-
Ohm Youngmisuk
LOS ANGELES — Sporting a huge smile, Jimmy Butler could not have looked any happier to be a Golden State Warrior.
Introduced to the media here with his new team, Butler said he is thrilled to have a fresh start and to be playing basketball again after a tumultuous ending with the Miami Heat.
“All of that is behind me, moving forward,” Butler said when asked about the speculation that surrounded him over the past month. “I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be wanted again.”
Asked if regaining his joy was just a matter of being able to put on a new jersey — he will wear No. 10 after Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar — and be able to play basketball again, Butler couldn’t contain his enthusiasm.
“I got a feeling I’m [going to] be back, in a big way, too,” he said. “So I’m smiling. I’ve been going at it, I’ve been training, I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. I know that I have my joy back now. I’m in a different situation, different group of guys.”
Butler said he hopes to make his Golden State debut Saturday against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. The six-time All-Star initially said he didn’t have anything negative to say about the Heat, noting how he formed a lot of long-lasting relationships in his five-plus seasons with the franchise.
But when asked what made him want to leave, he also made it clear that his time in South Beach essentially ended when his relationship with team president Pat Riley and the organization soured.
“That’s a good question actually,” Butler said. “That is a good question. I don’t know. Maybe just a lot of talking back and forth. And sooner or later, talking’s got to stop.”
Miami suspended Butler three times this season, twice for conduct detrimental to the team. He also missed a team flight. His last suspension started on Jan. 27, after he left shootaround when he was told he would be coming off the bench. The Heat announced that suspension would last at least five games, which went up to Thursday’s trade deadline. He hasn’t played since Jan. 21.
The Warriors said they are ecstatic to land an elite two-way player like Butler to pair with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. They traded Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III and a 2025 top-10 protected first-round pick in a multiteam deal for Butler, who sources told ESPN also agreed to a new two-year, $111 million deal that runs through the 2026-27 season.
The Warriors have been desperate to find Curry some help. After a 12-3 start, they’ve sputtered and entered Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 25-25 record.
“He is a big-time pressure player, postseason player,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before the game. “So that would fit well in our locker room. We’ve got other guys who have been through the battles, been through the war. So I think when you put a group of guys like that together, there’s going to be a belief, there’s going to be a confidence that comes with that. And so I’m excited to see what that looks like.”
While Curry said he would watch Heat film to try to see what suits Butler’s game the best and what can be meshed with Golden State’s offensive system, Butler said it will be easy fitting in with his new team.
“We good,” Butler said. “Pass the ball to Steph. And get out the way. Easy.”
Butler, who has shown the ability to carry a team on his back in the postseason, says he can learn something about winning from Curry, Green and Kerr, who have won four championships with the Warriors.
Green has said that Butler will fit in fine because he has a winning pedigree like the Warriors. Green also said he sees a lot of similarities in how he and Butler play with an edge and aggression.
“I think our personalities are going to be fine,” Butler said of playing alongside Green. “I would like to say that I am a winner. I haven’t won it. But I would like to call myself a winner. I do want to win it. It being a championship.
“Playing with Steph, I mean everybody knows he’s the greatest shooter in the world, greatest shooter in history. Makes my job a lot easier. I probably got a lot more space out there.”
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the franchise got what it was looking for — a star talent to help maximize Curry’s and Green’s championship window while not having to give up any assets like Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski or multiple first-round picks.
“We’ve picked a path and we’re going in a direction and we have three kind of older generational players,” Dunleavy said. “But the beauty of the whole thing to me is we’ve got a lot of good complementary pieces. We’ve got assets, we’ve got young players. So in some ways in terms of our financial stuff, there’s a commitment. But on the whole, we’ll have a lot of flexibility.”
Dunleavy has said that the only way Golden State will mortgage its future is for a franchise-altering type superstar. And he says the Warriors are still positioned to go after such a blockbuster move if the opportunity presents itself in the future.
“Come this draft, I think we will have multiple unprotected picks available, pick swaps and anything else on the roster that people find attractive,” he said. “So I think from that standpoint, we can evaluate this roster some more, and if there’s other moves that need to be made, we’ll be in the game for those just like we’ve been for everything else.”
If Butler has his way, he will be adding another title to the Golden State dynasty. He’s happy to be playing “meaningful basketball” again.
“I just want to be able to go out there and do what I’ve been doing for a very long time,” Butler said. “And have fun, smile, rip and run and not feel like I’m just doing cardio majority of the game.
“So I’m very, very, very happy that I’m not getting suspended no more.”