Report: Jimmy Butler cleared to make Warriors debut Saturday
The Golden State Warriors are finally set to get some help and it couldn’t come a moment too soon.
The Golden State Warriors are finally set to get some help, and it couldn’t come a moment too soon.
Blockbuster new addition Jimmy Butler has been cleared to make his Warriors debut on Saturday as they take on the Chicago Bulls, one of Butler’s former teams, The Athletic‘s Anthony Slater reported on Friday.
Butler joined the team on Wednesday ahead of the trade deadline in a massive five-team deal that sent Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson go to the Miami Heat and Dennis Schroder head to the Detroit Pistons.
He signed a two-year, $112.6-million contract after the trade, which will kick in ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The move comes after a long saga between Butler and the Heat, with the forward repeatedly expressing his disinterest in playing for the team and his desire to be traded.
Butler got his wish earlier in the week, but joins a Warriors team on a downturn after losing two straight and six of their last 10. They most recently lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, with superstar Steph Curry forced to take 35 shots for 37 points in an eventual 120-112 defeat.
The 35-year-old forward has taken a step back this season in Miami amidst the drama. He’s averaging 17.0 points and 5.2 rebounds — his lowest marks since the 2013-14 season — and has suited up for only 25 games due to injuries and multiple suspensions enforced by the Heat.
The Warriors head to Chicago to take on the Bulls — the team that drafted Butler 30th overall in 2011 — in hopes of turning around their fortunes with a win. They’re currently 25-26 and are outside of the playoff picture looking in as the 11th seed in the West.
