By Joel Perez 
I made it home on time last night to catch the fourth quarter of the Warriors-Magic game after
getting notifications about Steph hitting a half-court heave and having 43 points heading into the
fourth. Of course, I’ve been lowkey tuning into Warriors games for the past couple of nights just
to see Jimmy Butler in action with his new team. I’d almost compare it to an ex constantly
checking their ex’s social media to see what they’ve been up to since the breakup—and I’ll just
go ahead and say it: I’ve got no shame in watching Jimmy Butler play for another team that ain’t
the Miami Heat… man, oh man, do I miss him.
Jimmy has been absolutely spectacular for the Warriors so far, and it hasn’t even been so much
about his stats but rather how much he’s opened up the offense for Steph, Draymond, and the
rest of the team. He’s taken on the role of a primary playmaker, and coming from a Heat fan
who’s watched him for the past six years, that’s when he’s at his best—creating opportunities for
his teammates while still finding ways to get himself buckets. Whether it’s open looks from
setting others up or constantly drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line, he just knows
how to impact the game.
In his first two games with Golden State, he got to the line 13 times, making 11 in the first game
and 12 of 15 in the next. That was an area of offense the Warriors were lacking. But the biggest
impact of having Jimmy alongside Curry? The sheer amount of attention he draws. And just like
that, Steph has been on his best offensive stretch of the season.
Just last night against the Magic, Curry dropped 56 points and 12 threes—both season highs.
Over the past eight games since Butler joined Golden State, Steph is averaging 30.6 points per
game while shooting 51% from the field and 42.7% from beyond the arc, with the Warriors going
7-1 in that stretch. Clearly, at least so far, this trade has worked out even better for Golden State
than they could’ve imagined.
Now, we’ll have to see how things play out over the duration of Butler’s extension—a two-year,
$121 million deal starting next season. Obviously, giving that kind of money to an aging
superstar, especially with the availability concerns he had in Miami, carries some risk. But at this
moment, the Warriors have struck gold with this deal, and they’re now being viewed as
legitimate championship contenders—all without even having Jonathan Kuminga back in the
lineup. His return will only add more versatility to certain rotations and introduce another
offensive threat to an already flowing offense that could reach another level once he’s back in
the fold.
As for the Miami Heat, well… things haven’t exactly gone according to plan since acquiring
Andrew Wiggins. He’s played pretty well—nothing crazy—but I’ve enjoyed his play through nine
games. I do think he could be a bit more aggressive around the rim, but overall, it’s been a solid
start to his Heat tenure. He’s averaging just over 17 points per game, though on pretty subpar
shooting splits.
The guy I was most intrigued by, though, was Davion Mitchell. With Wiggins, I already had an
idea of what he could contribute, but Davion felt like an X-factor—especially with his defensive ability, which the Heat desperately need at the guard spot after losing Dru Smith. And yes, that
was a Dru Smith reference.
Regardless, Davion Mitchell scored 20 points for the first time as a member of the Heat last
game against the Hawks. A couple of games ago against OKC, he looked like the fastest player
on the court and showed flashes of what he can be offensively—until we completely collapsed
at the end of the third quarter, unfortunately. The mere fact that we traded PJ Tucker for Davion
Mitchell is a win in my book.
Kyle Anderson also had a strong game in the first leg of the back-to-back against Atlanta,
finishing with 14 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. He really showed where his value can
be on a nightly basis, depending on the matchup. His size is a huge asset on both ends of the
court.
But even after watching each of these three guys have solid performances, it doesn’t change
the reality: we’re simply not good enough to compete with the best in the league—or at least,
they haven’t shown that they’re capable just yet.
For now, Golden State has gotten the better end of the deal in terms of return on investment this
early into the trade. But only time will tell how it truly plays out.
Angel Rivera