Warriors' Jimmy Butler Makes Honest Admission Before NBA Season

Butler spoke to Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle, opening up on his exit from the Heat. He revealed his displeasure at being portrayed as the bad guy while being excited for the championship-or-bust mindset on the Warriors.

"All that noise, all that chaos paid off in a major way. I'm lucky to be part of this phenomenal organization. Everywhere starts off great, but then you know someone has to be the bad guy, and it gets to be me. I'm always the one doing something unbearable all of a sudden. … But that's OK. I get to play in this wonderful league, with amazing teammates. But being here, they've only got one goal. To keep hanging those things up on the wall. Ain't no hidden agendas."

The end of the Butler-Heat partnership was much uglier than the results they enoyed over their time together. After acquiring Butler in a sign-and-trade during the 2019 offseason, the Heat went to the NBA Finals in their first year with him, alongside emerging stars Bam Adebayo and rookie Tyler Herro.

Despite injury-plagued seasons and a relatively stagnant roster around the trio, Butler led the franchise to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 and 2022 before returning to the NBA Finals in 2023. He made two All-Star appearances while being selected to three All-NBA teams and one All-Defensive team during his time with the Heat.

The Heat missed out on multiple superstars who got traded and were linked to Miami over these years like Kevin Durant (twice), Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and more. The failed attempts to refresh the roster led to a first-round exit in 2024, before the 2024-25 season was dominated by rumors of Butler's dissatisfaction at the lack of a contract extension.

Ultimately, the Heat couldn't extract the value they would've wanted in a Butler trade, as his uncertain contract status greatly limited the teams who could acquire him without him agreeing on a long-term deal. The Warriors were the best option left after multiple failed attempts by the Phoenix Suns to acquire Butler.

Now, Butler will hope he can help dispel the concerns around the age of the Warriors by being the co-star Curry has lacked for the last few seasons.

His status for the season opener on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers is questionable. His availability has been a concern since suffering an ankle sprain that forced him to miss the team's final three preseason games, so the franchise will be hoping he is healthy for a strong start to the season.

The Warriors will visit the Lakers as the second half of an NBC doubleheader at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.