The Golden State Warriors swung for the fences when they traded for Jimmy Butler two years ago, and they could do so again by dealing him this summer.
Butler tore his ACL in late January, and typical return timelines from that injury should put him in play to potentially start the upcoming campaign healthy in late October. If not, it’s reasonable that he could be back at full strength before Christmas.
How much that helps the Dubs’ contention chances is debatable, but it does open up some interesting trade possibilities in the Bay Area.
The Boston Celtics have made it known they are hunting four first-round picks for Jaylen Brown, who appears a likely trade candidate after he was in the mix as part of discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks for former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If Boston wants that kind of draft haul, then the personnel pieces it gets back in return for the five-time All-Star can’t be as important to the franchise. And, as such, they won’t be as good/conducive to winning now.
Butler remains a talented performer heading into his age-37 campaign, and once he returns healthy, he can pair with Jayson Tatum to keep a talented Celtics team competitive in 2026-27.
More importantly, Butler will earn within $250,000 of the $57.08 million Boston owes Brown next season on his $285 million deal, which makes the player-for-player salary swap simple. Golden State can kick in its three tradable first-round picks and attempt to use swaps and second-round assets to get up to the draft compensation the Celtics are seeking.
Jaylen Brown Trade Can Theoretically Work for Both Warriors, Celtics
GettyJaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.
Butler’s contract is expiring following the upcoming campaign, which means Boston could re-trade him six months after a deal with the Warriors for a player of similar financial value (and potentially more talent) on a team going nowhere. That, in turn, might allow Boston to compete for a conference title in the East as soon as the upcoming playoffs.
Otherwise, the Celtics could let Butler’s contract play out and clear approximately $57 million in salary cap space to operate in free agency one summer from now, with a Tatum pairing as a selling point. All of that renders Butler and three first-rounders from the Warriors a strong offer for Boston.
Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins of ESPN pitched Golden State’s side of the hypothetical equation on the Friday, June 26 edition of “First Take.”
“It may not be the perfect piece, but you add Jaylen Brown to this roster,” Perkins said. “We don’t know when Jimmy Butler is going to come back, and when he does, we don’t know what he’s going to look like. That’s why you go get a young 29-year-old Jaylen Brown who is playing at his highest level right now.”
Warriors Owe Steph Curry at Least Attempt to Trade for Jaylen Brown
GettySteph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Sending Brown to the Western Conference would minimize the chances he comes back to haunt Boston, particularly given how good the top of the West already is, and how much better it is likely to get with each passing year for the next several seasons (see: the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder).
Beyond that, the picks the Warriors can trade fall in 2028, 2030 and 2032. Steph Curry remains elite, but he will also turn 39 years old next March. Golden State will face a difficult reshuffling of the deck when Curry eventually retires, even with Brown on the roster, so there is a reasonable chance at least the last two first-rounders in the hypothetical deal fall inside the draft lottery.
Meanwhile, from Golden State’s point of view, Brown is coming off the best season of his career (28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists), earned All-NBA Second-Team honors for the second time in four years and finished sixth in MVP voting. He is clearly the best player that the Warriors have even a small chance of acquiring following Antetokounmpo landing with the Miami Heat.
A swing on Brown represents arguably the last home run on which Golden State might connect with Curry still functioning as a top-15 player in the league, give or take. And with the consolation prize potentially being LeBron James on a full non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $15.1 million for one season in 2026-27, Browns represents a cut worth taking for the Warriors.
Warriors Trade Pitch Flips Jimmy Butler, Draft Haul for $285 Million Steph Curry Running Mate