Steve Kerr reveals what Erik Spoelstra told him after the Jimmy Butler trade

Spo reassured Coach Kerr that Jimmy Buckets would be a good fit

Jimmy Butler III’s departure from Miami was far from graceful, and his fit with the Golden State Warriors was questioned when the trade dropped. However, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had some words for Steve Kerr which reassured him immediately.

“Erik Spoelstra told me immediately, ‘He’s going to be great for you.’ And I know Spo really well from the last couple of summers and I trust him,” Kerr told Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show,” per NBC Sports Bay Area. “I believed him and he was right. Within a couple of days of his arrival, Jimmy was so easy to speak with.”

“He reminded me of Andre [Iguodala] with the basketball intellect, but also the interest in the world perspective and the maturity,” Kerr said. “It was really fun to get to know Jimmy right away and to see the impact he had on our team and our locker room.”

Butler has made an impact on the Warriors this season, not just in locker room presence, but in guiding Golden State to the Western Conference Semi-Finals, where they fell to the Timberwolves — a team Butler knows well, having left Minnesota for Philadelphia in 2018 before joining the Heat in 2019. Butler is under contract for the Warriors through the 2026-27 season, having signed a $111 million extension this past February. As a veteran leader with a fiery spirit, Butler will continue to lead the Warriors with the same presence described by Spoelstra.