Warriors’ Jimmy Butler Reveals Truth of Major Trade Issue

When the Golden State Warriors defeated the Heat on January 19, the team’s record moved up to 25-19, part of a four-game winning streak that might have, under most circumstances, given the team a hearty boost of confidence. But it was during that game that star forward Jimmy Butler tore his ACL, an injury that will cost him the rest of this season and likely a chunk of next year.

In the wake of the injury, the Warriors had just a bit more than two weeks to figure out what direction they’d take at the February 5 trade deadline, and the notion of taking Butler’s contract and shipping it out (along with Butler, of course) for another star player was raised. Giannis Antetokounmpo was the primary target, but any talk about him going to Golden State evaporated quickly.

Still, the possibility of trading Butler while he was just coming off surgery to repair his knee was controversial, and there was plenty of speculation about whether the Warriors would go through with such a move.

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Warriors Were Not Going to Trade Jimmy Butler, He Says

On Monday night in Washington, the Warriors were on the road, and for the first time since his surgery, Butler was able to join the team. He also met with the media, another post-surgery first. At long last, Butler was asked about whether the Warriors were serious about moving him. He shook his head.

“No. I wasn’t too worried about it,” he said, smiling.

A Butler-for-Giannis deal, then, was not on the table, but the Warriors, of course, had another move that was made–two of his good friends, Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield were sent off to Atlanta as part of the deal for Kristaps Porzingis.

 

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Warriors Dealt Kuminga, Hield

Butler did have some thoughts on that, including the fact that he believes that despite the tension that emerged in the past two seasons between the Warriors and Kuminga, that the team’s coaches and players are all wishing Kuminga well.

“I am not looped in, like I always tell everybody,” Butler said. “But yeah, you see what guys are doing, how guys are playing right now. So I am sure your next question’s about to be answered. But I like the way JK has been playing, I think he has been doing well. He’s smiling. He’s playing well. I would like to think that’s what everybody wants for him anyway, whether they’re in his team or whether they’re here. They want him to be the best version of himself, I believe that.”

As for the absence of the garrulous Hield, Butler said, “It’s a little more quiet around here now. But Buddy, we still talk, as we always will. But yeah, his energy’s definitely missed.”

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Jimmy Butler Eager to Get Back Ahead of Schedule

Butler is a little more than a month into his rehab, but said his competitive nature means he wants to get back on the floor for the Warriors ahead of schedule. A year is, typically, on the long end of a return timeline for an ACL tear, so it can be expected that Butler will be back by January 2027. Nine months is the short end, so it’s conceivable that Butler won’t miss any of the 2026-27 season.

Said Butler: “We got this fancy chart hanging up on the wall that talks about week-by-week. Right now, it’s just getting the flexion in the knee, getting it to bend at the degrees we want it to bend to. And then my next step is getting ready to do stretches. I am supposed to be done with those at six weeks, so one week from today. Goodbye crutches.”

 

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney