Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) as a time out is called against the Denver Nuggets during the second quarter at Chase Center. Kelley L Cox Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Despite their ugly breakup, the Miami Heat plans to honor Jimmy Butler.
The Heat is expected to play a tribute video for Butler when he returns to Kaseya Center for the first time since being traded to the Golden State Warriors last month. The Heat hosts Butler and the Warriors on Tuesday at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., TNT).
The Heat reserves tribute videos for players who won an NBA championship or made an All-Star Game while with the team. Butler qualifies because he was selected as an NBA All-Star two times during his time with the Heat.
“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.”
Whether Butler receives boos or cheers from the Kaseya Center crowd Tuesday night remains to be seen, but he has a message for Heat fans who have grown to dislike him in the wake of his contentious exit from Miami.
“I wonder if they look at the Heat the same way,” Butler said. “It ain’t like I was the one who was doing everything. It’s got to be 50-50, maybe 51-49. 49 towards them, 51 towards me. But there’s no way that I was the cause of all of this.”
The Heat traded the disgruntled Butler to the Warriors on Feb. 6. Miami acquired Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick from Golden State, and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors in the deal.
The trade put an end to a damaging few weeks for the team-player relationship between the Heat and Butler. There was a trade request from Butler, three suspensions without pay issued by the Heat and an airing of grievances against each other along the way before the trade.
Butler’s first suspension lasted seven games, his second suspension lasted two games and his third suspension lasted five games before he was dealt to the Warriors.
“Not necessarily,” Butler said when asked if he was surprised that he was suspended by the Heat three times on his way out. “I mean, you can talk about it whenever we talk about it later on. But I think the suspensions are more because they just didn’t want me to be around the team. 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. Yeah, I got some bills. So what, it’s all taken care of.”
According to multiple sources, Butler’s relationship with the team took a turn last offseason when Heat president Pat Riley publicly challenged Butler to be available for more games and the Heat declined to give Butler a two-year, $113 million contract extension.
When asked Monday whether he would still be on the Heat’s roster if the team would have offered him that extension last offseason, Butler gave a one-word answer: “No.”
So, Butler already knew last offseason that his days with the Heat were numbered?
“I mean, pretty much, yes,” Butler, 35, answered. “I knew what direction, how it was going. Nobody ever asked me, though.”
As for his thoughts on the possibility of running into Riley on Tuesday at Kaseya Center, Butler said: “I ain’t got no thoughts. Listen, man, I don’t got nothing to say to nobody. I don’t have no hard feelings. I’m in a better place now for me.”
As part of the move to Golden State, Butler signed a two-year max extension worth $111 million with the Warriors — the same extension that he once wanted from the Heat. This extension will pay Butler $54.1 million next season when he’ll be 36 years old and $56.8 million for the 2026-27 season when he’ll be 37 years old.
Butler has averaged 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his first 19 games with the Warriors. Golden State has posted an impressive 16-3 record when Butler has been available since the trade, but the Warriors could face the Heat without 11-time All-Star guard Stephen Curry.
Curry missed Saturday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks with a pelvic contusion that he suffered last week and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Heat is up in the air. But Curry did practice with the Warriors in Miami on Monday and is listed as questionable for Tuesday’s contest.
“I’m always painted as the bad guy. Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always been the problem,” said Butler, who also went through ugly breakups with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers before arriving to Miami. “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. 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 unfortunate ending to their relationship doesn’t change the fact that Butler established himself as one of the greatest players in Heat history despite never winning an NBA championship during his time in Miami.
Butler, who was traded by the Heat in the middle of his sixth season with the franchise, helped lead the Heat to three Eastern Conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances after joining the team during the 2019 offseason. He was selected for two NBA All-Star Games and made an All-NBA team three times during his first five seasons with the Heat before being dealt to the Warriors this season.
Butler ends his Heat career among the franchise’s all-time career leaders in categories like two-point makes (10th), free throws made (third), free-throw attempts (fourth), assists (eighth), steals (eighth) and points (ninth). He’s also the Heat’s all-time leader in regular-season triple-doubles with 13.
As for the Heat’s all-time playoff records, Butler ranks third in points, third in assists and third in steals behind only Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in each category. Butler also has the most 40-plus point playoff performances (eight) and the only 50-plus point playoff performance in Heat history.
But on Tuesday, Butler returns as the Heat’s opponent … and not on great terms. But there is expected to be a tribute video.
“This is basketball. This is very simple,” Butler said of facing his former team. “I don’t have all the emotions that everybody thinks I’m going to have. Like, it is what it is. I realize that I had some great years here and I’ve built some incredible bonds with some individuals in the organization, in the city, in the state of Florida.
“But I’m going there to hoop, I’m going there to play basketball. Ain’t nothing nobody says, nothing nobody does that’s 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.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 2:45 PM.
