After the Golden State Warriors lost to the Atlanta Hawks 124-115 on Saturday, the attention immediately switched to the team’s next game. Following a 25-point, eight-assist and four-rebound performance in the loss, Jimmy Butler will face the Miami Heat for the first time since his tumultuous exit from Florida.
Unlike many fans and analysts, Butler isn’t paying much attention to his first game back in South Beach, stating that he’s past that situation and focused on helping the Warriors however he can. ESPN reporter Ohm Youngmisuk shared Butler’s blunt message ahead of this much-anticipated matchup against the Heat.
“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said. “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’s final days in Miami were rocky, to say the least. He was suspended multiple times by the team after the president of basketball operations Pat Riley stated Butler wasn’t going anywhere.
The swingman found his way to Golden State ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, but his exit wasn’t met with good eyes in Miami.
The Heat, losers of 10 straight games, are 4-17 record since they parted ways with Butler, while the Warriors are 16-3 with the veteran active in the lineup.
The Warriors sit sixth on the Western Conference standings with a 41-30 record and look like a potential dark horse in the upcoming playoffs, while the Heat’s situation doesn’t look promising.
