Basketball

After a dramatic final month with the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler is finally with a new team.

The six-time All-Star was traded to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, signing a two-year, $111 million deal shortly after joining the team.

When asked why Butler wanted out of Miami, he couldn't put his finger on it, but explained that a lack of communication was part of his desire to leave.

"That's a good question. I don't know," Butler told reporters on Thursday. "There was a lot of talking back and forth and sooner or later the talking has to stop."

"I know I have my joy back," Butler added.

Butler's final days with Miami featured three different suspensions, mainly due to "conduct detrimental to the team." Butler is ready to put the suspensions behind him now with his new team.

"I'm very, very happy that I'm not getting suspended no more," Butler told reporters.

With Golden State, he'll get to play alongside the greatest shooter in NBA history in Stephen Curry. His game plan with his new teammate is simple.

"Pass the ball to Steph and get out the way," he said.

Butler also had a message for Warriors fans on Thursday:

The Warriors gave up Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson, Lindy Waters III and a top-10-protected first-round pick for Butler. Wiggins, Anderson and the draft pick went to Miami, Schröder went to the Utah Jazz and Waters landed on the Detroit Pistons in the five-team deal.

That's a somewhat significant haul for an aging star, but the Warriors appear confident the 35-year-old Butler can help them solve their woes this season. Butler, who spent six seasons in Miami, has struggled a bit this year, averaging just 17 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists. His scoring average is his lowest since the 2013-14 season.

As Butler mentioned, he lost his joy on the court in Miami but has it back now with the Warriors. Perhaps having his joy back will elevate his game some.

The Warriors will need Butler to step up if they want to get into championship form. Golden State is currently in 11th place in the Western Conference at 25-25 and is threatening to miss the postseason entirely if it can't turn things around.

It might take some time for Butler to get integrated into the Warriors' offense, but he has a history of winning everywhere he's been and that's unlikely to change now that he's with Golden State.

The Miami Heat may have lost their former star, who wore No. 22, but they'll have a new star rocking No. 22 now.

Andrew Wiggins, who the Heat acquired in a deal for Jimmy Butler, will wear Butler's former No. 22, per the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds. The Heat also confirmed Wiggins' number on social media.

Wiggins had a down year last season but has returned to his normal self this year. The veteran forward is putting up 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game during the 2024-25 campaign and could see his numbers get better as he becomes a primary scoring option in Miami.

Reynolds reported Thursday that Wiggins is hoping to make his Heat debut on Monday against the Boston Celtics.

Along with Wiggins, the Heat landed Kyle Anderson and a 2025 protected first-round draft pick from the Warriors and brought in Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors. Anderson, who joined Golden State ahead of the season, is averaging 5.3 points per game, while Mitchell, who is in his fourth season, is putting up 6.3 points per game.

Butler was the face of the Heat's franchise for six years, leading the team to a pair of NBA Finals, but it's a new era for Miami now. The Heat may not be championship contenders just yet, but they have a team more than capable of making a playoff run. Miami is currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference at 25-24.

It's a new era for the NBA All-Star Game.

This year's All-Star Game will feature a tournament-style format with four teams consisting of the league's best players. The four teams will play in two semifinal games and the winner of those semifinal games will move on to the championship game.

Three teams will feature NBA All-Stars while the other team will be the winner of the Rising Stars game. The All-Star teams will be led by Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith. WNBA legend Candace Parker will coach the winner of the Rising Stars team.

Barkley, O'Neal and Smith drafted their teams on Thursday:

Fans took note of O'Neal taking former teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the draft:

Barkley received high praise for his work in the All-Star draft:

While O'Neal drafted the veterans and Barkley took several MVP candidates, Smith landed some young talent that fans believe could be perfect for the All-Star Game.

The immediate storyline following the draft is James and Davis getting picked to the same team. The two were teammates for six years and won a championship together, but Davis was sent to the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster trade for Luka Dončić on Saturday.

It's hard to say who left the All-Star Game draft with the best team, but it should make for an interesting tournament.

O'Neal's squad features a handful of NBA legends like James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant, but as many fans noted, Smith's team has several first-time All-Stars with more to prove. Barkley's team, which consists mostly of international talent, will be hard to beat.

While the All-Star teams will have the edge, don't be surprised if a Rising Stars team comes ready to play. There's plenty of talent on the four squads.

The All-Star Game takes place on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. ET and will air on TNT. The Rising Stars Challenge will be held on Friday, Feb. 14, at 9 p.m., also on TNT.

While the Golden State Warriors were the team perhaps most prominently in the mix for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, another team reportedly made a late offer for him at the trade deadline.

Per NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Minnesota Timberwolves "made a last-ditch effort" to trade for Durant ahead of Thursday's deadline, but the deal ultimately didn't materialize.

It's unclear what package the Timberwolves offered the Suns for Durant, but it's fair to assume they wouldn't have included young star Anthony Edwards. Minnesota has a handful of draft picks and some pieces on its roster at its disposal, but whatever the Wolves offered the Suns wasn't enough.

