Essentially, in a series of moves over almost two years, the Warriors traded Andrew Wiggins, Klay, and Jordan Poole … for Butler and Buddy Hield. It was a lot more complicated than that, but when you pull back for the panoramic view, that’s what happened.And the important part, I kept hearing, wasn’t only that the Warriors did it now. It was that they didn’t do something earlier that could’ve screwed things up at the moment they needed all those pieces to get the Butler deal done.

Another Warriors philosophy, this one coming from Joe Lacob: Don’t do anything major unless you’re sure it can help you win a championship. And if it can help you win a championship, you have to do it.

There was no set two-year plan to acquire Butler the way the Warriors plotted from way out to sign Kevin Durant in 2016. In fact, the Warriors had been calling the Heat about Butler — Dunleavy’s old Chicago Bulls teammate — for months and had been getting flatly rejected. (They also, of course, had the framework of a trade with Phoenix for Durant in February but walked away when Durant told the Warriors he had no interest in a return to the Bay Area.)Then the moment came this winter, when Miami finally had enough of Butler’s agitation for a new contract and decided it was time for a trade. What was the No. 1 asset they wanted from the Warriors? Wiggins, who easily could’ve been tossed aside by the Warriors over the last few bumpy years.Here are the important stages of the two-year journey …

June 2023: The Warriors signed Draymond to a four-year, $100-million extension after he had thoughts of trying to push a sign-and-trade deal to Memphis.

The Ringer reported that during this period Draymond was ready to leave in a sign-and-trade deal with Memphis, which would’ve sent back Steven Adams, Dillon Brooks, and other pieces. But while the Warriors were part of the discussions, it’s not clear that they would’ve agreed to any final S&T package.

Bottom line: Within the Warriors’ offices at the time, there was a general understanding: They likely had to make a long-term call on paying one and only of these three players — Draymond, Klay, or Poole. They picked Draymond. They did it knowing he could blow up at any time, which he did multiple times last season, leading to multiple NBA suspensions. There are no Warriors regrets.

July 2023: The Warriors traded Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2030 first-round pick (protected 1-20) for Chris Paul.

This wasn’t only about money, just mostly about money — the Warriors dumped Poole’s four-year, $123-million deal for Paul’s one-year, $30-million guarantee, then let Paul leave for nothing a year later.Poole, of course, was a lightning rod for the Warriors, mostly not of his own making. He was punched by Draymond in training camp before the 2022-23 season (and right before signing the $123-million deal), and the Warriors knew they’d have to pick between the two, eventually. Add in the competitive tension between Poole and Klay over the starting shooting-guard spot, and the Warriors had a fairly easy call. It was time to get off of Poole’s long-term money.

Bottom line: The Poole-CP3 trade off wiped out $93 million from their books — money that now is indirectly part of the two-year, $111 million extension they gave Butler upon his arrival.

Fall 2023 through July 2024: The Warriors broke off negotiations with Klay after he declined a two-year, $48-million contract extension. After a very rocky season with his status up in the air, Klay left in a sign-and-trade deal with the Mavericks last offseason.

No need to relitigate this long and messy breakup, but it’s safe to say that the Warriors had concerns about Klay’s value into the future — and had decided by last midseason that Brandin Podziemski was their best starting 2-guard — and that Klay took great offense to those concerns.