Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL against the Miami Heat in January, putting him out for the rest of the 2025-26 season.

Butler was averaging 20 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 51% shooting from the field and 37% from three at the time of the injury. The Warriors held on to defeat the Heat despite Butler’s injury, putting them at 25-19 as they looked like a playoff team that could make some noise once the postseason started.

The injury to Butler derailed the Warriors’ season, and it may have been the last game Butler played in a Warriors uniform.

According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Butler returning in January or February is an optimistic target date, with Golden State’s medical staff taking a cautious approach.

Butler’s name was in trade rumors all offseason as the Warriors tried to find a healthy second star to pair with Steph Curry in hopes of making a maximizing his final years.

The Warriors were linked to Jaylen Brown, who was eventually moved to the Philadelphia 76ers, and to Anthony Davis, who remained with the Washington Wizards. Either trade could’ve helped the Warriors secure LeBron James, who ended up signing with the 76ers.

No trade ever came to fruition, and Butler remains on the team. He is in the last year of his deal and owed $56 million before becoming an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Finding a suitor for Butler will take some work, especially if he hasn’t played in a game all season by the time the trade deadline rolls around on February 11.

Teams will have a better idea of where they are in the playoff race and could opt to acquire Butler in order to shed longer-term contracts that they might not be happy with. Butler being on an expiring deal is the biggest selling point in any trade talk, but the Warriors would have to find the right piece or two that would actually help the team in a playoff push.

Butler will be 37 by the time he gets back on the court, and at that age, coming off an ACL injury, it is unknown how he will look, but his results next to Steph Curry have been strong since he was acquired in 2025, and he’s proven that he can lead the team when Steph is on the bench, a rare sight in Golden State over the years.