Butler -- Heat issues in past, hungry for title with Warriors - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Sporting a huge smile, Jimmy Butler could not have looked any happier to be a Golden State Warrior.

Introduced to the media here with his new team Thursday, Butler said he is thrilled to have a fresh start and to be playing basketball again after a tumultuous ending with the Miami Heat.

«All of that is behind me, moving forward,» Butler said when asked about the speculation that surrounded him over the past month. «I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to be wanted again.»

Asked if regaining his joy was just a matter of putting on a new jersey — he will wear No. 10 after Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar — and to play basketball again, Butler couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

«I got a feeling I'm [going to] be back, in a big way, too,» he said. «So I'm smiling. I've been going at it, I've been training, I've been doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. I know that I have my joy back now. I'm in a different situation, different group of guys.»

Butler said he hopes to make his Golden State debut Saturday against the Bulls in Chicago. The six-time All-Star initially said he didn't have anything negative to say about the Heat, noting how he formed a lot of long-lasting relationships in his five-plus seasons with the franchise.

But when asked what made him want to leave, he also made it clear that his time in South Beach essentially ended when his relationship with team president Pat Riley and the organization soured.

«That's a good question actually,» Butler said. «That is a good question. I don't know. Maybe just a lot of talking back and forth. And sooner or later, talking's got to stop.»

Miami suspended Butler three times this season, twice for conduct detrimental to the team. He also missed a team flight. His