A Jimmy Butler endgame with Heat? 'Sooner or later, the whole truth will come out.'

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Jan 18, 2025

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MIAMI — Friday night was not the end, even with Jimmy Butler’s seven-game unpaid Miami Heat suspension drawing to a close.

Instead, based on Butler’s postgame comments, as the Heat turned from Friday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets to Sunday’s visit by the San Antonio Spurs, the page has merely turned to the next chapter in the saga of a player who wants out and a team that publicly remains on record as being amenable to moving him out.

So, no, nothing close to resolution, even with Butler scoring 18 points in his return.

“I guess it’s basketball, at this point,” Butler said as he dressed in a Michael Jordan No. 45 Chicago Bulls jersey, synonymous of when Jordan returned from his baseball dalliance to help lead the Bulls to another run of three NBA championships. “I know what I’m expected to do while I’m here, try to do that to the best of my ability. But we are where we are.”

Asked about the uncertainty going into Friday night, having been banished from the team since last appearing in a Jan. 2 game, Butler said, “I knew I was going to play. That’s what they had told me. But there was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth. So we’ll let people keep talking, like they know everything, like they have all the answers. And then, sooner or later, the whole truth will come out. But until then, we’ll continue to let people talk. And if I’m here, I will get out there to play.”

Butler demurred when asked about the difficulty of separating what he perceives as fact and fiction.

“I expect for people to talk,” he said. “Half the reason is because don’t nobody ever know what I’m really doing, so you just make up stuff, which is fine. And, honestly, I really don’t pay any attention to it. But I’ve got people telling me, ‘Oh they said this, they said that.’ So I guess it’s really all good. I don’t have to clear anything up. So more power to you — keep talking and we’ll see where we end up.”

The previous time Butler addressed the media, after that Jan. 2 home loss to the Indiana Pacers, Butler said he did not believe he could regain his basketball “joy’ while playing for the Heat, in the current offensive system of coach Erik Spoelstra. Asked after Friday night’s game if he still held that belief, Butler said, “I was told to say no comment. So, no comment.”

NBA players can be fined and disciplined for publicly requesting a trade. However, Butler retained such a stance when he met with Heat owner Micky Arison and team CEO Nick Arison on Thursday.

Asked about Butler’s previous “joy” comment and of the system in place, Spoelstra after Friday night’s loss said it was not the time for such melodrama.

“I know what storylines you’re looking for,” he said. “I’m not feeding into any of that.”

Asked about getting back on the court, Butler referenced workouts during the suspension, with the Heat having left behind assistant coach Octavio De La Grana and other staffers to work with Butler.

“It felt good to get out there and compete and actually run around with these guys,” Butler said of getting back on the court. “As much as everybody may think, I don’t have a problem with these guys. There guys are cool, they’re my friends.”

But he added of those who remained in contact. “Some of ’em tapped in, some of you’all didn’t. Don’t think I don’t know that.

“My beef is not with them, and never will be, never has been. But it did feel good to get out there and play some basketball.”

Of Butler’s return, guard Tyler Herro said, “I mean, it’s been good just getting Jimmy back. Obviously him being gone for an extended period of time is obviously an adjustment to bring him back. But I was happy to see him back in action.”

Said center Bam Adebayo, “I mean, we know what Jimmy’s capable of. So it’s no shock that he found his rhythm at some point. And going forward, I feel like he’s going to continue to find his rhythm and we’ll keep trying to win games.”

Through it all, Butler said he has remained grounded in his non-basketball life.

“I’ll tell you,” he said, “my happiness off the court is at an all-time high. I’ve got the babies. I’ve got my friends. A lot of dominoes and coffee is involved.”

Asked again if the situation was fixable, he again offered, “No comment.”

And if there is no trade by the 3 p.m. Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline?

“Ima hoop,” he said, “that’s it.”