MIAMI — Jimmy Butler insists that not only is his return Tuesday night to Miami’s Kaseya Center just another game for him, but he also harbors no ill will toward his former franchise.
Asked specifically about Heat president Pat Riley, Butler demurred.
“I got no thoughts,” Butler said. “I don’t got nothing to say to nobody. No hard feelings. I’m in a better place now for me. Continued success to those guys over there.”
Butler and the Warriors practiced at Barry University on the afternoon before the anticipated matchup. He has previously had return games after leaving Chicago, Philadelphia and Minnesota, so he knows what to expect.
“This is basketball,” Butler said. “It’s very simple. I don’t have all the emotions that everybody thinks I’ll have. It is what it is. I realize that I had some great years here, I built some incredible bonds with some individuals in the organization, in the city, hell, in the state of Florida.
“But I’m going there to hoop. I’m going there to play basketball. Ain’t nothing nobody say, ain’t nothing nobody do is going to get me out of character. Nobody got me out of character when I was going through what I was going through this entire season with the suspensions. It’s just another day for me.”
Before Miami traded Butler to the Warriors, the Heat suspended him on three separate occasions for conduct detrimental to the team. Riley had publicly called out Butler for his lack of availability after last season’s first-round exit and the Heat declined to offer Butler a contract extension despite his role in leading the team to two NBA Finals.
Butler said that even if Riley had offered him an extension this past summer, he was already at the point of no return.
The Warriors arrived in Miami on Sunday, with a pair of off days on both sides of the Heat game on Tuesday. Butler hosted several friends — old and new — at his BIGFACE coffee shop in the Design District for an afternoon of dominos and sun. He chased around his kids and linked up with soccer star Paul Pogba in the evening for his birthday party.
The Warriors are 16-3 with Butler in the lineup and could get Steph Curry back for the Heat game; the superstar point guard is listed as questionable after missing the Atlanta game with a pelvic contusion.
The Butler trade turned Golden State’s season around, and the Heat have gone 5-17 since he departed.
No wonder he feels like he’s in a better place. Even if his exit came with a lot of noise.
“I’m always painted as the bad guy,” Butler said. “Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always been a problem. So, we’ll take it. I don’t got nothing to say. I’m not mad at being a bad guy. It’s all the way everything’s portrayed. Some people talk to the media, some people don’t. I’ve never been one to tell my side of the story to almost anybody. Let everybody think that this is what happened. We’ll ride with it. Then in like a year’s time, it’s going to be someone else’s fault besides mine.”
It’s unclear if the Heat have prepared a tribute video for the six-time All-Star given how things ended for him with the franchise. Butler said he’d watch it if they showed one, but it doesn’t really make a difference to him if they don’t.
“It’ll be a charged atmosphere,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m sure it’ll be emotional on many levels. I know Jimmy’s just going to lock in and play, and he’s very capable of that. But there’s no getting around the fact of what he meant to this team, this organization, this city. That will come out tomorrow.”
There won’t be a tribute video for Andrew Wiggins until next year, when the Heat come to Chase Center. The Warriors parted with Wiggins — a 2022 NBA champion — to acquire Butler.
Wiggins is fresh off a 42-point gem against Charlotte, helping the Heat snap a 10-game losing skid. The game before that, he went off for 30, including a 20-point quarter.
“We’re all thrilled to see Wiggs,” Kerr said. “Wiggs is one of my favorite guys. … He’s beloved in our locker room and throughout the Bay. It’ll be great to see him and hopefully he doesn’t have 42 against us.”
The main spotlight, though, will be on Butler. After practice, dozens of fans waiting outside by the team bus swarmed Butler as he headed toward the parking lot. They took photos and asked for autographs.
If that was any indication, the reception at the Kaseya Center might be a tad warmer than Butler — and some of the Heat media corps — may anticipate. He’ll be ready for the scene either way.