Draymond labels Butler ‘franchise changer’ after Warriors’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green knows the Warriors are in good hands with Jimmy Butler.
After all, the Warriors improved to 3-1 since trading for Butler with a 105-98 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday at the Toyota Center.
So, fittingly, the four-time NBA champion – with all his podium experience and all – delivered a strong statement to describe Golden State’s new wing.
“He’s a franchise changer,” Green told reporters. “He’s done that everywhere he’s gone, and he’s helping revitalize what we got here.
“The belief amongst this team, now that’s arrived, as opposed to what it was before he got here, it’s night and day.”
Four games removed from his trade from the Miami Heat, Butler finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists against a dynamic Rockets team.
The 35-year-old came on at the 4:42 mark in the fourth quarter as the Warriors held on to a four-point lead. Golden State then went on a 9-2 run with Butler scoring four of the points.
Complementing Steph Curry, Butler also proved to be a difference maker.
“We let one get away last night, but this one tonight, we would’ve lost,” Green added. “It’s just having a guy like that changes everything. After four games, the assessment is great.”
Once desperate for late-game weapons outside of Curry, coach Steve Kerr knows his team is in a different position now with Butler onboard.
“Jimmy, he’s the real deal,” Kerr said. “I mean, just a complete basketball player, methodical, under control all the time, plays at his own pace, never turns it over, sees the game and then can get to the line frequently.
“Great closer, not in the traditional sense where he’s going to be Kevin Durant and make four straight midrange jumpers, but it’s more of a complete game.
“Gets to the line, make the right pass, get somebody else an open look, get a defensive stop, get a rebound. He’s a fantastic player.”
As far as the Warriors’ chemistry goes with Butler in the mix, Green believes it’s simply a matter of time before everything clicks into place.
If anything, Butler is a highly compatible player.
“It’s getting there,” Green concluded. “It takes a while, but Jimmy overcommunicates which is great. He doesn’t leave anything in the gray area.
“He comes like, ‘Hey, what was I supposed to do there? What did you want me to do there?’ He overcommunicates about every play; signs of a true leader. I love what he’s bringing to this team.”
