Annual salary of 54.13 million yuan, becoming a bargaining chip! Butler s condition has declined after joining the Warriors, and you may need to leave

NBA trading market has been opened for more than a week, and the overall situation in the West tends to be "one super, many strong". After the Thunder won the championship, three super top salaries renewed Alexander (285 million in 4 years) + Jewish (287 million in 5 years) + Homgren (250 million in 5 years). The new season is still the biggest favorite to win the championship. The Rockets got Durant and Finney Smith to increase the lineup limit; the Nuggets got Cameron Johnson + Valan + Hardaway Jr. + Bruce Brown to increase the lineup depth. These two teams will shoulder the role of challenging the Thunder in the new season. As two super giants, the Lakers and the Warriors, the Lakers bid farewell to Finney in the offseason and got Ayton and Larawia, and the defense lower limit was lowered; while the Warriors got nothing, they also bid farewell to Looney and Payton Jr., which disappointed the management!

The Lakers' problems are mainly focused on the contradiction between James and the management. James hopes to win in the present, but the Lakers quietly make plans for the future. Since James chose to execute the 52.6 million player option, the Lakers have set their sights on tomorrow summer, waiting for James to free up his salary space, and the Lakers are sure that they will not provide James with a contract renewal. In the words of agent Ritchie Paul, James is eager to compete for the championship, he hopes that every remaining season will be meaningful, and we want to choose the decision that is most favorable to James. There are three problems with the Warriors. Kumingga signed first and then exchanged and was in a stagnant position. He may have to stay with the team for the time being in the new season. Secondly, the core framework is too old. Curry is 38 years old next season, Butler is 36 years old in the offseason, and Green is 36 years old next season.

There is another problem, which is Butler. Let's start with a piece of news. The famous reporter Shebbleburn and Windhorst jointly reported that the sources they have showed that several teams, including the Warriors, are again considering making a offer for trading James like the Lakers. The Warriors have wanted to get James since the 23-24 season. It is not difficult to guess these teams. There will definitely be the Knicks, and the Cavaliers do not rule out the possibility of using James to make up their salary space. So how can the Warriors get James? It's very simple. According to salary regulations, if the Warriors make a quote, there will definitely be Butler in the bargaining chips. Butler's salary next season is 54.13 million US dollars, and only he can match James' contract. It is uncertain whether the Lakers can agree to it first, after all, Butler still has two years and $110 million contract.

But why did Butler fall to this point? Last summer, Heat's agent Pat Riley made it clear that the team would not give Butler a super maximum salary of 243 million yuan that he wanted in four years, which led to a complete stalemate between the two sides. In the first half of last season, the Heat had been committed to sending Butler away, which involved the Suns and Bills at one point. In the end, the Warriors saved Butler and the Heat, and at the same time, they handed out a two-year maximum salary of 110 million yuan. In the words of a salary expert, it is very difficult for Butler to find a next home, definitely no less than Paul George. He even said that if the Warriors want to force James, it may involve a third-party team. After all, the Lakers may not be willing to pay an extra one year of maximum salary for an elderly veteran. Butler became a bargaining chip in trading, but he didn't expect the Warriors to be unable to sit still so soon.

After Butler came to the Warriors last season, he averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists per game, and 7.7 free throws per game; he averaged 19 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game, and 7.3 free throws per game. When Curry fell down in the injury and the Timberwolves series, Butler averaged 20 points per game in the remaining four games, shooting 45.8% from the field, and then the Warriors lost four consecutive games and were directly eliminated. To compare, Butler last participated in the playoffs in the summer of 23, leading the team from having difficulty riding the last bus of the playoffs and heading all the way to the finals, averaging 27 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists per game. In the past two seasons, he averaged 13.8 and 20.1 shots per game. I am indeed old and it is falling too fast! Admittedly, without Butler, the Warriors might not even be able to enter the playoffs.

But because of Butler's existence, the Warriors will have no basic operating space in the next two years. In just two years, Butler has gone from being a playoff super giant who raised the upper limit when he was at the Heat to an ordinary star who helped to cover the lower limit by Curry. He can't even make 20 points per game, is he worth more than 50 million yuan in annual salary? If the Warriors' lineup framework gradually becomes old, it will be a natural process of replacement, butler's arrival will completely block the team's door to the future transition to reconstruction. Why did Kumingga leave? Kerr made it clear that he and Butler cannot coexist; can the Warriors lineup challenge the Thunder + Rockets + Nuggets in the new season? The trading market is coming to an end, and the Warriors' roster is only 12. Is there a possibility of a counterattack and turning around?

From the Warriors' perspective, Butler quotes James to save the maximum salary for the next year, and James' bottom limit is stronger than Butler. If it really doesn't work, it will be more appropriate to speed up the reconstruction track tomorrow summer than to drag it out until two years later. After all, judging from the lineup of NBA championships in the past seven years, the era of veterans has completely passed. Regardless of whether James can leave the Lakers in the end, and whether the Warriors can get James in the end, one thing is certain, the Warriors need to get rid of Butler's burden as soon as possible. There are many stars who can help Curry cover the lower limit, but they cannot share the pressure of Curry's scoring in the playoffs. The Warriors are always in the mirror and the moon in the water, and Butler should leave.