The Warriors are still searching for their identity this season, and Steve Kerr knows exactly where part of the solution lies: in Jimmy Butler’s hands.
Coming off a 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Kerr wasn’t interested in talking about shot totals or stat lines. His focus was bigger than that. The issue, he said, isn’t how many shots Butler is taking - it’s how often Golden State is actually giving him the chance to take control of the game.
“I’ve got to find a way to get him more into the groove of the game,” Kerr said postgame. “I don’t really consider Jimmy’s game to be dependent on how many shots he gets, but we do need his scoring. We do need his playmaking.”
And that’s the heart of it. Butler’s value has never been about volume shooting.
He’s a rhythm player, a half-court technician who thrives when the offense runs through him - not around him. That’s what made him so effective late last season, when the Warriors leaned on his ability to slow the game down, make smart reads, and get buckets or create them for others.
That rhythm? Right now, it’s missing.
Against Portland, Golden State got pulled into a track meet - exactly the kind of game that plays away from Butler’s strengths. The Blazers ran, the Warriors chased, and the game tilted in favor of the younger, more athletic squad. Kerr knows that’s not the formula that works for this team, especially with Steph Curry off the floor.
“I thought we did a better job last year of putting him in position to attack and create shots for people,” Kerr said. “We need to get back to that type of control of the game - going to him in the half-court, especially when Steph is out, taking care of the ball, turning the other team over, controlling the game.”
That word - control - kept coming up. And it’s no accident.
Butler is the kind of player who brings order to chaos. He slows the tempo, draws contact, makes the smart pass, and gets to his spots.
But that only works if the Warriors are deliberate about getting him involved.
Right now, Kerr admits, they’re not.
“I think we’re a little bit more in our random flow,” he said. “And I think we need to be more particular with getting to some sets where we know we can get him the ball.”
That randomness - the free-flowing, read-and-react style - can be beautiful when it clicks. But it also risks leaving key players like Butler on the periphery, especially in stretches where Curry isn’t on the floor to orchestrate.
Kerr pointed to a recent game against the Timberwolves as an example. Butler went multiple possessions without touching the ball. That can’t happen - and Kerr owned it.
“That’s on me,” he said. “It’s also on our players to understand. I can’t call a play every time, nor do I want to.”
It’s a fair point. The Warriors’ offense has long thrived on movement, trust, and shared responsibility.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t be intentional about who gets the ball when it matters. And with Butler, the Warriors have a proven closer - someone who can steady the ship when the pace picks up and the game starts to tilt.
“We’ve had a few moments during the season,” Kerr said, “but we’re not able to consistently put the ball in Jimmy’s hands and let him control games like we did at the end of last year.”
That’s the challenge now - finding that consistency. Because when the Warriors do run through Butler, they look more composed.
More stable. More like a team that knows how to win tough games.
Until they make that adjustment a regular part of their identity, though, the Warriors may continue to find themselves playing catch-up instead of dictating terms. And for a team with championship aspirations, that’s a dangerous place to be.