Warriors hit with new Jimmy Butler potential injury return date

The Golden State Warriors' offseason aspirations took a big hit when they couldn't land LeBron James.

Steve Kerr's team will most likely run it back with the same flawed and aging roster from last season, hoping that Jimmy Butler's return from injury can give it a much-needed boost. The team looked much better with Butler providing top-notch defense and secondary ball-handling and scoring, and he's put in exhaustive work to get back on the court.

Notably, according to The San Francisco Standard’s Danny Emerman, he might not miss that much time next season. In an appearance on 95.7 The Game, he revealed that Butler was now aiming for Christmas.

Jimmy Butler could be back by Christmas

“It could be really interesting to see how he comes back from that knee injury. I’ve heard that he’s targeting, as early as Christmas, who knows how his rehab turns out,” Emerman said.

Butler suffered an ACL injury in January, so he'd be slightly ahead of the 12-month recovery timeline. The former Chicago Bulls star hadn't resumed running yet, but he had cleared all previous benchmarks with no setbacks. Of course, Butler is 36 years old, so even with him on the court, the Warriors probably won't be the team to beat in the Western Conference.

Still, with a front office that seems reluctant to make moves to help Stephen Curry while he can still lead the team to another NBA championship, this is probably the only big reinforcement they'll get this season.