Jimmy Butler going to the Golden State Warriors is not the “mega deal” that some people are trying to position it as, but rather just a simple business deal that did not improve the Warriors roster in any way at all. At least, that is what analyst Stephen A. Smith said about the topic of the guard getting traded out of the Miami Heat.
In one of the recent editions of \his program ‘First Take,” Stephen A. Smith downplayed the trade of Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, saying that the veteran did not add any value to the roster at all.
“No more dangerous than they were yesterday,” Smith said. “I’m not moved at all. And that’s no knock against Jimmy Butler. But what we’re not going to do today is call this a mega deal. The fact of the matter is if Jimmy Butler had ended up in Phoenix with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, that would’ve been a mega deal. But him being in Golden State, you got to understand something: we’re accustomed to seeing Steph Curry with Klay Thompson. Jimmy Butler’s not a Klay Thompson’s type of player.”
.@stephenasmith believes the Warriors are “no more dangerous than they were yesterday” after the Jimmy Butler trade 😅 pic.twitter.com/FNgDiR7CXn
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 6, 2025
Smith also reiterated that the Jimmy Butler deal was not part of the long-rumored “build around Steph Curry” trade strategy of the Warriors, but rather a deal to save the franchise some money.
“He’s big time, he’s Playoff Jimmy, he will produce, his numbers go up every series in the playoffs. There’s no doubt about that. I’m just saying in terms of this system, who he’s playing with, the personnel surrounding Jimmy [Butler], no. This is not a mega deal. This is something that’s saving them money. It’s a business deal.”
Steph Curry on Playing With Jimmy Butler: “We’re Up For The Challenge”
One of the biggest questions for a player getting traded to the Golden State Warriors is how they would pay alongside Steph Curry. In the case of Jimmy Butler, Curry himself is looking forward to experience playing with him.
“We’ve got to work out the kinks of what it looks like and I’m excited to get to work and kind of feed off the energy of something new,” Curry said in an interview. “He’s somebody that’s obviously had experience at the highest levels. He has a lot to prove in a new situation, and we’re going to try to help each other do that.”
“The biggest thing is it creates expectations, which I love,” he added, talking about Jimmy Butler’s personality. “I want to be in that kind of environment that, whether you get it done or not, is meaningful basketball that we all love and thrive in. think we’re all going to be up for the challenge.”
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
