beneficial Golden State trade since January 2007, when the Warriors acquired Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington from Indiana in exchange for Troy Murphy and, ahem, Dunleavy.

After losing the first two games after the deal, with their record falling to 19-23, the Warriors pulled it together and finished the season with a five-game win streak – spawning the “We Believe” rally cry – that put them in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

These Warriors believe in the power of Jimmy.

“It’s been amazing,” Kerr told reporters in Miami on Monday. “He’s one of the best players in the league and he’s instantly transformed our team.”

How far can the post-Jimmy Warriors go? That is to be determined in the coming weeks. What’s certain is that they’ll go a lot farther than they would go without him.

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