Emerging from ‘all that chaos,’ Jimmy Butler finds clarity in Warriors’ title quest

“I have no ego,” says Warriors forward Jimmy Butler. “I’m not the No. 1 option, I’m great with that — I know my role. I know who I am as a person. I know who I am as a basketball player, as a businessman.”

Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle

Jimmy Butler sat on the Golden State Warriors’ practice court, in the quiet bowels of Chase Center. A few guys working out. A couple of coaches chatting nearby. All was calm.

Not much has been quiet or calm for Butler in the past chaotic year. He went from an inferno of finger-pointing, name-calling and suspension in Miami to the tumult of a midseason trade to the frenzy of an almost unprecedented 31-game push to change the Warriors’ fortunes and make the playoffs.

“All that noise, all that chaos paid off in a major way,” Butler said. “I’m lucky to be part of this phenomenal organization.”

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The Warriors are Butler’s fifth team since he entered the league in 2011, selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 30th pick. He feels like he has found the right fit, calling the Warriors “a breath of fresh air.”

“Everywhere starts off great, but then you know someone has to be the bad guy, and it gets to be me,” Butler said, with a wry smile. “I’m always the one doing something unbearable all of a sudden. … But that’s OK. I get to play in this wonderful league, with amazing teammates.

“But being here, they’ve only got one goal,” he said, glancing up at the wall adorned with championship banners. “To keep hanging those things up on the wall. Ain’t no hidden agendas.”

The Warriors’ agenda is extremely transparent. The goal is to win, right now, while Stephen Curry still has his superpowers. 

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“Everybody knows their role,” Butler said. “We know Steph is the man, and we’re good with that. On any given night, I could be second. (Jonathan Kuminga) could be second. (Draymond Green) could be second. But we know who the man is, and our job is to help the man.”

That doesn’t sound like the player the Heat portrayed last winter, mostly through anonymous comments, as selfish and bad for their famed “culture.” But those complaints centered on off-court issues, which the Warriors aren’t particularly concerned about.

“He’s been an absolute dream to coach,” Steve Kerr said. “Easy to talk to, easy to collaborate with, smart, tough.”

On this particular practice day, Kerr had put Butler on the “B” team, going against starters. Butler said it was his best day in training camp and Kerr concurred.

“He just dominated,” Kerr said. “I think it’s his favorite thing: ‘Give me any four guys and I’ll beat you.’”

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Butler has that kind of talent. But unlike some past Warriors who have needed to be seen as “the man,” he doesn’t operate in that space. 

“I have no ego. I’m not the No. 1 option, I’m great with that — I know my role,” Butler said. “I know who I am as a person. I know who I am as a basketball player, as a businessman. I know my role. What do y’all need me to do? Dray, Steph, Steve — what do you need me to do?

“That’s part of being a vet. That’s part of winning. But more importantly that’s part of knowing that ego gets you nowhere. Ego is the enemy.”

Another enemy is the ticking clock. Butler is 36, Curry is 37, Green is 35, Al Horford is 39. But concerns about age take a back seat to the excitement of having Butler in the fold for a full season.

Forward Jimmy Butler, right, and the Warriors know the window is closing to win another championship with Stephen Curry (30).

Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle

“Big expectations, to win so many games, to get so comfortable, to get everybody as confident and playing the best version of basketball that they can,” Butler said. “I get to know these play calls without having to second guess, without having to think about my rotations on defense, knowing where I’m supposed to be. That’s what this training camp has been all about. It’s been incredible.”

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Kerr said Butler is one of the best shot creators he’s ever seen. That ability, along with Butler’s skill at getting to the line, and his ball security — he rarely turns it over — flipped the Warriors’ fortunes.

“He just controls the game,” Kerr said. “The game always feels settled. He just changed everything.

“You might think that now that we have him for a full year, it’s like, ‘Well, now you can put this in.’ But it’s not about that because you don’t really need to run anything with Jimmy. Just get him the ball and get spaced.

