Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. believes Jimmy Butler can still play at a high level when he returns from a torn ACL, Kevin Borba of NBC Sports Bay Area writes.
“I do think when Jimmy returns, depending on his load that he can carry the amount of minutes, I do think he’ll be a very good player based on the way he plays,” Dunleavy said. “The two best things about him are his mind and his physicality, and you don’t lose that with a hurt knee.”
Butler, 36, was averaging 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game prior to the injury. Butler suffered the injury in a January 19 contest.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Head coach Steve Kerr doesn’t usually rely heavily on first-year players, but lottery pick Yaxel Lendeborg expects to receive sufficient playing time right off the bat, according to Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He doesn’t normally play rookies as much. He has a history of that. But the way the team is looking right now, I’m going to have a really good chance to play, maybe even start,” Lendeborg said. “So, just having that hope definitely gives me extra motivation to go out there and be one of the new guys that actually does that, actually comes in and builds a reputation right away.”
- Kerr subtly lobbied for Lendeborg during draft discussions, according to Nick Avila of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Our group asked him a couple days before the draft, ‘What’s the biggest need when you look at our roster?’” Dunleavy said. “And he said, ‘There’s a huge gap in the middle of it with our forward position. We need a guy that can fit in there and connect the game.’”
- Bringing Al Horford back on a relatively short-term deal is a win for the Warriors, though it comes with some risks, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area opines. They still must find ways to keep getting younger and more athletic, Johnson notes, and Horford will become the first Warriors player to appear in a game at 40 years old. Horford is signing a two-year, $14MM deal after declining his player option.
- The Warriors have signed a deal with AI cloud provider Iren for the company’s logo to be on the team’s jersey starting next season. According to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico.com, the agreement is worth more than $50MM per year, the richest sponsorship deal in the history of North American team sports.
