The Golden State Warriors have been heavily linked to Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler in NBA trade rumors. While other teams have been reported as potential suitors for Butler, Golden State looks to be the most realistic destination based on recent reporting. This is primarily due to the Warriors’ available trade assets.

Via Jake Fischer for Marc Stein’s The People’s Insider: “League insiders continue to describe Golden State, as things currently stand, as the only team of the four most frequently mentioned as potential Butler suitors as having an interest in the 35-year-old that could eventually lead to some substantive trade talks.”

Because Butler can become a free agent after this season, any team looking to trade for him would likely be doing so with the belief he could be re-signed. Butler has a $52 million player option for next season, but according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, he plans to decline that and enter free agency no matter what.

“He has got a player option in his contract for $52 million next year,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast (h/t Bleacher Report). “He has made it known to the league, he intending to not pick that up. His position is that no matter what happens, he is going to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025.”

This is a substantial update on the Butler situation, because it reinforces the idea that Miami may be forced to trade him to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency.

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