WASHINGTON D.C. – Jimmy Butler, while every so often glancing down at his surgically repaired right knee, had a clear message to the reporters gathered in the Capital One Arena’s visiting locker room on Monday evening.

 “I do want to come back, and we all know that,” the Warriors’ forward said, speaking softly but firmly. “I can’t say when. Obviously, as early as I can to help my guys win some games.”

That is still months away, of course.

Butler tore his ACL by landing awkwardly after catching a post-entry pass on Jan. 19 against the Heat. He had surgery on Feb. 9 in Los Angeles, and the Warriors later released a statement that the team would provide an update next season.

But having made his first road trip with the team since surgery, Butler decided to break his silence. 

“I got to fly, so I was like, I gotta go be around my guys,” Butler said. “I don’t give a damn where it’s at. If I could be there, I wanted to be here. So I’m glad I’m in the District of Colombia.”

Since then, Butler has diligently undergone rehab while trying to keep his spirits high.

“Tough not being around my guys,” Butler said. “It’s hard not being able to play the game I love, and not being able to travel is tough.”

A pair of unused crutches leaned next to Butler’s visiting locker, but observing the 36-year-old made it clear he had a long way to go until he returns to the court. 

After exchanging pleasantries with coach Steve Kerr on one side of the room, Butler limped gingerly to the refrigerator by the door for a water bottle, unable to bend his surgically repaired right knee like he normally would. 

“We’ve got fancy charts hanging up on the wall, to talk about week by week,” Butler said, describing his home motivational setup while rubbing his knee with his hand. “Right now it’s about getting the flexion in the knee and getting it to bend at the degrees we want it to bend to, and then my next step is getting rid of these crutches.”

Butler still has a week before he can discard those pesky crutches, and months of rehab before he can return to the active roster. 

But in the meantime, Butler gets to watch a team that has struggled since his departure. 

The Warriors are 7-16 since his injury, although the team has not been helped by Steph Curry’s nagging knee injury, which has kept him out since Jan. 30. 

Even though the Warriors went into Tuesday mired in a five-game losing skid, Butler pointed to the positives, including young players such as Gui Santos and fellow Houstonian LJ Cryer making the most of unexpected extended minutes.

“There’s some wonderful guys taking advantage of their opportunity, with some guys being down,” Butler said. “That was me at one point back in Chicago days, so I get happy and it makes me smile when I see people play well.”

The roster he returns to next season should look quite a bit different from the skeleton crew the Warriors currently employ. It will also possess a heightened sense of urgency, as Butler, Curry and Draymond Green will all be in the final years of their current contracts. 

But while Butler is grinding to return to action in what could be a last dance for the current Warriors crew, and prove he can still be the 20-point-per-game scorer he was, Butler was abundantly clear that rushing back to action is not anywhere on those charts hanging up in his San Diego home. 

“Whenever my body is ready, I’m trying to get back out there,” Butler said.