The 35-year-old was suspended three times by the Heat in 2025 for behavioural issues, including “conduct detrimental to the team”, missing a flight and walking out of a team practice.

Throughout those suspensions the Heat said they would listen to trade offers for Butler, who has not played since 21 January.

The trade sees the Warriors give the Heat Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 protected first-round draft pick in return for Butler.

“All of that is behind me, moving forward,” said Butler 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. I’ve got a feeling I’m [going to] be back, in a big way, too. 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 is yet to win the Championship but has made that a clear aim at the Warriors.

“I would like to say that I am a winner,” said Butler. “I haven’t won ‘it’ but I would like to call myself a winner. I do want to win ‘it’ – it being a championship.”

There were reports Butler wanted to move to the Phoenix Suns but the deal was eventually done with the Warriors and ESPN has reported he has signed a two-year contract worth $111m (£90m).

Butler is hoping to make his debut for the Warriors against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday (Sunday 01:00 GMT).

“He is a big-time pressure player, post-season player,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “So that would fit well in our locker room. We’ve got other guys who have been through the battles, been through the war.

“So I think when you put a group of guys like that together, there’s going to be a belief, there’s going to be a confidence that comes with that. And so I’m excited to see what that looks like.”

Butler’s move will see him line up alongside 11-time NBA All-Star and two-time MVP Stephen Curry, who has said he will watch video footage of the Heat to see how Butler’s game will suit the Warriors.

Asked about that, Butler said: “We good. Pass the ball to Steph. And get out the way. Easy.”

James stars in Lakers win over Warriors

Butler was unveiled alongside the Warriors’ general Michael Joseph Dunleavy Jr before their game at the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Warriors lost 120-112 as LeBron James scored 42 points to join Michael Jordan as the only 40-year-olds to score more than 40 points in an NBA game.

Jordan scored 43 points for the Washington Wizards against the New Jersey Nets in 2003, four days after his 40th birthday.

James scored a season-best 17 rebounds, alongside eight assists and six three-pointers, as the Lakers won their fourth straight game and 10th in their past 12.

The Lakers are fifth in the Western Conference, with the Warriors in 11th.

Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 127-120 despite the continued absence of Anthony Davis with an abdominal strain since his trade from LA Lakers that involved Luka Donic.

NBA results

Dallas Mavericks 127-120 Boston Celtics

Houston Rockets 114-127 Minnesota Timberwolves

Orlando Magic 90-112 Denver Nuggets

Sacramento Kings 102-108 Portland Trail Blazers

Golden State Warriors 112-120 LA Lakers

Indiana Pacers 119-112 LA Clippers

The six-time NBA All-Star, 35, had already been suspended twice by his team this month for disciplinary issues, ruling him out of nine matches.

The Heat said he walked out of a team practice on Friday and has now been suspended again without pay.

They said the suspension is “indefinite” but will “last no fewer than five games”.

“The suspension is due to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services,” a statement said.

Soon after the news emerged, Butler posted on Instagram with a clip from American TV show Martin, where the character jokes about being jobless.

Butler was first suspended at the start of January for what the Heat described as “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season”.

Afterwards they said they would listen to trade offers for the forward.

He returned on 17 January and featured in matches on 18 and 19 January, only to miss a team flight the following week and be banned again for two matches.

He played 27 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers following his second suspension last week.

In Butler’s absence, the Heat defeated the Orlando Magic 125-119 in double overtime on Monday night.

Tyler Herro hit 30 points and had a season-high 12 assists for the Heat while Bam Adebayo added 26 points – including six in the second extra period – and also had 10 rebounds and nine assists.

The game went to overtime after Herro and Magic’s Franz Wagner missed three-point attempts in the final seconds of regulation play.

In the first overtime, Miami trailed by six points before rallying in the final two minutes and Wagner again was unsuccessful from deep at the buzzer, leading to the second extra period.

Thompson guides Rockets to dramatic win

Elsewhere, Amen Thompson was the match-winner for the Houston Rockets with a late basket as they beat the Boston Celtics 114-112 despite trailing by 12 points (101-89) in the final quarter.

Thompson scored with 1.3 seconds left to finish with a career-high 33 points and he added nine rebounds and four assists to help Houston get a win on coach Ime Udoka’s return to Boston, where he was in charge during the 2021-22 season.

Payton Pritchard had a late effort to win the game for the Celtics, but his full-court effort at the buzzer could only hit the top of the backboard.

And Anthony Davis set season highs with 42 points and 23 rebounds to lead the visiting Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-107 success over the Charlotte Hornets.

Davis made 17 of 28 shots from the field and reached the 40-point mark for the third time this season. He grabbed eight offensive boards and finished three rebounds shy of matching his career high.

LeBron James had 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while Austin Reaves added 17 points for the Lakers, who have won four games in a row and six of their past seven.

The 35-year-old forward was suspended for seven NBA matches by the Heat earlier this month for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team”.

Butler returned from that suspension last Friday but missed a team flight on Wednesday, incurring a further two-match ban.

The Heat, who said they would listen to trade offers following Butler’s first suspension, said he will miss games against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday and the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

“We have suspended Jimmy Butler for two games for [a] continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing today’s team flight to Milwaukee,” read a Heat statement.

Butler, a six-time NBA All-Star, joined the Heat from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.

He has made 25 appearances this season, averaging 17 points, 4.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game.

The NBA trade deadline is 6 February.

‘It was nothing special’

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a career-high 54 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 123-114 at home to consolidate their position at the top of the Western Conference.

“It was no different from any other night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I had a few more points tonight, but it was nothing special.”

The Boston Celtics pulled off a 117-113 overtime win at the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum 24 for the Celtics.

The Sacramento Kings overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 123-117 at home thanks to 32 points from DeMar DeRozan and 26 from Domantas Sabonis.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 109-108 at the Houston Rockets, while the Minnesota Timberwolves won 115-144 at the Dallas Mavericks.

The 35-year-old was sidelined earlier this month by the Heat because of “conduct detrimental to the team” and has requested a trade.

Although the Heat initially said they would not make Butler available for trade, they later said they would listen to offers for the six-time NBA All-Star.

However, Butler remains with the Heat and scored 18 points and played 33 minutes in Friday’s defeat in Florida.

Less than two hours before tipoff, Butler said “I’m back” in a statement released on social media by his agent Bernie O. Lee. The statement indicated it was a response to questions about Butler’s career plans.

After the game, he answered questions at his locker while wearing a number 45 Chicago Bulls jersey – the number worn by Michael Jordan when he returned from his first retirement.

“There was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth,” Butler said about the suspension.

“So, we’ll let people keep talking like they know everything and have all the answers. And then, sooner or later, the whole truth will come out.

“But, until then, we’ll continue to let people talk. If I’m here, I will get out there and play.”

Regarding his team-mates, Butler said: “It felt good to get out there, compete, and actually run around with these guys.

“As much as everybody may think, I don’t got a problem with these guys. These guys are cool. They’re my friends. My beef is not with them, never will be, and never has been.”

Butler, who previously played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Chicago Bulls, joined the Heat in 2019 and has made 378 NBA appearances for them.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of forward Anthony Davis to edge past the Brooklyn Nets 102-101.

Davis missed his second game of the month with an ongoing foot problem but Austin Reaves scored a career-high 38 points while LeBron James had 29 points and eight assists.

Although the Lakers led 100-92 with three minutes and 45 seconds to go, Brooklyn came back and a three-pointer from Noah Clowney made it a one-point game with 37 seconds to play.

Reaves missed a jump shot before former Laker D’Angelo Russell was off target with a potential game-winning three-point shot with three seconds to go.