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The Warriors went star-hunting during the 2024 offseason with their aggressive pursuits of Lauri Markannen and Paul George. In both instances, they failed to match the asking price (in trade proposals) and struck out in their mission to get aging superstar Stephen Curry an All-Star running mate.
During the 2025 offseason, the Warriors are expected to go star-hunting again in the form of Heat superstar Jimmy Butler, who could become a free agent in 2025. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Warriors “have interest” in acquiring Butler.
“Jimmy Butler’s going to be a free agent next summer,” Amick said on “The TK Show” on September 12. “Didn’t get an extension done. The Warriors have interest there and probably made a couple calls [to Miami] this summer.”
Butler, who owns a $52.4 million player option for the 2025-26 season, had not agreed to terms on a contract extension with the Heat ahead of the 2024-25 season, putting his future in South Beach in jeopardy.
Jimmy Butler to Leave Miami?
Heat president Pat Riley made a telling statement while addressing Butler’s contract extension at the end of the 2023-24 season. In his exit interview, the Hall of Famer sounded skeptical about giving Butler a lucrative contract extension, citing his recent injury history. Butler, who turns 35 in September 2024, missed a combined 65 games between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons due to various injuries.
“We don’t have to do that for a year,” Riley said about Butler’s extension. “And so, we have not discussed that internally right now, but we have to look at that, making that kind of commitment. We haven’t made a decision on it. And we really haven’t really in earnest, discussed it. So we’ll just see what happens.”
When Riley made those comments, many felt that the Heat could take the drastic step of trading Butler instead of losing him as a free agent in 2025. However, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported on July 9 that Miami “is not shopping Butler” and plan to play out the 2024-25 season before reassessing his contract situation in 2025.
Nets Also Linked With Butler
If Butler does test free agency in 2025, the Warriors may not be his only suitor. According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, there is mutual interest between Butler and the Brooklyn Nets to explore possibilities in the 2025 offseason.
“Butler isn’t just open to Brooklyn, but fond of it, sources told The Post,” Lewis wrote on September 7. “Now, he’s not a Net and he might never get close to becoming one. But to dismiss the possibility out of hand is foolish.”
Lewis earlier reported that the Nets emerged as a possible destination for Butler when chatter began of the All-Star wing declining his 2025-25 player option with the Heat.
“The odds of him picking up his player option are slim unless he agrees to a max deal with the Heat beforehand,” Lewis wrote on August 31. “The six-time All-Star is the most accomplished standout on that [free agent] list not named [LeBron] James, and he likes Brooklyn, according to sources close to the player.”
Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the 2023-24 season. All those numbers were his lowest in a Heat uniform since the 2019-20 season.
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