{"id":764617,"date":"2026-06-27T23:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/764617\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T23:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T23:03:10","slug":"jimmy-butler-reveals-nba-retirement-plan-talks-warriors-future-amid-knee-injury-rehab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/764617\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Butler Reveals NBA Retirement Plan, Talks Warriors Future amid Knee Injury Rehab"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler is coming to terms with his NBA mortality as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">&#8220;I&#8217;m right back to who I&#8217;ve always been,&#8221; he said to ESPN&#8217;s <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong css-lu48cp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/49198925\/jimmy-butler-shares-update-acl-recovery-future-warriors\">Anthony Slater<\/a>. &#8220;Probably better if we was to really talk about it. I know I&#8217;m still going to be a top player whenever I get back. I have a couple good years left in me, and we&#8217;re going to ride it until the wheels fall off.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">The six-time All-Star added he wants to wrap up his career in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">&#8220;End is a bad word, but this is where I want to be done,&#8221; he told Slater. &#8220;Retire here. This organization is top-tier. It&#8217;s the best. Keep it a buck. It&#8217;s the best. You&#8217;re playing with one of the greatest players ever. I&#8217;m grateful to be able to witness this. I want to be able to do my part, get this organization back on top where we belong.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Butler will be 37 by the time the 2026-27 season tips off. His retirement from basketball isn&#8217;t imminent, but he&#8217;s certainly closer to the end than he is to the beginning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">His longtime intensity on the court could mean he&#8217;s not a star who ages gracefully, either, and the torn ACL won&#8217;t help in that regard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">Especially when he&#8217;s under contract for only one more season, ending his career on the Warriors could require some concessions on Butler&#8217;s end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">The organization has been pragmatic with stars who had much deeper connections to the team and its fanbase. Klay Thompson left as a free agent in 2024, and Draymond Green has been at the center of <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong css-lu48cp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7020050\/2026\/02\/03\/draymond-green-trade-rumors-warriors-steve-kerr\/\">trade rumors<\/a> in an effort to strengthen the roster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">For all intents and purposes, Stephen Curry is the only player who&#8217;s truly untouchable, and Butler should keep that in mind when the time comes for he and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to begin serious conversations over a new contract.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">In the past, financial disputes have preceded tense exits from Butler&#8217;s old teams. He has to know that fulfilling his retirement wish will require taking a big pay cut from the $56.8 million he&#8217;ll make next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler is coming to terms with his NBA mortality as he continues his&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-764617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}