Warriors coach Steve Kerr does not ask much from his players, so the few rules he does have carry weight.
Superstar forward Jimmy Butler learned Kerr's two most important rules soon after the blockbuster trade that brought him from the Miami Heat to Golden State on Feb. 5. In an exclusive interview with The Athletic's Anthony Slater, Butler revealed Kerr's two non-negotiables for him: Show up on time and compete to win as part of the group.
Butler revealed to Slater that when the Warriors were preparing to fly back home to San Francisco after a win over the Brooklyn Nets on March 6, he pulled Kerr aside to inform him of his decision to fly separately to Miami to pick up his children before beginning the team's recent seven-game homestand.
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“I pulled Steve aside and said, ‘Steve, I’m finna fly home and grab my kids,’” Butler told The Athletic. “He said, ‘Oh, OK. Yeah. See you back in the Bay.’ Like nothing else. Nothing.”
The detour was not a request from Butler, but rather him informing the team of his plans, regardless of how they felt about it. Fortunately for Butler, Kerr, who notoriously embraces a family-first environment, had no issue with his stop in Miami and wants his players to feel comfortable marching to the beat of their own drums. As long as it doesn't get in the way of the ultimate goal: Winning.
“We welcome personal quirkiness and individualism, and I think guys always feel a sense of freedom here,” Kerr said. “I told Jimmy that from Day 1. I said, ‘You be you.'”
The Warriors, like the four other NBA teams Butler has played for, have learned that there is no controlling the 35-year-old on and off the court.
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And as long as Butler abides by the team's two non-negotiables, that won't be an issue.