Jimmy Butler and the Warriors needed each other. Now they need to prove they can still win

Jimmy Butler urgently needed to get out of Miami, and the Golden State Warriors were urgently in need of a true co-star for Stephen Curry as they suddenly realized what year was on his birth certificate.

The two sides came within a few inches of a Finals meeting in 2022, when Butler’s Game 7 pull-up 3 came up short, only to set the stage for Curry to have his shining moment against the Boston Celtics two weeks later.

Three seasons later they join together, a marriage based on need as much as desperation. Butler wanted to be validated by way of location and contract, which he received in the form of a two-year extension worth $121 million after his relationship with the Miami Heat went sour. And the Warriors had to circle back to Butler when Kevin Durant sent word that a reunion wasn’t desirable, that essentially he was satisfied with his two championships and memories in those three years.

It’s funny how quickly things can change in today’s NBA. It’s not just Luka Dončić being traded for Anthony Davis. It’s Butler wanting to team up with Durant in Phoenix — not being traded for him, as was speculated over the last 24 hours, and certainly not being viewed as a de-facto replacement for Durant, either.

But the Suns couldn’t convince a team to take on Bradley Beal’s contract or even Beal to drop his no-trade clause to facilitate such a deal, in order to bring Butler aboard in a move that could’ve resulted in Butler and Durant raising hell together for opposing teams.

Instead, it was Butler raising hell for the Miami Heat franchise that prides itself on keeping things simple, finding the players who fit their famed culture and excommunicating those who don’t.

If he helps the Warriors win, the reaction will be minimal. Nobody will care what headaches he gave Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley because he’s delivering wins. But if he stumbles over unseen roadblocks, the laugh tracks will be played.

Beyond the initial reaction, the questions remain. How does Butler fit into Steve Kerr’s offensive system, and how will he handle playing on Stephen Curry’s team — with Draymond Green as top lieutenant?

Butler has his contract, the most any team could offer given his age (35) and the restrictions placed by the collective bargaining agreement. His exit from Miami was ugly and unnecessary, but let’s not forget the type of big-game player he’s been at every stop — he’s unfairly called selfish, fairly termed as “disruptive” but almost always has made the right plays and been about the right things.

He doesn’t mind being the misunderstood villain, but that’s a nice role to play until you need someone to understand. And it’s no guarantee Curry and Green and Kerr actually do get the method to his madness.

The Warriors thrive on joy while Butler likes to see who can stand up to him in a burning inferno.

Joy meets joyful pain.

But Butler can blend into a team atmosphere on the floor as well as anyone, even though he’s played the role as franchise savior more than once. It’s an underrated quality many forget about when mentioning his multiple stops — those teams got better when he was there and his imprint was obvious.

Those wins were obscured by the chaos that often followed behind, of course, but one can hope the Warriors won’t experience the same fire and rage he aimed at the Heat, given the mercurial nature of that relationship.

Kerr may be wondering how he'll handle both Green and Butler at the same time. Green comes with his own factory settings, but Kerr has dealt with that for a decade. Butler challenges and pokes and will not let anything slide, and he doesn’t have the same equity or franchise-backing Green does, despite the lofty contract. So it’ll be interesting to see how he responds to made men with multiple championship rings.

Still, Butler arrives as almost the perfect complement to Curry, a tough guy who’s more than happy to back it up while Curry keeps his fire smoldering beneath the surface. Now, can Butler deliver to the tune of his last three playoff appearances, when he was arguably the best player in the NBA postseason not named Nikola Jokić? The guy who averaged 27 points with five assists and seven rebounds with a more than respectable 48/35/82 slash line? He’s not the traditional Kerr player who can easily flow into being a high-volume 3-point shooter, but he’s a timely one, and Kerr will take that, especially with Curry wearing down, seemingly, game by game.

The Warriors saw the Lakers make the biggest splash anyone has seen in modern NBA history, and wanted to make sure their franchise player had adequate help in his quest to get back to real contention.

Butler is ornery enough to fit in as much as he can while still being ruthless enough to be himself. He doesn’t have to do it all; in fact, he won’t be asked to as long as Curry is still moving around arenas like everyone in Golden State’s locker room falls in line.

Curry gets the co-star he hasn’t had since Durant’s final year in Golden State. He wants to show he’s not done winning yet, while Butler is eager to show what he can do with a full deck, not the little engine that could.

It will certainly be intriguing to see how Butler and these Warriors fit around the Western Conference, one that’s become increasingly more competitive at the top.

All that’s left is to find out.