Butler undergoes right knee surgery to repair anterior cruciate ligament

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Jimmy Butler underwent right knee surgery Monday for his torn anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that ended his season last month.

The surgery was performed in Los Angeles, and the team said he would begin a rehabilitation program immediately with an update on his progress expected early next season.

Coach Steve Kerr hadn't spoken with Butler, who will be immobilized for some time before he is able to rejoin the team and likely watch from the bench before season's end. Vice-president of Player Health and Performance Rick Celebrini accompanied Butler for the operation.

"I've not talked to Jimmy today, but I spoke with Bernie Lee, his agent, or texted with him and spoke with Rick Celebrini, he was there for the surgery," Kerr said.

"Everything went well, and now the recovery begins."

Butler was hurt in the third quarter of a win against his former team, Miami Heat on Jan 19, moments after catching a pass in the paint and going down hard and awkwardly following a collision with the Heat's Davion Mitchell — who was called for a foul.

Butler's knee buckled on landing and he grimaced as he grabbed at the knee while down for a couple of minutes. He needed teammates Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield to escort him off the court and to the locker room after the fall on the Warriors' offensive end. When he finally got up with assistance, he was unable to put any pressure on his knee.

Monday's game against Memphis marked Butler's 10th missed game, and the Warriors haven't been the same without him — going 3-6 during that stretch since his injury.

Butler averaged 20 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals playing 31.1 minutes over 38 games. He was acquired by the Warriors last year in the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Heat.

Kerr knows how much it will mean to have Butler back around, even under the difficult circumstances — and Warriors guard De'Anthony Melton just went through it, too, so he could be a resource for Butler.

"I know he wants to be back with the group," Kerr said. "He talked about that after the injury. Hopefully, we'll see him soon. It'll be great to have Jimmy here. He just gives everybody confidence. It's a really hard thing to be out for a year. Melt had his ACL last year. It will be good for them to be together, and Melt can help him a little bit. It's always good to have players around when they're injured, it just makes everything feel tighter and more together."

Curry to sit out ASG

Stephen Curry will sit out the All-Star Game in Los Angeles because of his troublesome right knee that sidelined the Golden State Warriors star for a fourth straight game Monday night against Memphis.

Coach Kerr announced before the game that Curry also wouldn't play Wednesday at home against San Antonio and would then sit out the All-Star Game on Sunday in hopes of a return for the Warriors after the break.

"He's doing well," Kerr said. "It's really kind of a day-to-day thing, so it's hard to predict for sure whether he'll be playing in that first game after the break, but that's definitely the hope, and if he is, if he can get through everything this week, then that puts him on pace to be playing."

Golden State's first game after the break is on Feb 19 against Boston at Chase Center.

Curry, who will turn 38 on March 14, exited early from a 131-124 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Jan 30 with the sore knee that Kerr said had been bothering him over the previous week.

He then had an MRI exam.

Curry was set to miss his 15th game overall this season, with the Warriors going 5-9 — three with an illness, five with a left quadriceps contusion, one with a sore right ankle, one with a sprained left ankle, one with inflammation in his right knee and, now, four with the patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Agencies via Xinhua