If all goes the way the Golden State Warriors hope this season, the year will essentially have three parts. They’ll piece together a rotation of young guys around Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and, hopefully, Kristaps Porzingis and see which have shown enough improvement to have stepped-up roles. If they can keep their heads above water during that portion of the season, they’ll get Jimmy Butler back from his torn ACL rehab around midseason, and sort out the rotation from there in Part II. The final part of the season, in this scenario, will see all the team’s parts pull together for a strong run down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Again, that’s the dream. And on the most important front in that play, there seems to be good news. Jimmy Butler is progressing nicely through his rehab and early projections of a January return might be selling him short.
On Thursday, videos of Butler showed him working out on court. He wasn’t overly exerting himself, but the sight of Butler taking shots was a positive.
Jimmy Butler May Be Ahead of Schedule for Warriors
Officially, the Warriors are not putting out a timeline on Butler’s return. ACL tears can take nine months, or they can take a year. Butler is 36, so it would not be surprising if it took a full year from the original injury, on January 19, for him to get back.
But the earlier he can return, obviously, the better for Butler. That would give Golden State a longer runway to integrate Butler with Yaxel Lendeborg and some of the young players the team hopes step up. Now, there is hope he will be back on the floor before the end of the 2026 calendar year.
Jimmy Butler Has Plenty of Motivation
Given his age and contract situation, Butler has motivation. He is on an expiring contract and will hit free agency in 2027, though the Warriors can re-sign him to a contract extension after the trade deadline. There is some question as to whether the Warriors would do so even if Butler comes back early and plays well–Golden State is trying to maintain some cap flexibility for the Summer of 2027.
Butler needs to maintain his value heading into next summer, and he’d very much welcome a new deal from the Warriors. Players in their late 30s who fall out of the $30 million-per-year range never get back into that range. Butler likely would have been focused and determined to get back on the floor no matter what, but certainly, his contract situation is added motivation.
Warriors Outlook: ‘We’re Going to Win’
Earlier in the offseason, Butler told Warriors beat writers that his rehab was going well. ““We’ve been making some incredible progress,” Butler said. “I’m actually very happy. I just want it to happen quickly.”
And as for the Warriors’ outlook next year, Butler said it is still all about Curry.
“We got Steph on our team?” Butler asked. “(Expletive), we’re going to win. I’m a firm believer that Steph is one of the greatest players to ever play this game. His talent is game-changing alone. You legitimately always have a chance when Steph is on the floor, no matter the time – fourth quarter, second quarter, overtime – so he, we, are expected to win at a high level, and I think we are going to do that.”
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