Phoenix appeared ready to make a splash at the deadline by either trading Durant or landing a star like Jimmy Butler, but it ended up being a relatively quiet day. The only move the Suns made on Thursday was a deal that sent Jusuf Nurkić and a 2026 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets in return for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micić and a 2026 second-round pick.

The Timberwolves had an even quieter deadline with no trades.

Durant received plenty of attention at this year's deadline. The Warriors pursued their former star, but he was reportedly "cold to the idea" of returning to Golden State, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Sam Amick.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported on NBA Today Thursday that after the Warriors' pursuit of Durant ended, other teams began "making really aggressive calls to the Suns" about Durant.

One such team was the Dallas Mavericks, who SNY's Ian Begley reported were "very aggressive" in trying to find a trade for Durant.

Ultimately, Durant will remain in Phoenix for now and the Suns will try to turn things around after a rough start to the year. Phoenix is currently in 10th place in the Western Conference at 25-25. The Timberwolves haven't fared much better, sitting in seventh place in the West at 28-23.

Both teams will try to regroup and come back stronger in the second half of the season despite a lack of significant moves at this year's trade deadline.

Andrew Wiggins could play his first game in a Miami Heat uniform soon.

After being traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler deal, the veteran forward is hoping to be on the court by Monday when Miami faces the Boston Celtics, per the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds.

The Heat take on the Brooklyn Nets on the road on Friday, but that's likely too quick of a turnaround for Wiggins to get settled into Miami's locker room. If Wiggins is unable to suit up for Monday's game against Boston, the Heat will have a pair of tough games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks later next week that they could use him in.

Wiggins, who was with the Warriors from 2019 until Wednesday night, is having an outstanding year after struggling a bit last season. He's putting up 17.6 points, 4.6 boards and 2.4 assists per game as he joins the Heat.

In Miami, he should get a bigger role as one of the main scoring options, which could see him put up even better numbers.

Along with Wiggins, the Heat received Kyle Anderson, P.J. Tucker and a protected first-round pick in the trade. In the hours since the initial trade, Miami sent Tucker to the Toronto Raptors in return for Davion Mitchell in a move that helped it get below the first apron.

While Butler was the cornerstone of the Heat's franchise for six seasons, he clearly had no interest in remaining with the team and Miami will now enter a new era. The Heat might not be championship contenders yet, but making a playoff run with the addition of Wiggins and others is well within reason.

The Heat are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference at 25-24.

Veteran guard Marcus Smart will have a new home for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday reported that the Washington Wizards are acquiring Marcus Smart and draft picks from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Marvin Bagley III and more. Bagley is making $12.5 million this season in the final year of his contract.

With several moving pieces, here's a look at each team's updated rosters and salary cap following the deal.

Memphis Grizzlies Depth Chart

PG: Ja Morant, Scotty Pippen Jr.

SG: Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard, Johnny Davis

SF: Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams Jr., GG Jackson

PF: Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama

C: Zach Edey, Marvin Bagley III

Prior to the trade, Memphis had salary cap allocations totaling more than $170 million, per Spotrac.

Washington Wizards Depth Chart

PG: Jordan Poole, Malcolm Brogdon

SG: Bilal Coulibaly, Marcus Smart

SF: Khris Middleton, Corey Kispert

PF: Kyshawn George, Justin Champagnie

C: Alex Sarr, Richaun Holmes

Prior to the trade, Washington had salary cap allocations totaling more than $209 million, per Spotrac.

In 19 games this season, Bagley is averaging 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds. He was forced to miss time after suffering a knee sprain on Dec. 23 in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This is the second time Bagley has been traded in just over a year. The Wizards acquired him in January as part of a trade with the Detroit Pistons. The 25-year-old started 15 out of his 24 appearances in Washington during the 2023-24 campaign and averaged 13.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. He shot 58.2 percent from the field and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from three-point range.

While his time with the Wizards was limited, Bagley showed improvement from his run with the Pistons. In 26 games with 10 starts in Detroit prior to being traded, he saw an average of 18.4 minutes of action and posted 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.

The No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings, Bagley hasn't made the impact many expected he would following his dominant freshman season at Duke. His average of 14.9 points in his rookie season remains his career-high. He has been a serviceable big man with career averages of 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds, though he's not much of a rim protector with just 0.6 blocks.

Still, Memphis saw enough to make a deal to acquire Bagley. He will be joining a Grizzlies team headlined by Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Grizzlies are hoping the addition of Bagley will help boost its chances of competing for a playoff spot this season.

As for the Wizards, they're getting a solid guard in Smart, though he has only played 19 games this season. The 30-year-old averaged just 8.7 points with the Grizzlies before being moved.

The Golden State Warriors "made another run" at Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević but were unable to finalize a trade ahead of Thursday's deadline, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

According to Stein, "talks fizzled as the teams could not agree on a trade construction."

Vučević said Wednesday he would be "happy" to stay with the Bulls, per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network meanwhile reported that the Bulls' deadline talks regarding Vučević had left "plenty of groundwork for an offseason move."

