Heat coach Erik Spoelstra understands importance of relationship with Jimmy Butler
As the Heat’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra understands the importance of his relationship with Jimmy Butler. And Butler gets it, too, as he enters his first season with the organization.
“This relationship between our highest-paid player and the head coach is the most important one in this building,” Spoelstra said of Butler, who signed a four-year, $142 million maximum contract with the Heat in July. “He understands that clearly.”
But the Heat is still less than a week into practices, with training camp at Keiser University in West Palm Beach set to wrap up Saturday before the team returns to AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday for its annual Red, White & Pink Game intrasquad scrimmage.
So, Spoelstra and Butler are still very much learning about each other.
“I found it funny that he’s really into country music,” Spoelstra said with a grin, when asked what he has learned about Butler since the Heat acquired him in July.
As for Butler, he has learned Spoelstra is really into a specific brand of shoes.
“His Jordan collection is really up there,” Butler said. “He comes in with a different pair of Js every day. I’m impressed.”
Spoelstra and Butler began laying the foundation for their coach-player relationship weeks ago, though. They shared dinners and a few FaceTime and phone conversations this summer.
“I think it’s going great,” Butler said of his relationship with Spoelstra. “He’s truly making me feel comfortable, right at home. Like this is a place for me. We talk about a lot of different things. Obviously basketball, but he makes sure my transition here, my family, my people are good. Outside of basketball, he’s a legit person and he wants to make sure I’m good as a person. But he wants to make sure I’m good as a basketball player, as well.”
Spoelstra and Butler share mutual connections. New Heat assistant coach Malik Allen coached Butler when he was on the Timberwolves’ coaching staff last season, and recently retired Heat guard Dwyane Wade is close friends with Butler.
While Spoelstra asked Allen and Wade questions about Butler, he purposely stayed away from asking too many questions.
“I tend to try to find out about people by personally getting to know them and not having some kind of bias before knowing them,” Spoelstra said.
The relationship between Spoelstra and the Heat’s highest-paid player has been the subject of headlines before.
Former Heat center Hassan Whiteside was Miami’s highest-paid player before he was dealt to the Trail Blazers this offseason as part of the four-team Butler trade. Whiteside publicly expressed frustration about his role with the Heat during his time in Miami, as he complained multiple times about playing time and even drew a fine for an expletive-filled rant in 2018.
The hope is there won’t be the need for those type of headlines when it comes to the Spoelstra-Butler relationship.
“So much of this league is about the right fit, and that’s not just for players,” Spoelstra said. “It’s also for organizations, to find that kind of alignment, where you share the same kind of values, where you share the same standards in how you approach the game, and that is what we felt about Jimmy. We always respected him as a competitor when he was on other teams, and we felt that he would fit in this environment at the end of the day. We feel like we speak the same language.”
How has Spoelstra approached his first season coaching Butler?
“Just start the process of being intentional of building that relationship,” Spoelstra said. “There’s not a science to it. Yeah, there will be some opportunities to break some bread, but ultimately it will be about building the relationship when the games become real. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this league is about. Developing a trust and a connection with each other to be able to come together and help this group get to a higher level.”
The list of Butler’s former head coaches include Tom Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg and Brett Brown. None of them have won an NBA championship as a head coach like Spoelstra.
“It’s been cool. It’s been easy. Just go out there and hoop, man, and play hard,” Butler said of playing for Spoelstra. “Put the time in before, after and during practice. That’s all they ask of me and everybody else on this team. ... But he is one that’s out there in the trenches with you, sweating, yelling, all of that good stuff. It makes it easier to go out there and do it.”
Butler admitted last week that he hated the Heat when he was in Chicago. And Spoelstra responded by telling Butler during one of their first dinners together that the Heat hated going against him, as well.
“We love each other now, though,” Butler said. “All that hate is in the past.”
