Warriors See Zach LaVine As Safer Option Over Jimmy Butler Ahead Of Trade Deadline

The Golden State Warriors might be wavering on their desire to trade for Jimmy Butler. Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic wrote that despite their renewed interest in Butler, there are some within the organization who are more interested in exploring a trade for Zach LaVine. Regardless of who they go for, the Warriors will have to give up Andrew Wiggins in a deal.

"Team sources have downplayed their recent involvement in conversations with the Heat, but there’s been a noticeable increase in intrigue from the front office about the idea of Butler at a bargain."

"After pulse-taking conversations with multiple players, it seems Zach LaVine might peak [sic] more interest, depending on his cost. But there is locker-room concern about who the Warriors would send away in a hypothetical trade for a high-salaried player, such as Butler or LaVine."

"Andrew Wiggins, who has had a productive season well worth his $26.2 million cap figure, is the obvious salary match, with Gary Payton II ($9.1 million) and Kevon Looney ($8 million) profiling as the type of building-block expiring salary that trade partners covet."

The Warriors are also reportedly open to surrendering the 2025 first-round pick in any trade to help sweeten the deal. The reason for this is their skepticism surrounding the quality of players available late in the first round, where they expect their pick to fall come the end of the NBA Draft lottery.

"As conversations increase in advance of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors have floated a protected version of their 2025 first-round pick around the NBA as a potential sweetener if the right deal were to materialize, league sources told The Athletic."

"League sources say the Warriors aren’t necessarily enamored with the prospects predicted to land in the back end of the first round, so losing a pick in the late teens for even a valuable rotation piece could prove plenty worth it."

LaVine would be a strong option for the Warriors but comes with his own set of risks. While he is far younger than Butler at just 29 years old and can be trusted to lead the franchise after the inevitable end of Stephen Curry's tenure with the franchise, he has a long time left on his deal and makes a lot of money.

LaVine's deal runs till 2027 (player option for 2026-27) and he will make about $138 million over the next three seasons. This would still be less than the two-year, $110 million deal Jimmy Butler is aiming for when he enters free agency after this season.

Furthermore, LaVine might have turned his form around this season, averaging 24.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 51.1% from the field, a career-high 44.6% from beyond the arc, and 79.7% from the charity stripe.

However, he has had some injury problems over the last few years and has seen his quality of play go down significantly when those problems flare up. Regardless, this is a deal the Warriors should consider. We imagined what a potential trade for LaVine might look like for the Warriors, which you can check out here.