Draymond Green has spoken about the moment he and longtime teammate Steph Curry learned that Jimmy Butler would be joining them in The Bay.
It was a bittersweet moment that made the pair reflect on their finite time in the league, Green says.
“Like we got Jimmy Butler,” Green said on his podcast. “Like this is no small deal. It’s Jimmy Butler. Steph, he looked like he got belief. After the trade, he looked at me and he said, ‘Man, it’s crazy cause it just dawned on me that like this is it, like this is… last ride.’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it. Like let’s do it.’ It was an emotional moment.”
Butler signed an extension with the Warriors straight off the bat that lines up with 36-year-old Curry and 34-year-old Green’s contracts.
The Jimmy Butler effect has been palpable, especially on Steph.
Over his last four games, Curry is averaging 35.3 points, 5.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds.
“That’s what it is like. [Butler] energized Steph,” Green said of Curry.
Although Butler’s tenure with the Heat ended on a sour note, Green seems to have respect for Butler, that has been reciprocated by the former Miami star.
“People get caught up in all the stuff that was going on in Miami,” Green said. “Last podcast, remember I had said ‘I just don’t want Jimmy to end up in a spot where they use that against him.’ The reason I said that is because it’s a guy that I respect as a winner. …I feel great brother you know, it’s been a while since I’ve gone into basketball games like ‘Oh yeah we gonna go, just win’. Stuff gon get hard, we got have to figure stuff out, but, I know when it’s right.”
Curry, Butler and Green’s salaries for the 2025-26 season take up 80 percent of the Warriors cap room, so the Warriors have certainly gone all in on the trio winning a chip.