The 34-year-old Vučević, a 14-year NBA veteran, played his first nine-plus seasons with the Orlando Magic before they traded him to the Bulls in March 2021.

The two-time All-Star has averaged a double-double (17.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG) for his career.

This season, Vučević has posted 19.5 points on 54.6 percent shooting (39.4 percent from three) and 10.4 rebounds per game. His 60.9 percent effective field goal percentage ranks 19th in the NBA, per Basketball-Reference.

This is arguably the best season of Vučević's career, so it's no surprise that the Warriors coveted him before the trade deadline. He also has a palatable contract, with only one season of financial commitment at $21,481,481 remaining after this year.

Vučević was part of a rebuild in Chicago that saw the team add DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball for an impressive core four. That team once sat first in the Eastern Conference midway through the 2021-22 season.

Unfortunately, a serious knee injury to Ball, which sidelined him for three years, was a catalyst in the team's struggles down the stretch of that campaign. The Bulls never really recovered since, having been mired in mediocrity and fighting just to make the playoffs.

The Bulls traded LaVine to the Sacramento Kings earlier this week, signaling the end of an era in Chicago. It looks like the franchise will still build around Ball, though, after reportedly signing him to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday.

Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets are working on a contract buyout now that the 2025 NBA trade deadline has passed, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Charania linked the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers as possible landing spots:

ESPN's Brian Windhorst previously named the Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets as possible suitors.

Simmons is making a whopping $40.3 million this season in the final year of a five-year, $177.2 million extension he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Nets originally acquired Simmons from the Sixers prior to the 2022 trade deadline. Brooklyn had sent star guard James Harden, veteran forward Paul Millsap and two future first-round picks to Philadelphia to acquire Simmons along with veterans Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. Unfortunately, the team's partnership with Simmons has been ill-fated from the start.

Simmons failed to make an appearance for the Nets before the end of the 2021-22 campaign due to a back injury. When he returned to the court the following season, he was a complete shell of himself and made minimal impact on either end of the floor. He appeared in 42 games during the 2022-23 season before being limited to just 15 games in 2023-24 due to continued back issues that required offseason surgery.

In 33 games this season, he's averaged just 6.2 points, 6.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds for a rebuilding Nets team that ranks 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 17-34 record.

The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Simmons was once one of the best two-way players in the league. He earned three consecutive All-Star selections from 2019 to 2021 and was named to the All-Defensive first team in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021.

It's unlikely that Simmons will return to that level of play anytime soon, but if he gets bought out, he could garner interest from teams who believe he can contribute to their quest for a playoff spot this season.

The Atlanta Hawks are trading veteran guard Bogdan Bogdanović and three second-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for guards Terance Mann and Bones Hyland, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

The deal comes as the Hawks have shifted their priorities due to the steadily diminishing on-court returns they enjoyed after their run to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. After going 36-46 last season, Atlanta traded Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now, Bogdanović is out the door with the team sitting at 23-28 and ninth in the East.

The Hawks aren't executing an outright rebuild, but they are taking one step back now in the hope they can make two steps forward in the near future.

With Bogdanović, Atlanta had a valuable trade asset who could yield a solid return.

Though 24 games, the 6'5" guard is averaging 10.0 points on 37.1 percent shooting, including 30.1 percent from beyond the arc. His performance has undoubtedly suffered a bit from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss nearly a month.

Dyson Daniels' arrival as part of the Murray trade has also lessened Bogdanović's role slightly. Daniels has been a stifling defender whose impact has exceeded even his most optimistic projections.

Bogdanović's long-term future in Atlanta had been called into question throughout the last year.

With a little over a month to go before the 2024 trade deadline, Jake Fischer reported Atlanta was "certainly open for business, with plenty of long-term deals to be moved." Fischer added the front office was indicating to other teams that Trae Young and Jalen Johnson were considered the only "untouchable players."

NBA insider Marc Stein painted the same impression and noted with Bogdanović specifically the 32-year-old was "expected to generate as much external interest as any current Hawk."

Bogdanović obviously stayed in Atlanta through the deadline. In 79 games, he averaged 16.9 points and shot 37.4 percent from beyond the arc.

With Daniels ascendant and the team still hovering around .500, it stood to reason general manager Landry Fields would be just as receptive—if not more so—about a possible Bogdanović trade prior to the 2025 deadline.

The Hawks saw firsthand how having a player signed for multiple seasons doesn't always boost his trade value. Eventually they had to settle for what was a salary dump to offload John Collins ahead of the 2023-24 season.

In the case of Bogdanović, though, inking him to a four-year, $68 million extension was a shrewd move. A $17 million average salary is a reasonable figure for a player of his caliber, and he's under contract through 2025-26 with a team option for 2026-27.

But the status quo wasn't working, and Fields has to continue reshaping the roster. With Bogdanović, the front office had a trade chip that might ultimately yield the necessary reinforcements through future moves.

The Clippers, meanwhile, will hope his poor shooting this year is only a blip as they try to stay in the top six in the West.