MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (AP) — Jimmy Butler has been through these first-game-back matchups against former teams before. He got a standing ovation and a tribute video at Chicago in 2018. He got jeered in Minnesota in 2019. He got downright booed in his return to Philadelphia later that year.
Next up: His return to Miami on Tuesday.
And it’s fair to expect a little of everything.
There will be a tribute video from the Heat, which is not uncommon for returning players who were All-Stars for the franchise. There almost certainly will be a thunderous introduction when his name is called alongside the rest of Golden State’s starters. There will be some cheering. There will be plenty of booing. It all is to be expected, especially after Butler’s final weeks in Miami were marred by three suspensions that preceded his trade to the Warriors last month.
“There are no hard feelings,” Butler said Monday after the Warriors practiced at Barry University. “I’m in a better place now for me.”
He wanted out, and the Heat eventually gave him his wish. The Warriors are 16-3 with Butler in the lineup, enough of a boost to help them claw out of play-in-tournament range for now and give them a chance at securing a guaranteed playoff berth with a top-6 seed. Butler seems happier and the Warriors are playing better, so it’s been a clear win for Golden State.
Miami just snapped a 10-game losing streak. The Heat, who are likely resigned to the play-in tournament as their path to the postseason, are still adjusting to Life After Jimmy.
“Obviously there’ll be a lot of different feelings about it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler’s return to Miami. “I probably won’t express all of them and that’s fair. But we had a great five-year run and we didn’t win the title. But only one team does. We had some great moments here.”
The Heat went to the Eastern Conference finals three times in the Butler era, made the NBA Finals twice and won 268 games, including playoffs, in his first five seasons with the club — the fifth most in the league over that span. But when he didn’t get offered an extension last summer, the relationship began splintering. He was suspended three times for various violations of team rules and wasn’t shy about making clear that he felt like a change of scenery was necessary. The Heat said they wouldn’t trade him, then had no choice but to change course.
The Warriors made the offer that got the deal done, and suddenly they look like title contenders again.
“It’s been amazing. He’s of the best players in the league. He’s instantly transformed our team,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re 16-4 since we got him. He’s a very unique talent. He’s a superstar, but he’s a subtle superstar. He doesn’t wow you with his leaping ability or shooting prowess or speed. It’s just his brute strength and his brain. He is one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around, and his ability to just generate open shot after open shot is impressive, and he’s obviously a great two-way player. He’s a hell of a defender. We’re lucky to have him.”
For the record, Butler’s teams have gone 1-2 in the Jimmy-goes-back games in his career. Minnesota lost 114-113 at Chicago on Feb. 9, 2018, Philadelphia won 118-109 at Minnesota on March 30, 2019 and Miami lost 113-86 at Philadelphia on Nov. 23, 2019.
Butler insists that to him, Tuesday will be just another day.
“This is basketball. It’s very simple,” Butler said. “I don’t have all the emotions that everybody thinks I’m going to have. It is what it is. I realize we had some great years here. I’ve built some incredible bonds with some individuals in the organization, in the city, hell, in the state of Florida. But I’m going in to hoop. I’m going in to play basketball.”
