Jimmy Butler's honeymoon phase with Warriors comes to a quick close

It was all positive for Jimmy Butler upon his arrival to the Golden State Warriors, with the 6x All-Star quickly earning huge fan approval thanks to his enormous impact on what was a spluttering team prior to the blockbuster trade.

Butler helped take a middling 25-26 team into a strong playoff threat. The Warriors finished the regular season at 48-34, secured the seventh-seed in the Western Conference thanks to Butler's 38 points against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In, then overcame the two-seed Houston Rockets in the first-round.

Butler's performances in the second-round against the Minnesota Timberwolves left a lot to be desired following Stephen Curry's injury, but all in all it was an excellent start to the 35-year-old's tenure in the Bay.

Still, the inability for Butler to truly take over a game in Curry's absence did raise some concerns based on what Golden State will be paying him moving forward. That's only been exacerbated since the start of free agency, suggesting that Butler's honeymoon period at the franchise may have come to an end.

Warriors fans are starting to see the Jimmy Butler contract as an overpay

The Warriors gave Butler a new two-year, $111 million contract upon his arrival. That was used as a key element to incentivize Butler into joining, having initially rejected a move with his preferred destination being the Phoenix Suns.

While much of the focus right now is on the future of Jonathan Kuminga and how his restricted free agency is impacting other potential moves, Golden State fans are also pointing to Butler's deal as a hindrance to the franchise's ability to make signings so far in free agency.

Over 48 hours since free agency opened and the Warriors have yet to make a single signing, something that's only made worse by key rivals like the Rockets and Denver Nuggets making notable improvements, while even the Los Angeles Lakers just went out and signed former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton after his buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Golden State's lack of activity can certainly be attributed to the complicated and uncertain nature of Kuminga's free agency, but there's no doubt that it would be helpful if Butler was making $10-15 million per year less on his deal.

Kyrie Irving and James Harden are similarly aged veteran stars who have a similar standing to Butler, yet they've just signed deals around the $40 million mark annually. It's impossible to know if the Warriors would have done something significant by this stage were Butler on that kind of deal instead, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt their prospects entering free agency.

The Warriors remain under serious pressure to make something happen in the next few days, with Butler's contract now starting to emerge as a potentially big problem among the fanbase.