Warriors' Steph Curry Says Jimmy Butler Was 'Seamless Fit,' Calls Trade 'A Success'
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry praised his team's trade for Jimmy Butler, telling reporters it was a "success" and that the six-time All-Star was a "seamless fit."
It's hard to argue with Curry. When he and Butler were on the court together, the Warriors went 22-5 in the regular season, 1-0 in the play-in and 4-3 in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, Curry suffered a left hamstring strain in Game 1 of his team's Western Conference semifinals series with the Minnesota Timberwolves and missed the remainder of the matchup.
Golden State won Game 1 but lost four straight without Curry, falling to the Timberwolves in five to end its season Wednesday.
Butler played with the Miami Heat for five-plus seasons before last February's trade. He fared well in Miami, leading the team to a pair of Eastern Conference titles. However, his relationship with the Heat became notoriously rocky down the stretch, to the point where he was suspended three different times, including an indefinite suspension on the third occasion.
In early January, Butler told reporters he wasn't finding joy on the basketball court anymore.
"I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we'll find out here pretty soon," Butler told reporters.
It's clear Butler has found his joy in Golden State, though, as partially evidenced by his remarks Thursday after the season ended. It's also evident that Butler loves playing Robin to Curry's Batman.
Butler arrived in Golden State when the team was in danger of potentially missing the playoffs with the team sitting at 25-26 after a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 6.
The pressure was on the Warriors down the stretch, but they excelled from that point forward, going 23-8 to finish 48-34. A play-in tournament win over the Memphis Grizzlies led to Golden State earning the No. 7 seed, and then the Warriors got a seven-game victory over the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in the first round.
So it's been an exhausting stretch for the Warriors, something that Draymond Green eluded to after the season.
But Golden State can rest up for a potentially exciting 2025-26 season. Butler will be back after signing a two-year, $121 million extension through 2026-27. Curry and Green are signed through 2026-27 as well. Ultimately, the Curry-Butler duo showed great promise, and we'll see how the team may improve upon it next year.
