3 Teams That Could Trade a Star to Warriors for Jimmy Butler and Draft Capital

Jimmy Butler is under contract with the Warriors for one more season at $56.8 million.

Considering he's out for at least half of the season with a torn ACL and 36 years old, most teams will have no interest in him.

But there is one type of team that could see trading for Butler as an opportunity: the long-term rebuilder.

Teams in a long-term rebuild could see three reasons to trade for Butler:

1) The Warriors would include draft-pick compensation to get off his contract
2) Acquiring him could provide long-term salary-cap relief
3) Having a $56.8 million player not playing could actually help the team's tanking strategy

The three teams that check all three boxes are listed below.

Honorable Mentions: Clippers and Bucks

Each team doesn't own full rights to its 2027 first-round pick, so neither fits the criteria. However, both teams could be looking to start a rebuild this offseason by trading a superstar, and the easiest way to pull off the trade with the Warriors would be to include Butler as the money-matching salary.

New Orleans Pelicans

Warriors' target: Zion Williamson

If the Pelicans are being honest with themselves, they'll know that they are at least a year away from being a playoff team.

What would help their long-term rebuild more than keeping Williamson is getting a future first-round pick from the Warriors.

What might actually happen is the Pelicans convince themselves they can make the playoffs in 2026-27, meaning they keep Williamson. The Pels have a decent nucleus with Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, but they'll need a massive leap from Fears and Queen to be a contender.

Williamson might not be a good fit with Draymond Green, but the Warriors should be in the business of acquiring talent first and worrying about fit later. The 25-year-old is under contract for the next two seasons at about $87 million.

Washington Wizards

Warriors' target: Anthony Davis

Would it be strange for the Wizards to trade Davis before he ever plays a game with them? Yes.

Should they do it anyway if the Warriors offer Butler and a future first-round pick, even if it's lottery-protected? Definitely.

Davis is making $58.4 million in 2026-27 and has a player option for $62.8 million in 2027-28. He wants a contract extension, and it would be very risky to give him one considering his injury history.

But when the 33-year-old is on the court, he's worth every penny.

The Warriors would have the league's best defensive frontcourt with Davis and Draymond Green. Davis is probably not a perfect fit offensively for Steve Kerr's ball-movement system, but he's talented enough to adapt.

Sacramento Kings

Warriors' target: Domantas Sabonis

Determining Sabonis' value is tricky.

On the one hand, the 30-year-old is still a double-double machine with great passing ability.

On the other hand, his inability to shoot from outside the paint as well as his issues on the defensive end make him expendable, which explains all the rumors that the Kings are trying to trade him.

Sabonis is under contract for $45.5 million next season and $48.6 million in 2027-28. Getting off that 2027-28 money could open up avenues to free agents that they wouldn't otherwise have.

My guess is all the Kings would want is some type of protected first-round pick with Butler to make this move.

Sabonis' lack of outside shooting would not be ideal when sharing the court with Green, but his passing would work wonders with Stephen Curry.

All of These Trade Ideas Are Impacted by Porzingis

Ideally, the Warriors would get a wing for Butler and draft-pick compensation, but quality wings are rarely available on the trade market, and when they are, they are extremely expensive.

So it's more likely that the Warriors will get a big man with a Butler trade.

If the Warriors re-sign Porzingis and view him as a long-term piece at center, then they might simply choose to keep Butler and hope he can return to something close to full strength after the All-Star break.

But if they don't think Porzingis can stay on the court with his injury/illness history, they might be better off letting him walk, making one of these trades and focusing their draft and free-agent strategy on improving their wing depth.

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