Jimmy Butler joins the Warriors, says he has love for the Heat and is ready for another title shot

Moments before Jimmy Butler was handed a Golden State Warriors jersey for the first time, he made clear what his motivation is going forward.

He wants his first championship.

His breakup with the Miami Heat now over, Butler was introduced by the Warriors before their game at the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Butler made many references to how he’s still driven by the lure of what would be his first title, and he figures Golden State is the right place to resume that quest.

“I would like to say that I am a winner,” Butler said. “I haven’t won ‘it’ but I would like to call myself a winner. I do want to win ‘it’ — it being a championship.”

The Warriors gave up a lot for Butler — Andrew Wiggins and $113 million over the next two seasons atop that list — but have belief that it was the right thing to do in order to maximize the chances of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr bringing another championship to the Bay Area.

“This is never an easy time of year when you have to do some of this stuff and make some of these moves,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said, with Butler — his former Chicago teammate — seated to his right. “But we’re in the business of winning and we made an acquisition of a guy sitting next to me who’s one of the best in the league, an elite two-way player and we’re thrilled to have him in the fold.”

The first Warriors-Heat game: March 25 in Miami. If past form holds for former Heat All-Stars making their initial return to Miami, there will be some sort of video or other tribute to Butler.

The bad breakup — including three suspensions in January, the infamous comment about lost joy and the criticism he took from Heat president Pat Riley after last season — notwithstanding, Butler left his mark on Heat history. He leaves as the franchise’s regular-season leader with 13 triple-doubles, plus is eighth on the team’s lists of points, rebounds and assists.

“I know I have my joy back now,” Butler said.

He said he’s moved on, indicating that whatever went wrong at the end doesn’t matter now.

“I don’t got too many bad things to say about them,” Butler said. “I don’t. They gave me opportunity. I felt like I did my job to the highest level. I have so much respect for that organization, for the people that’s running that organization and for my former teammates. And I’m always going to wish them the best. … I’ve got a lot of love for a lot of people over there in that organization.”

So, why did he want the trade?

“I don’t know. Maybe just a lot of talking back and forth,” Butler said. “And sooner or later, the talking’s got to stop.”

Butler’s postseason numbers — when “Playoff Jimmy” emerged — were even better. He’s third on the Heat’s playoff scoring list and second behind only LeBron James in playoff points per game for Miami.

“When he’s engaged and healthy and is going out there and playing really hard, he’s still one of the best in the league,” Heat forward Kevin Love said.

The full trade:

To Miami — Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 protected first-round draft pick from Golden State, and Davion Mitchell from Toronto.

To Golden State — Butler, who got a two-year, $113 million extension and is under contract through 2026-27.

To Utah — Josh Richardson, a 2031 second-round draft pick and cash considerations from Miami, along with Kenyon Martin Jr. and a 2028 second round draft pick from Detroit.

To Detroit — Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III and a 2031 second-round draft pick from Golden State.

To Toronto — P.J. Tucker from Utah, along with a 2026 second-round draft pick and cash considerations from Miami.

Kerr said Butler could debut as soon as Saturday at Chicago, one of Butler’s previous playing stops. Kerr already has one thing in mind for how to use Butler: He’ll be on the floor when Curry is not, so Golden State can run its offense through him.

“He’s a great player,” Kerr said. “All great players, they figure out how to play with other great players so I’m not too worried about him fitting in with his teammates. We just have to simplify the actions that we run, just make sure we’re letting him settle in with a few different things that we run with good spacing and let him play basketball. I don’t think that will be too big of a challenge.”

Motivating Butler won’t be a challenge, either. He’s got his contract. He’s got his new team. He just needs the ring now.

“Yo, Dub Nation. Jimmy Butler here,” Butler said in a short video released by the Warriors’ social media team. “Just touched down, do this physical. Super excited, ready to win, ready to work, ready to put on a show for y’all. Let’s get it. Championship coming soon.”

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