“So it’s not the scheme. But it is the chemistry, the camaraderie with the guys, the continuity.”

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To that end, Butler took the remarkable step of inviting all the Warriors players to his home in San Diego, the spectacular compound he calls his “safe haven,” for a few days of team bonding. While players-only outings before training camps are a thing, a player inviting everyone to his private home is unheard of.

“I really enjoy these guys,” Butler said. “There are so many like-minded guys. … It was a phenomenal experience for myself and also my guys.”

The vets bonded over both their many years in the league and fine wine — Green said Butler has “the wine cellar of an emperor.” They played dominoes: Butler taught Curry how to play.

“He was like, ‘I got it, I got it, I’m good,’” Butler said of the lesson. “I’m like, ‘Bro, you just learned.’ But he wants to be the best at everything. That’s what you want in a leader … someone that’s going to try to be the best in whatever they’re doing.”

Butler wants to make the San Diego trip a regular thing. Invite the others to bring their kids. And maybe their championship rings.

“That’s the plan,” he said. “Next summer, we’re all bringing our rings. And we’re gonna power up like the Power Rangers.”

Butler has big aspirations and encourages them in others. He was intentional about showing the younger players his home and what kind of life the last pick in the first round of a long-ago NBA draft has made for himself.

“I wasn’t a lottery pick, I was the 30th pick,” Butler said. “I worked my tail off. Look what this life can give you if you work hard, do right by people, try to win and be a good person.”

“I learned that you can do quite a few things with a bit of money,” rookie Alex Toohey said of the field trip. 

Money isn’t an issue for Butler — he signed a two-year, $121 million extension with the Warriors. Part of his comfort coming to Golden State stemmed from his relationship with general manager Mike Dunleavy, who was Butler’s “vet” when Butler was a young player in Chicago. 

“Mike understood how great I wanted to be, how I put in all the work, and I still do,” Butler said. “Have I changed since then? Of course. Do I have more opinions now? Of course. A lot has been on my shoulders, to where I will say this is how I want something to be.

“It may rub someone the wrong way, but I know what it takes to win. I know what I need to win. Just like I know what I have to give you in order for us to win. So you can’t be mad at me. If you can’t do that and we don’t win, I’m going to take the blame for it, but it can’t all fall on me.”

Warriors forward Jimmy Butler waits to go up as Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt comes down during a preseason game on Oct. 5 at Chase Center.

Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle

Because Dunleavy knew Butler so well, he wasn’t influenced by all the noise coming out of Miami. Last spring, Dunleavy said he was confident Butler would be a good fit and that he vouched for what Butler “was all about: the ultimate competitor and a high IQ player.”

“All of the talk, all of the smoke, there’s really only one person that didn’t say anything — who just went on with his life,” Butler said, meaning himself. “Let the people talk. The people that are lying know they’re lying. But I don’t need to correct anything. That’s behind me. 

“I’m in a new place, I’ve got no ill will. I’m where I want to be with good guys, phenomenal coach, winning culture. Onward and upward.”

Butler said that while the past year was chaotic, he believes that “sometimes that can make you great in a way.” He said the only bad part of the whole trade experience was that his three young children were still back in Florida.

“That was very, very, very challenging,” he said. “But now they’re on this side” of the country.

Butler has settled in, he’s happy, and he’s looking for the one thing that has eluded him so far in his stellar career: a championship.

“I haven’t won one of those,” said Butler, who led Miami to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023. “But you can’t call me a loser. I’ve won everywhere that I’ve been. I could care less about how many points I score, how many shots I get. Just tell me what you need me to do to help us win.”

And that’s the whole agenda: win.

“That’s the beauty of this,” Kerr said. “Jimmy gives us a swing at the plate. We know — if healthy — we have a real chance to beat anybody in a playoff series. And that’s all you want.”