Warriors wing Jimmy Butler downplays anticipated Miami return

After the Warriors lost in Atlanta to tip off a six-game road trip, Jimmy Butler shrugged off the significance of his imminent return to the Kaseya Center and Miami.

“Another game for me, another game that we’re expected to win for sure,” Butler told reporters.

The Warriors’ loss to the Hawks came without Steph Curry, who is being re-evaluated on Monday for the pelvic contusion he suffered on Thursday night against the Raptors. It moved the Warriors’ record to 16-3 when Butler is in the lineup.

The six-time All-Star will surely be in the lineup Tuesday night against the Heat, his former team. Butler brought the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances, but his tenure with the organization ended in flames. The team suspended him three times this season for conduct detrimental to the team, and his relationship with Pat Riley frayed after the president publicly called him out and declined to award him with a contract extension.

The Heat traded Butler while he was serving an indefinite suspension to the Warriors for Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected 2025 first-round pick. Dennis Schroder and Lindy Waters III were also included in the multi-team deal.

The trade ended an era in Miami and appears to have extended one in Golden State, as Butler immediately acclimated himself as a two-way star.

“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said after finishing with 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds in the loss to Atlanta. “Yeah, it didn’t end the way that people wanted to, yada yada yada. But that’s so far behind me now. I don’t even think about it. I don’t pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad.”

Butler is averaging 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game as a Warrior. As Curry’s stylistic foil, Butler has brought a new, rugged dynamic to the Warriors’ offensive attack and has paired well with Draymond Green on the defensive end.

Green said he knows the upcoming Heat game will be a big night for his new teammate, as well as for Wiggins — who won the 2022 title with Golden State.

“We want to win for Jimmy, they’re going to want to win for Wiggs,” Green said. “We got to come out ready to play.”

In the post-Heatles era, Butler brought Miami to its highest heights. He was the only All-NBA player on two separate Eastern Conference champions, one in the 2020 bubble and another in 2023. But the Lakers beat Miami in the bubble Finals and Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets eliminated the Heat two years ago.

“We were alright,” Butler said of his Heat tenure. “We didn’t win nothing like we were supposed to. So I don’t know. We made some cool runs. We had some fun. I think that’s all we did.”

Warriors sign Kevin Knox II for the rest of the season

Golden State officially signed Kevin Knox to a standard contract. He’d previously signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the team.

Knox is the 14th player on Golden State’s roster, leaving the team with one vacant spot. The Warriors can sign a 15th player at any point from now until the end of the regular season; the later they choose to fill the opening, the more money they’ll save.