With the Jimmy Butler trade, the Golden State Warriors are considered big winners of the 2025 NBA trade deadline. But according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, they had ambitions of sending Butler to the Suns for Kevin Durant before the 2x champion shut it down.
“The Warriors made several aggressive offers, including the framework on a three-way that would have sent Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, first-round picks, second-round picks, and swaps to the Phoenix Suns,” said Charania. “But once Durant made it clear he did not want a reunion, that he did not want to go back to the Warriors, the organization backed away.”
Jimmy Butler was traded to the Warriors in the 11th hour of the deadline but the Heat has been in trade calls for weeks leading up to Thursday’s deal. It’s well known by now that the Heat were in talks on a three-team trade that would have sent Butler to Phoenix and Durant to the Warriors.
The Warriors would have had to part ways with Jonathan Kuminga and several draft picks but it would have been worth it to reunite Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.
The NBA legends won back-to-back titles during their run together and dominated the NBA at a scale rarely ever seen. With the Warriors, Durant was a 2x Finals MVP with averages of 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on 52.4% shooting.
But after a falling out with Draymond Green (over a viral incident on the sidelines), Durant isolated himself from the organization and then left as a free agent in 2019. Kevin hasn’t looked back since and the latest reports out of Phoenix suggest that he vetoed the chance to return there for an encore with Curry.
After hearing Durant’s preference to stay away from the Warriors, they backed off their pursuit and settled on Jimmy Butler instead. Despite wanting a move to the Suns, Butler has embraced his new team and he’s ready to tribute after a long and dramatic saga with the Heat.
At 25-26 this season, the Warriors are in desperate need of reinforcements and Durant would have elevated them back to a position of power in the Western Conference. With Butler, at least, they have another star to pair with Curry and someone who can run the offense when No. 30 is on the bench.
It’s far from an ideal situation for the Warriors and the fact that Kevin Durant rejected their advances says a lot about how he feels about the organization. The good news is, that the Warriors were still able to get a win-now player while keeping their young core and future draft assets intact.
If they play the cards right, the Warriors might be able to make some noise this season while also building toward their future with Kuminga, Moody, and Brandin Podziemski. But as long as Curry is healthy and playing at this level, the Warriors are committed to helping him win another title and getting their team back on top of the NBA hierarchy.
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