The idea of Jimmy Butler making it back by Christmas Day is off the table now, and the latest word out of the Warriors camp points to a much longer wait.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that even January should be viewed as the optimistic lane for Butler, with February also in play. That’s a far cry from any buzz about a return before the end of the calendar year, even though Butler is said to be making solid progress from the torn ACL he suffered against the Miami Heat in January.
A January return would line up with the standard 12-month recovery window for an ACL injury, and the Warriors are expected to be careful with a player who is about to turn 37 and is heading into his 16th NBA season. As Slater put it: "A return in January or February can be considered an optimistic target, but there are plenty of checkpoints ahead before getting that clearance. The Warriors' lead medical decision-maker, Rick Celebrini, is noted for a cautious approach," Slater wrote.
There’s recent precedent for that kind of patience in Golden State. De'Anthony Melton also came back from the same injury over the past 12 months, and while there was early hope he might be ready for opening night, he didn’t return until December, roughly 13 months after tearing his ACL against the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
But Butler is a different case entirely. Golden State’s season depends far more on his return, and not just on the date he comes back. The bigger question is how he looks when he gets there and how fast he can climb back toward something close to his pre-injury level.
Even with pressure building around Butler and the medical staff, the Warriors don’t sound like a team willing to gamble. His timeline is going to be dictated by his own recovery, not by where Golden State sits in the standings.
And if the Warriors are hanging around .500 or worse, that caution may only increase. If the season is already slipping away, there’s even less reason to force a star back before he’s truly ready.
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For the Warriors, the intrigue had looked a bit different. Golden State had shown interest in Simmons and could have tried to use him as a backup point guard or a versatile forward, the kind of Swiss Army piece that sometimes finds a lane in their system. Even then, he would have had to win a preseason roster spot over Brandon Williams, so the path was never going to be automatic, and the latest Sacramento move suggests the Warriors may have sidestepped a role puzzle before it reached their own locker room. [Read more 🡒]