Head coach Steve Kerr seems thrilled to have newly acquired Jimmy Butler as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
On Saturday evening, Jimmy Butler made his debut with the Golden State Warriors, scoring 25 points in a come from behind road win against the Chicago Bulls. The Warriors got off to a rough start in this one, ultimately finding themselves down by 22 points early in the third quarter, but they were able to engineer an astonishing 49-point swing to cruise to a blowout victory.
After the game, head coach Steve Kerr got one hundred percent real on what he enjoyed the most about Butler’s debut with the team.
“That’s the key to me. It’s the swagger he gives us,” said Kerr, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter. “He gives confidence to the rest of the group, including Steph and Draymond…This is the whole point of the deal, to inject that confidence and presence Jimmy brings.”
Can the Warriors compete now?
The Warriors’ season had been more or less a disaster up to this point, as the team currently sits at a perfectly average 26-26 leading up to the All-Star break.
Related Golden State Warriors NewsArticle continues below
With Stephen Curry already beginning to show some signs of decline and Draymond Green’s temper always a wild card, things were growing desperate for Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Warriors’ front office, so they ultimately made a win-now move by swinging Andrew Wiggins and other assets to the Miami Heat in order to bring in Butler, who had made his discontentment in South Beach no secret.
On paper, Butler might appear to be somewhat of an awkward fit with the up-tempo offense that the Warriors have become synonymous with during the Curry era, as he typically prefers to play a slower, more isolation-centric brand of basketball.
Still, he appeared to have no issues integrating with the team during the second half on Saturday against his former team the Bulls, and as Kerr mentioned, there is a certain confidence that comes along with bringing in a player who has been the leader of two Finals teams.
In any case, the Warriors will next take the floor on Monday evening on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks.
