Perhaps nobody in the Warriors organization knows Jimmy Butler better than the general manager who just acquired him in a blockbuster trade. Mike Dunleavy, and the star forward he acquired just last week,

On Saturday, the Chicago Bulls returned to game action against the visiting Golden State Warriors. Both teams were participants in one of the most active NBA Trade Deadline periods in NBA history.   On the Warriors side,

In a 132-111 win over the Chicago Bulls - the team that drafted Butler - Butler had 25 points, two rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Butler went seven-of-12 from the field and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe. Butler missed his lone three.

Butler bullying his way to the line slows the game down and can take an opponent out of its rhythm. It allows the Warriors to play with a set defense more often, a key as they navigate that end of the floor without Andrew Wiggins — who was their best point-of-attack defender.

This is the kind of thing that happens when a team commits to mediocrity at the NBA trade deadline. With Jimmy Butler making his Golden State debut, the Warriors spotted the Bulls a 24-point lead and

It took all of two games for Jimmy Butler to go from a team-killing pariah to a celebrated ceiling raiser in the eyes of the Warriors. All-Star Steph Curry, head coach Steve Kerr and young forward Jonathan Kuminga all offered some high praise to Golden State’s blockbuster trade acquisition after road wins on Saturday and Monday.

The Golden State Warriors were able to get their big fish at the trade deadline in Jimmy Butler, and things have been going well since they acquired him. It took a lot of work for Butler to get the Warriors,