Steve Kerr Announces Concerning Jimmy Butler Injury News After Lakers Game

According to Slater, via Kerr, Butler will be out for Tuesday's contest against the Trail Blazers, as his ankle sprain has gone from minor to "a little swollen." While Slater says the "hope is he returns for Friday's preseason finale," that's far from a guarantee.

Butler already tweaked his ankle once, rolling it during the beginning of training camp, but ended up suiting up for the team's preseason opener against the Lakers. Now, with Butler spraining his ankle on Friday, it's not a good sign for the 36-year-old veteran with the regular season still over a week away.

Jimmy Butler's Injury Past And Causes For Concern

Even if a player has a relatively clean bill of health in their career, like LeBron James, dealing with any sort of injury problems late in their career will cause concern. As for Butler, he hasn't exactly been the most available player, but he also isn't constantly battling injuries.

During his five full seasons with the Miami Heat, Butler played in 60 or more games twice, for an average of 58.2 games per season. Over the recent years, Butler has battled several knee and ankle injuries, meaning that Butler's history with ankle injuries doesn't make this recent news encouraging.

Much like the Los Angeles Clippers, the Warriors are a team that has been criticized for how much they are expected to lean on veterans on their roster, especially those 35 years old or older. Butler, at 36, is in that category, and the Warriors will be faced with a tough decision on how to handle his availability toward the end of the preseason and to ensure his long-term availability.

In the case that Butler were to miss time, Jonathan Kuminga would be expected to step into his role, where he could look to prove his value to Golden State or potential trade suitors come the deadline.