NBA Trades: Proposed 3-team blockbuster sees Heat, Kings, and Warriors swap stars

The Heat, Kings, and Warriors can find common ground on a blockbuster.

Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler | Ezra Shaw/GettyImages
3 of 3

Would the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, and Golden State Warriors agree to the swap?

With Sacramento on a roll after firing their coach, Mike Brown, they have good reason to be leery of moving on from Fox. If their standings don't improve, they may have to rethink their roster before the trade deadline.

They currently rank 10th in the Western Conference, just 3 weeks away from the trade deadline.While that alone may not give them the ability to move on from Fox, if it's clear that he won't resign and that the Kings don't have a path forward with both him and Sabonis as their best players, then they may consider a reasonable offer for Fox.

This deal would give them three rotation players, including a rising star, as well as a first-round pick. That will be a competitive offer that would help them by keeping them from completely bottoming out around Sabonis while also being able to improve their roster in the short and long term. Kuminga has shown star potential, and a bigger role could transform him into one.

Additionally, by moving Fox this season, they could end up with a top 10 pick in a strong draft and potentially select an impact player who could help them going forward without Fox. They would only say yes if it's obvious that he wants out; if he were to make it clear that he does, then this trade makes a lot of sense for the Kings.

The Heat and Butler are seemingly heading for a divorce, and this potential trade would make plenty of sense for both player and team. Butler would move from the big market to the bigger market by going from Miami to the Bay Area to play alongside Curry. 

While it's unclear whether they would extend him, Golden State giving up real assets to acquire him would likely mean that they would sign him for at least a couple of years beyond this season. The players they are giving up would result in a dramatic shift to the roster but not nearly as much as at first glance.

Butler would essentially be swapped in for Wiggins, while Kuminga, Payton II, and Looney likely wouldn't be back next season anyway. Given that Golden State hasn't broken away from the pack and is very much in a dogfight to make it back to the playoffs after missing it altogether last season, they would probably agree to some form of this trade.

Lastly, the Heat would get back a younger star in Fox while only having to give up their own disgruntled star and a first-round pick to do so. That would keep them from having to go to rebuild, particularly with them having several younger players around Fox's age to build around, including Herro and Adebayo.

Given the choice of keeping Butler this season and having him risk ruining their year, then only to lose him in free agency for nothing, or this deal in which they can land a younger star, the choice seems obvious. Miami would probably agree to this trade. Ultimately, this trade could work for all three teams, though with so many moving parts, it could be hard to pull off ahead of the trade deadline.