Why Butler downplayed Philadelphia return. And Adebayo eager for Richardson reunion
The Miami Heat’s two-game trip is somewhat of a reunion tour for Jimmy Butler.
The trip began Friday against the Bulls, an organization that Butler spent the first six seasons of his NBA career with, and ends Saturday against the 76ers, an organization he finished last season with following a midseason trade from the Timberwolves. The 30-year-old Butler is in his first season with the Heat.
“He’s at a different space right now,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked what the trip means to Butler. “I’m sure it always is important, so I do want to honor that and I want the guys to honor that. When you play a long period of time in a certain uniform, it means something. He gave a lot to [the Bulls], quite similar to Goran [Dragic] in Phoenix.
“But I think Jimmy would agree that we have a bigger thing in mind right now and that’s playing good basketball. We have a great opportunity to keep moving forward and do it on the road.”
Butler admitted that returning to Chicago is meaningful for him.
“It’s always special. This is where I started,” said Butler, who the Bulls traded to the Timberwolves during the 2017 offseason. “This is like when I was a kid at the age of 21 and I was fortunate to be able to play in front of these wonderful fans and this great city. ... This is always home. I still have places here, so I’m here throughout the summer all the time. I’ll always have love for this city. That will never change.”
But when asked following Friday morning’s shootaround session about Saturday’s return to Philadelphia and the possible reception he may get at Wells Fargo Center, Butler didn’t want to look that far ahead. He left the 76ers to join the Heat as a free agent this past summer.
“Let me tell you something, I’ve learned so many times in this league that you don’t overlook any team,” Butler said. “So we’re not even worried about Philly come [Saturday]. We got to take care of this game tonight against the Chicago Bulls, man. ... We’ll worry about Philly literally come [Saturday].”
Butler hasn’t offered many details about his decision to leave the 76ers, which advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season. Instead, he has pointed to how the Heat’s hard-working culture appealed to him.
“Stuff just don’t work out. Nobody knows what really went on in Philly and we’re going to leave it that way,” Butler said to Yahoo Sports earlier this month. “But it was a great opportunity for me.”
When pressed for details, Butler said to Yahoo Sports: “Just go with your gut. You’re not dumb. All of that will come out whenever it’s time. Right now is not the time. I’m locked in with this. I’m happy, man. I’m smiling and my guys want me to be here, my organization wants me to be here.”
Butler entered Friday’s game against the Bulls averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and seven assists this season. He also owns a team-best plus/minus of plus-102, which is the 12th-best plus-minus in the league.
“I love it,” Butler said of playing for the Heat. “I got to pick where I wanted to go, so of course I’m going to pick where makes me happy and that was that. ... It fits me. I’m allowed to be me and that’s why I’m out here smiling because ‘me’ may be wrong to a lot of people, but here ‘me’ is good enough.
“I’m happy, man. We’re out here winning. We’re competing at a high level. The organization is great, people around it, teammates, everything is phenomenal right now.”
A Richardson reunion
Heat center Bam Adebayo didn’t mind looking ahead to Saturday’s matchup against the 76ers, specifically a matchup against former Heat teammate Josh Richardson.
The Heat traded Richardson, who has been dealing with a hip injury, to the 76ers as part of the sign-and-trade transaction that brought Butler to Miami. Richardson, 26, spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Heat after being drafted 40th overall in 2015.
“It will be a little weird,” Adebayo said. “He might accidentally pass me the ball. It’s going to be a good matchup, just going out there and playing against your brother. He came from this, so we kind of know how he plays and he knows our schemes. It just depends on how everybody feels.”
Even though they’re on different teams, the friendship between Adebayo and Richardson keeps them connected.
“We call each other from time to time,” Adebayo said. “We probably talk to each other twice a week, two times a week, three times a week, just depending. But he’s doing well.
“He likes it and it’s a difference for him. He’s not used to that [Philadelphia] weather. He’s starting to use his heat in his car now. But it’s all good. It’s going to be a fun matchup. I’m looking forward to it. I wish we would stay over, so I could just talk trash a little bit.”
An appeal
The National Basketball Players Association filed an appeal of Dion Waiters’ two team-issued suspensions this season, a league source confirmed.
Waiters is currently serving a 10-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team and was also suspended for the first game of the season, for what the team called unprofessional conduct. The appeal is over wages lost, with both suspensions costing Waiters about $913,000 in salary.
The appeal was not made to get Waiters on the court sooner and does not include an attempt to recover the $1.2 million bonus he missed out on for appearing in at least 70 of Miami’s 82 games. He served the sixth game of his 10-game suspension Friday, and he will be eligible to play again in the Heat’s road matchup against the Nets on Dec. 1.
▪ Heat forwards Justise Winslow (concussion), Derrick Jones Jr. (strained left hip) and KZ Okpala (strained left Achilles) did not travel with the team for its two-game trip.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 2:05 PM.
