The Golden State Warriors got terrible news this morning that Jimmy Butler tore his ACL. The star forward went down midway through the third quarter in a contest against the Miami Heat last night. Upon seeing a replay, everyone feared for the worst, as Butler’s knee clearly buckled before he fell to the ground. And today, our fears were confirmed with the news.
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Despite the injury to Butler, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr still believes that the team can remain competitive. It’s an optimistic outlook, given that the team is 25-19 and fully entrenched in the play-in race right now. But the coach claimed the team has hit its stride in practice, and he thinks others will step up.
“I think we’re well equipped with our depth to continue to play at a high level,” Kerr told the Warriors media. “The difference from last year to this year, to me, is [De’Anthony] Melton and Al Horford. Not to mention [Quinten] Post for a full year. At this stage last year, before we traded for Jimmy, it didn’t feel like we had enough to really compete. I think we have enough to compete.”
De’Anthony Melton has been battling injuries as of late, but he was cleared from the injury report and should be good to go for Golden State’s next game. From the sounds of it, he and veteran Al Horford are going to be expected to pick up the slack left behind by Butler. And there are plenty of others that could work into the fold as well.
Steve Kerr expressed confidence in the roster that remains after the Jimmy Butler injury: “You play with who you have. We like who we have.”
But he also admitted he can’t “minimize” or “trivialize” the impact of the loss: “You look at it matter of factly. We get it.” pic.twitter.com/eqELXbJ5cv
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 21, 2026
Kerr also mentioned Moses Moody and Will Richard as key young players he’s going to be relying on. Buddy Hield should also see an uptick in minutes, as well as Brandin Podziemski. At the end of the day, though, Butler’s absence will be felt.
“Obviously, we’re going to miss Jimmy, and he’s one of the best players in the league. So, you can’t minimize that or trivialize it. But you play with who you have, and I like who we have,” Kerr stated.
Another player who hasn’t been playing recently for the Warriors but could pick up some of Butler’s minutes is Jonathan Kuminga. He recently requested a trade; however, he’s a talented scorer that Kerr may see value in using. The bridge between them may be burned at this point, though, so we’ll have to wait and see.
All in all, it’s great that Kerr is feeling confident in his replacements for Butler. Yet, as he said, they’re going to miss him. Butler is on the back end of his career, but he’s still one of the best players in the sport. His leadership and two-way ability single-handedly take over games at times.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Warriors make a trade before the deadline to replace Butler. Some even mentioned this morning that they would be open to moving him for another player. It would be a brutal ending to their relationship, but it goes to show how desperate Golden State and Kerr are to get back to the playoffs and win a championship.
