"You want to be wanted" - Jimmy Butler takes shot at Heat organization after Warriors trade

After failing to reach an agreement on a contract extension this past summer, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat parted ways ahead of the NBA trade deadline. While Butler led them to the NBA Finals twice, the relationship between the two sides soured.

Now, after being traded to Golden State, Butler has helped fuel a recent surge that has seen the Warriors win five in a row and nine of their last 10.

In an interview with Andscape this week, the six-time All-Star took a not-so-subtle shot at the Heat organization, saying that he wanted to be somewhere that he was wanted.

“I saw a group that wanted me to be a part of it," Butler said. "That’s all you ever wanted to be is wanted in this life, not just in this league. In anything, you want to be wanted. Needed is like a necessity. Wanted is like somebody’s choosing to bring you aboard this. I think that’s the ultimate sign of respect."

Jimmy Butler opens up on the message from Steph Curry and Draymond Green prior to Warriors trade

Before Jimmy Butler was traded from Miami to Golden State, the Warriors were struggling to find their rhythm. After parting ways with Klay Thompson this past summer, the team was sitting outside of the top six in the Western Conference through the first half of the season.

Within NBA circles, there were talks of this potentially being the new norm for Golden State, with Steph Curry playing well, but the team struggling to earn respect as a true championship contender.

During the same interview, Butler spoke about how his conversation with Curry and Draymond Green before the deal was finalized. As the two Golden State veterans made clear, they believed that the trio could do something special.

“I talked to both [Curry and Green], but I’ve talked to both of them for a while," Butler said. "But they said, ‘We can do something special. We need what you bring. The winning mentality, the hard nose on both sides of the ball.’ I think that’s what you want. That’s what they told me that I bring and I’m like, ‘Come on with it.’”

Thanks to Butler's contributions on both ends of the court, the team has gone 12-1 since the deal, putting them in sixth place in the Western Conference alongside the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With just 3.5 games separating them from fifth place, the Jimmy Butler-Steph Curry duo will look to keep the momentum rolling when Golden State faces off against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.