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Kerr's reasoning for why he believes Butler is the ideal player for Kuminga to model himself after was recently featured on NBC Sports Bay Area.

When Jonathan Kuminga returns to the court from his ankle injury, he’ll have a new Warriors teammate to learn from — and coach Steve Kerr couldn’t be more excited about what the youngster can take away from veteran forward Jimmy Butler.

Golden State acquired Butler one day before the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, just over a month after Kuminga sustained a sprained right ankle in the Warriors’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 4. With the 22-year-old participating in his first full-court scrimmage during Monday’s practice, Kerr told reporters on Tuesday how he’s making Kuminga’s transition back into a rolling Warriors team as smooth as possible.

“Watched some film [today] … I just wanted to touch base,” Kerr said before the Warriors’ game against the Charlotte Hornets at Chase Center. “[We watched] his film, but also showing some of Jimmy’s stuff, what Jimmy’s doing right now, because I think he’s the perfect guy for JK to emulate. What makes Jimmy special is that he doesn’t try to be special. He just plays fundamental basketball … he never turns it over — he just makes a simple play over and over again.

“And I want JK to learn some of that. He’s so explosive. It’s always hardest for guys who are the most talented to make decisions because they’ve got too many options at their disposal, so I’m hoping that he can learn from Jimmy and that Jimmy will spend some time with him. JK, before he got hurt, was the best I’ve ever seen him play. So he was already on a really good track, and it’s just a reminder these are kind of the things we want.”

In 32 games before his injury this season, Kuminga was averaging 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 26 minutes on 45.9-percent shooting from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point range. And while the Warriors have yet to set an exact return date for Kuminga, Butler is looking forward to mentoring Golden State’s rising star.

“I figure we’ll spend a lot of time together,” Butler told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater earlier this month. “I would like to think I’ll make his job a lot easier and he’ll also make my job easier. He’s another individual they’re going to have to guard, they’re going to have to pay attention to.

“Then on defense, you got another quote, unquote ‘MFer’ that can switch, that can challenge shots, that can get out into the open floor.”

Butler has helped the Warriors elevate their game since his arrival, averaging 20.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists across six games in a Golden State uniform. The Warriors own a 5-1 record with the six-time NBA All-Star on their team and have improved in nearly every statistical category.

Adding Kuminga, who will travel with the Warriors on their upcoming road trip, back into the mix only should elevate Golden State’s ceiling as the team makes its final NBA playoff push — especially with Butler lending his knowledge.

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