The Miami Heat continue to catch heat from Jimmy Butler, their former franchise star, in the aftermath of the tumultuous ending to their five-year partnership.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Butler believes the Golden State Warriors are “better than any other organization he’s been a part of.”
“I’m telling you it’s different this time,” Charania said on the “NBA Countdown” on Sunday, Feb. 23. “I haven’t sensed the same feeling he’s had when he went to Philly, when he went to Miami. This is different for Jimmy Butler going to Golden State. He’s staying late for shootaround. He’s staying late for practices. He’s spending so much time in the training room, the meal room.
“He’s going above and beyond to ingratiate himself with the Warriors right now.”
That puts Miami in a bad light as Butler’s messy exit tested the vaunted Heat culture they were famously known for.
Charania explained that Butler is just playing for wins, instead of his next contract, as a result of the Warriors giving the 35-year-old star a fresh two-year, $112 million extension upon his arrival at the trade deadline.
The Warriors are 5-1 since Butler joined them and they are looking to extend their current three-game winning streak Tuesday night, Feb. 25, against the lowly Charlotte Hornets.
A win would push the Warriors four games above .500 and could jump to No. 7 in the West with a Dallas Mavericks loss in Los Angeles in their first meeting against Luka Doncic since they traded him to the Lakers.
Jimmy Butler Gave Warriors ‘Some Swagger’
At the height of the Warriors’ struggles before the trade deadline, Kerr repeatedly talked about the main issue being the lack of confidence of the whole team.
Butler was their answer.
“100% yeah! Jimmy gives us some swagger,” Kerr said.
In their six games with Butler, the Warriors are fourth in defensive rating (106.8), sixth in offensive rating (120.8) and sixth in net rating (13.9). A top-10 offense and defense are hallmarks of most teams that won the NBA championship.
So, it’s not hard to see why Green boldly declared they’re going to win the championship this season.
On top of the swagger he’s given the Warriors, Butler gave them a bona fide secondary star next to Stephen Curry.
Butler is averaging 20.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals for the Warriors.
Since Butler joined Golden State, the Warriors have jumped from last (14.7) to No. 3 (20.7) in free throws made. Butler is making 8.2 out of 9.4 free throw attempts for a pretty solid 87.2% accuracy.
Warriors Sign NBL Star
The Warriors signed NBL standout Taran Armstrong on a two-way contract amid their recent surge with Butler, Charania reported.
Armstrong took a major leap in his second season in the NBL with the Cairns Taipans after going undrafted in the NBA last year.
The 23-year-old guard averaged 17.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 46% from the field and 35% from the 3-point line in 19 games for the Taipans in the 2024-25 season. It was a big jump from his NBL rookie year in the 2023-24 season when he averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 23 games.
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