Jimmy Butler Has Killed Another Potential Trade Destination After Telling The Warriors He's Unwilling To Sign An Extension If They Trade For Him

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You just knew that with all the trades and NBA news flying around these last 24 hours there was no way Jimmy Butler was going to sit on the sidelines and not find a way to insert himself into the chaos. All the talk about the Luka/AD trade combined with the Fox/LaVine trade has pretty much taken all the attention away from Jimmy and his own trade demand which had pretty much dominated the NBA headlines for the last few weeks. 

So what do we think he went with? Finally giving the thumbs up on a trade so we can finally put this whole thing to bed?

Ha, don't be an idiot. Of course he didn't do that. In fact, he did the exact opposite

Once those two previous trades went down it limited the potential Jimmy Butler destinations even more. Maybe the Kings were an option if they were in the market for a win now wing (they obviously were), but that was a stretch given there was no shot Butler would extend there. Of all the remaining options, the Warriors seemed like the only plausible trade where it might make the most sense for both sides. The Warriors get talent to help Steph, they don't have to pay Kuminga which they clearly don't want to do, and Butler gets to ride out his career next to Steph which I'm not sure if he's aware, has brought a number of different players an NBA championship.

So what does Jimmy do? He kills the entire deal. Makes it known that he won't re-sign in GS (????) and burns yet another bridge on the trade market. I'm honestly a little confused as to why Butler would turn down the idea that he would extend in GS. Isn't that one of the best places for him and his skillset? Their motion offense, the way Butler can operate as a passing hub, someone to take late game pressure off Steph, it seems like a decent spot to stick around as long as they were committed to paying Butler, and if they were considering making that type of trade you have to assume they were.

Then I started thinking about why Butler would do something like this, and I'm working on a theory. At this point the Heat vs Jimmy Butler fight is about as ugly as it gets. Suspensions, leaking things to the media, trolling, it seems to get worse with each passing day. Is it totally crazy to think that Butler may have known that the Heat actually liked the Warriors trade package and were willing to say yes, and he decided to kill the whole thing out of spite? As another "fuck you" to Pat Riley? I'm not sure how that exactly helps Butler, but sometimes when you're just trying to burn everything to the ground you don't give a shit. 

Who in their right mind willingly turns down playing next to Steph Curry for an ownership group that has a shit ton of money and is willing to pay you? You only do that out of spite if you want to stick it to the guy in charge of trading you. I really can't think of any other reason Butler wouldn't want to go to GS now and then stay there for the next few years of Steph's prime.

If the Warriors are now off the table and Bradley Beal isn't waiving his no trade clause, how the hell do we think this ends? Imagine Butler doesn't get moved after all this and everything carries into the summer? That does kind of feel like where we're headed. Remember, Butler has already said no to MIL and MEM as well. There are only so many teams out there that have

A) A positional need for Butler

B) The salaries available to trade for Butler

C) A team Butler will extend with

He may have said he'll play "anywhere but Miami" but in reality he actually doesn't want to play anywhere including Miami? It's all a little confusing, and I don't think it's going to be cleared up anytime soon.