Heat coach says Jimmy Butler 'loves being in Miami. We love him being in Miami'

When Pat Riley, during his end-of-season press conference, publicly challenged Jimmy Butler to be more available during the season, many in the NBA wondered how the Miami Heat superstar would respond.

Would Butler play hardball for an extension? Would he seek a trade elsewhere?

Miami Heat assistant coach Caron Butler says Jimmy Butler loves being in Miami and anticipates a fun season.

It turns out Butler folded his hand. After an initial push to get a long-term extension this summer, Butler now plans to play out the season and make a decision on his future next year. That makes this season even more important for Butler, who turns 35 this month. ESPN’s NBA insider Brian Windhorst said he expects Butler to come out in “killer mode.”

Heat assistant coach Caron Butler anticipates a no-nonsense approach.

“I think Jimmy's just ready to play basketball,” Caron Butler told me on the Locked On Heat podcast. “I think at this point, it's all about winning with him. We know he loves being in Miami. We love him being in Miami. And I just think that it's going to be a fun season.”

Jimmy Butler and the Heat have plenty of reasons to be motivated: Last season’s first-round exit at the hands of the eventual NBA champions, being left out of conversations about title contenders, seven national TV games. According to Caron Butler, the Heat are embracing being overlooked.

“I'm just happy that so many people are kicking dirt on our name,” Caron Butler said. “And we remember all the messaging and everything. We have an elephant memory with all those things. It's time for us just to get to work. We don't talk, we just get to work.”

Here are more pullouts from out conversation:

• Caron Butler on why Bam Adebayo hasn’t won Defensive Player of the Year: 

“I think from a perception standpoint, a lot of the times when you talk about, for instance, a player that won multiple Defensive Players of the Year, Rudy Gobert, you think about his impact and what the entire team, from a defensive standpoint to be – top three in the entire league. You think about what he did at Utah as well. So some people may identify statistically from an analytical standpoint that he is the system. This is the impact that he has. Kudos to [Gobert] for that. 

“But from the eye test, when I look at Bam, I see him guarding guys and shutting them down, making them burn calories, making every shot difficult from one through five easily. You just don't see that in the league. 

“I'm not being a homer. I'm just telling you the facts. Like, this is amazing just to see that from a player in this era. You just don't see two-way guys like that.”

• On the opportunity to coach players like Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware, who could make up the next era of Heat basketball.

“That's exactly what it is. The young talent that's building a bridge and, you know, not rebuilding, just reloading. You got a wealth of talent that's coming in. You see that on full display in the summer league. Those guys were remarkable. And we have some young, hungry, up-and-coming stars that just want to be poured into. So we're excited to be coaching them. Player development is going to be just off the charts this season for those guys and we look forward to them being in the culture uniform.”

• On why the Heat are holding training camp at Baha Mar in the Bahamas.

“Well, I think the connection is just a little different. You know, obviously, in Boca [Raton], you go back to your rooms. We try to have a lot of conventional stuff with events and stuff that pull guys out of their room and then the camaraderie and the building happens. 

“But I think in the Bahamas, it's a little more just a connection thing. We go to restaurants together and we just vibe. We're not on a retreat. We're not on a vacation. This is all about the team building and getting a lot of work done.”