After a long saga, the Miami Heat finally traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors in February. Since then, the Warriors and Heat have been trending in opposite ways following the trade. The Warriors are 16-5 since acquiring Butler and look primed for a solid playoff run. As for the Heat, they own the No. 10 seed in the East and just snapped a 10-game losing streak. On Tuesday, both teams will meet up for the first time since the trade.
Ahead of the game, Butler spoke about his return to Miami. Additionally, he spoke about potentially having a video tribute. Butler made it clear that “it makes no difference” whether the team gives him a tribute or not.
“Will I watch?” Butler said when asked about the potential of a Heat tribute video after the Warriors held practice at Barry University on Monday afternoon in Miami Shores. “Yeah, I’ll watch. If they have one, if they don’t. It makes no difference. It really doesn’t.”
Jimmy Butler Gets Brutally Honest Ahead of Miami Heat Return
Jimmy Butler Reportedly Had Another Preferred Trade Destination
Before the Heat sent him to Golden State, Butler was linked to numerous teams. The most notable one was the Phoenix Suns. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, Butler wanted to join the Suns. However, even so, Butler revealed he was never “skeptical” about joining the Warriors.
“After asking out of Miami, Butler didn’t initially want to be traded to the Warriors. He was trying to muscle his way to the Phoenix Suns because he was more familiar with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Tyus Jones, his former teammate. ‘I wasn’t skeptical of coming here,’ Butler said. ‘I just didn’t talk to anybody. … knew I was going to get this contract no matter what. The people keep talking about it being about the money. How can it be about the money when any team that traded for me, what were they going to do? I just want to win. Where can I go to win?’”
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It is still early, but it seems like Golden State was a better option than Phoenix for Butler anyway. They are in a much better position to compete for a title this year. Additionally, Butler also recently spoke about his fit with the Warriors. The Marquette alum detailed his growth and maturity as a player, which he believes can help the Warriors win a title this year.
“I think I’ve matured a lot and grew into that,” Butler told the media. “Whenever I was young in the league, it was always score, score, score, [and] show everybody that you belong in this league. I know that I belong in this league now. I’m comfortable with who I am as a player. So now it’s always about my guys, whatever you all need me to do. [Draymond Green]’s the same way. Steph’s the same way. All of us that have been in the league for a little bit. It’s only about winning at this point in time in our career, and for them, it always has been. Not the same for me, but now I’m winning.”
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