Report: Steph Curry and Steve Kerr have concerns about Jimmy Butler’s ‘personality fit’

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The idea of Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler teaming up with sharpshooter Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors has been a hot topic at times lately.

NBA legend Charles Barkley said earlier in the month that the Warriors should try to get a player of Butler’s skill level now that Curry is starting to get long in the tooth.

But two of the more influential figures in the Warriors organization reportedly have some concerns regarding how Butler’s personality would fit with the rest of the team, according to NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor.

“My league sources say Stephen Curry specifically has concerns about Jimmy Butler’s fit in the Warriors locker room, and Steve Kerr shares those feelings,” O’Connor said. “So, Golden State’s indecision about trading for Butler seems to be largely tied to Steph and Kerr’s worries about the personality fit there.”

The Warriors already have a mercurial star prone to antics that can sometimes be damaging to a team in Draymond Green. But to Green’s credit, he’s been better at staying out of trouble this season after his 2023-24 season was mired in controversy. He’s been ejected only once since the beginning of the current campaign.

Curry and Kerr are probably right for holding such concerns considering all of the drama that’s happened between the Heat and Butler in recent weeks.

Butler has only played in five games for the Heat in the month of January as he’s been handed suspension after suspension during that span. Most recently, the Heat suspended the forward indefinitely and for no fewer than five games for “a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services.”

The 35-year-old perhaps played his final game in a Heat jersey when Miami lost to the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 21. He finished that contest with 13 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

If Butler were to indeed get traded out of Miami prior to the trade deadline, it wouldn’t mark the only time his stint with an NBA team ended messily. A major NBA executive suggested that Butler’s ugly situations throughout his time in the pros have happened because of financial reasons.

While Butler’s talent and playoff success are undeniable, his penchant for ending his stints with teams in messy ways is something that the Warriors would be wise to remember as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches.

The Warriors are fresh off maybe their most impressive win of the season to this point against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday but sit just one win above the .500 mark at 24-23.

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Jesse is a 23-year-old sports journalist with extensive experience covering the NBA.