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As the Golden State Warriors are set to square off against the Miami Heat tonight at the Kaseya Center, all eyes will be on Jimmy Butler as the game will mark his return to his former home, this time as an opponent. Butler was traded to the Warriors in the trade deadline of February 2025. While
the star forward spent six glorious years with the Heat, the relationship turned sour in the end and eventually reached the breaking point. As Butler is about to step onto the same court that he represented for the most part of the last decade, he has opened up on the bitter end with the franchise.
In an interview with The Athletic's Anthony Slater, he revealed that his decision to leave Miami has been in the works for some time. When asked if things may have gone differently if he had met with team president Pat Riley following last season, Butler did not hesitate.
“No,” Butler said. “Pretty much, yeah. I think I knew which direction I was going. Nobody ever asked me, though. So, y’all just got to jump to assumptions and conclusions.”
Butler was suspended multiple times before his eventual trade. The Heat cited “conduct detrimental to the team.” However, Butler sees things differently.
“I think the suspensions are more because they just didn’t want me to be around the team,” Butler stated. “It wasn’t anything I actually did because I didn’t do anything too drastic to deserve X amount of games being suspended. But it is what it is.”
The Heat first suspended Butler for seven games, alleging that his actions and remarks demonstrated that he no longer wanted to be a member of the franchise. He returned briefly, playing three games and averaging only 13.0 points before being suspended again for missing the team's flight to Milwaukee. Miami suspended him indefinitely after he walked out of practice on January 27. Butler was soon traded to the Warriors as part of a massive five-team transaction that also included Andrew Wiggins and a protected first-round selection for Miami.
“I’m always painted as the bad guy. Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always been the problem,” Butler said. “So we’ll take it. I don’t got nothing to say. I’m not mad at being the bad guy. It’s all the way that everything is portrayed.”
Butler who changed his jersey number to 10 added, “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 and we’ll ride with it.”
The Heat will exhibit a tribute video for Butler before Tuesday’s game. However, Butler doesn’t seem too moved by the gesture. “It makes no difference,” he said when asked about the planned tribute.
