Nearly two months since the messy breakup between the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler, both sides are about to take an important next step in whatever comes next.
On Tuesday, Butler will face his former team when the Golden State Warriors face the Heat at Kaseya Center for the first time since the trade. Butler, however, is predictably playing it cool.
“Another game for me,” Butler said when asked about his return to Miami after Golden State’s game in Atlanta this weekend. “Another game that we’re expected to win, for sure.”
In a league where stars changing teams is a regular occurrence, so too are these highly-anticipated reunions. There will be plenty of eyes on how Butler handles his first time back at Kaseya Center since the Feb. 6 trade that sent him to Golden State in exchange for a package headlined by Andrew Wiggins and a 2025 first-round pick.
On the other side, people will be watching how the Heat welcome him back. Will there be a tribute video? Will his former teammates and coaches be warm? Will fans cheer or boo?
Jimmy Butler says return to Miami is just "another game."
“It don’t make no difference,” Butler said. “I’m a member of the Golden State Warriors. I love that fan base. They showed me a lot of love while I was there. But I’m there to win now. I’m on the opposing team.”
Butler, 35, has averaged 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals over his first 19 games with the Warriors.
The Warriors are 16-3 with Butler in the lineup and have climbed the West standings since the trade, but they could be without Stephen Curry on Tuesday night, whose status is unclear after suffering a pelvic contusion last week.
Meanwhile, the Heat have been among the NBA’s worst teams since Butler’s departure. They’ve lost 17 of their last 21 games, including 10 straight heading into Sunday night’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets.
“Whatever jersey I get the opportunity to wear, when I step foot on the court home or away or neutral site, I’m expected to win,” Butler said. “We’re expected to win. This is no different.”
Butler can downplay the meaning of the game but that doesn’t change the ugly way in which the breakup played out in public. Butler told reporters in early January that he lost his “joy” on the court in Miami. The Heat suspended Butler three times over a month before trading him before the Feb. 6 deadline.
Butler’s relationship with the team took a turn when team president Pat Riley called him out during a press conference last spring and made it clear he did not plan to offer Butler the two-year, $113 million extension he was eligible for. Butler signed a two-year, $111 million extension with the Warriors after getting traded to Golden State.
“Yeah, I was traded from there. Yadda yadda yadda, yeah it didn’t end the way people wanted it to, yadda yadda yadda,” Butler said. “But that’s so far behind me now, I don’t even think about it. I don’t pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad.”
In 5 ½ seasons in Miami, Butler led the Heat to two NBA Finals and three Eastern Conference finals appearances. He was also selected to two All-Star teams and made All-NBA three times as he emerged as he helped lead one of the most successful eras in Heat history.
“We were alright. We didn’t win anything like we were supposed to,” Butler said. “So I don’t know. We made some cool runs. We had some fun. But that’s all we did.”