MIAMI — Jimmy Butler didn’t bother to take one look back in the direction of his old bench, his old mates, or that old floor that he set afire for many a spring night.
The emotion of Tuesday night, his return to Miami after an electric and combustible five-and-a-half-year run, was more muted than overwhelming. It wasn’t even smoldering.
“It was behind me a long time ago,” Butler said. “As soon as I ended up a Golden State Warrior, everything that went on was dead.”
There was life somewhere, and the Miami Heat found it — the game meant more to them than it seemed to Butler, as the two franchises have gone in opposite directions since the shocking deal was made over a month ago.
The Warriors have been injected with new life since adding Butler, no longer feeling like fodder for the top of the West, and despite this modest two-game losing streak they believe they are as much of a contender as anyone this side of Oklahoma City.
Miami has been in a tailspin since giving Butler the trade he first requested, then essentially demanded — hence why the warm and fuzzies weren’t even on display in the short tribute video the franchise delivered upon his introduction.
Butler had no words for any of his former mates except Kevin Love in the pregame, and a dap to Alec Burks seconds before the opening tip. Nothing toward Erik Spoelstra, who would only go so far down memory lane in the pregame — no emotional hug or grab of the shoulders.
Nothing for Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro, although there was some extra physicality in their matchups as it seemed Adebayo wanted to guard Butler, starting out on him and trailing him through the night.
He certainly had nothing for Pat Riley, the Heat czar who brought him to Miami in 2019, the man whose words at the end of last season stung Butler to the core, the man who refused to give Butler the contract extension he desired.
“I got a lot of love for the city, the fan base here,” Butler said. “The video was nice. I won’t say there’s a lot of emotions. I came into this thing levelheaded.”
Butler did thank his current teammates before the game and after for the support, knowing what the game meant to him, perhaps even more than what it means for the Warriors in the standings of the crowded Western Conference with less than 10 games remaining.
The crowd at the Kaseya Center lived up to its reputation of being a bit on the laissez-faire side, a late arriving crowd that usually saves whatever it can for late May and early June.
“Miami is a great place to live, and some people don't ever seem too amped up around here, and they're living a good life,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “So it really wasn't that rabid of an environment. It was typical Miami.”
Butler was booed, but when you see the rosters he carried in Miami, he should've been given a standing ovation. It also isn't particularly new for him, given his nomadic nature. Butler didn't have it, and neither did his teammates. Even without Stephen Curry, who won't be back until Friday in New Orleans, it was a bit shocking to see every Warriors starter with just two points each at the half. The Heat would go on to win 112-86.
“(Erik Spoelstra) had 'em ready, as we would expect given the circumstances with Jimmy coming back,” Kerr said. “They knocked everything down early, and we missed everything. They took it to us tonight.”
If there is a such thing as Heat Culture, perhaps it was on display for the first time in eons. The Heat played with verve and purpose, every bounce went their way but they were far more intentional about their desires than the team that has spent the last week in Atlanta and Miami — two cities that never lose when it comes to extracurricular activities.
How else could the team that can’t shoot straight for weeks suddenly hit 68 percent on 25 triples, some of the leaning, fading variety? Perhaps it was the extra energy they’ve had in reserve since the Butler deal, and they were waiting to unleash it. The endless, exhausting saga had to wear on everyone involved.
This wasn’t his last two tumultuous exits, where he clashed with Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota in 2018 or in Philadelphia, where the organization couldn’t decide between Butler and Tobias Harris — both free agents in the summer of 2019.
But this is where history repeats itself in a positive way for Butler, and at least gives the Warriors the best chance at maximizing this window with Butler, Curry and Draymond Green.
In the locker rooms Butler has been in as a full grown NBA man, he’s been the most accomplished, the most veteran, the most alpha — except for one time.
He played one year with Dwyane Wade in Chicago, and although Wade was on the back end of a great career and the Bulls limped to a 41-41 finish, Butler ceded space to his vet. He respected Wade and you could tell there was reverence.
Perhaps there’s a sigh of relief in walking into this Warriors locker room. Curry is as respected as any leader in the NBA, while he and Green speak the same language on a number of levels. That wasn’t the case playing with Joel Embiid at the time or Towns or Bam Adebayo.
“You know, you come into a situation where Steph is a two-time MVP, we’ve both won four championships. It definitely is a little different,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “But I think the most important thing is we will never approach him like we're four time champions and we're nothing. He has the utmost respect from us. His word carries just as much weight, if not more than us.
“And that's how you make somebody comfortable coming into your situation This ain’t, ‘We won. You didn’t. Fall in line.’ We know what he's done. It's hard to win a championship in the NBA. He got there twice. It's very hard. You need a lot of things to go your way.”
Green said the bounces have to go your way and Butler’s been on the business end of that — bounces that didn’t and one that did, the Kawhi Leonard shot in 2019 that thwarted the most talented team Butler played on, the 2019 Philadelphia 76ers.
For what it's worth, the Chicago Bulls are still picking themselves off the mat after trading him in 2017. The Timberwolves had real success last year, but are in the play-in field now. The 76ers? Haven’t come close to being close, squandering opportunity after opportunity and now that window is slammed shut.
These Miami Heat are figuring out culture is only worth something when there’s supernovas leading the way, having gone 6-17 since trading Butler and you wonder how this proud organization will pull itself from this muck.
“That guy's a winner. He's won everywhere he's gone,” Green told Yahoo Sports, also referencing his one year playing with Chris Paul. "Those guys are winners. You need a lot of s*** to fall your way in order to actually win a championship. And he's done everything in his power to get his team there, and almost delivered a couple times.”
Those times were with Miami, carrying the Heat to the Finals in the Orlando Bubble, coming within a whisker of doing it in 2022 before coming back and knocking off the Boston Celtics in a Game 7 on the road to advance to the NBA Finals.
Playoff Jimmy averaged 27.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals over the last two playoffs he played with the Heat. The structure of the franchise and Spoelstra’s genius helped round out his game, and for awhile, the two sides were a perfect match.
“I see it for what it is,” Butler said. “A chapter has ended, a new one has begun. I’m very appreciative for my time here, the bonds I’ve built here. When you look down the road it’s a huge part of my career. I ain’t spiteful toward nobody. I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s not at all bad.”
The hurt feelings may turn into scabs one day. Other players like Alonzo Mourning or Tim Hardaway or Udonis Haslem may be more beloved by the fans and organization but ultimately only LeBron James and Wade have been better than Butler — and hopefully his jersey goes into the rafters with the other Heat luminaries.
One day when he’s done, Butler will be enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and even though it’s not like baseball where players decide which hat goes onto their bust, it feels very likely Butler will go in as a Miami Heat.
Perhaps the wounds are too fresh to even consider what that looks like, too much mud being slung both ways to see anything clearly.
But for now, the Heat are headed into one uncertain future while Butler does the same — it just feels different and everyone knows why.
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