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Joe Lacob: Jimmy Butler is worth ‘every freaking penny’ to Warriors
Joe Lacob: Jimmy Butler is worth ‘every freaking penny’ to Warriors
After losing two straight while up 3-1 in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, the No. 7 Golden State Warriors survived Game 7 on the road, securing a 103-89 win to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
A huge reason for not only the team’s success in this series, but over the second half of the season was Jimmy Butler, a 35-year-old star who they acquired in a five-team trade from the Miami Heat ahead of February’s trade deadline.
Butler helped the Warriors rally late, scoring 20 points–including 12 in the second half–with eight rebounds and seven assists in the series-clinching win. Golden State was in a state of peril before acquiring Butler midseason, and when asked about whether the move had already paid off, owner Joe Lacob was emphatic: Yes, it has.
“Yeah, there were (concerns about Butler),” Lacob said Sunday night, according to Amick. “But you do your analysis, you make your choices, and, yeah, it was a little bit of a risk. But we’ve got to take risks in this life. And he’s worth every freaking penny. That’s all I can say. He’s fantastic.”
Golden State parted ways with Andrew Wiggins, Lindy Waters III and Dennis Schroder–the latter two getting moved to Detroit while the one-time All-Star heading back to Miami. Since arriving in The Bay, Butler’s averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals on 61.7 percent true shooting.
After acquiring the six-time All-Star, Golden State extended Butler to a two-year deal north of $100 million–which Miami wasn’t willing to do, the biggest reason why Butler was disgruntled in the first place.
The task won’t get any easier against Minnesota, Butler’s former team. Handling Anthony Edwards won’t be easy for anyone, but the Warriors have two of the league’s top playoff performers—Stephen Curry and Butler—plus one of the league’s best defenders, Draymond Green.
We will see if Butler’s acquisition amounts to a run to the Conference Finals against either one of Denver or Oklahoma City. That’s why they got him, not it’s up to them to get there for potentially one last hoorah with Curry and Green.
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