How Heat’s Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler are approaching snowy All-Star Weekend in Cleveland
As most of the Miami Heat’s roster and staff of employees are enjoying the sun during All-Star break, Erik Spoelstra and Jimmy Butler are making the most of their time in the snow.
With the Heat at the top of the Eastern Conference, Spoelstra and his staff are the East’s coaching representatives leading Team Durant in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in frigid Cleveland. Butler was voted in by the head coaches as an East reserve and is playing against the Heat’s coaching staff as a member of Team LeBron.
Spoelstra, his staff and Butler are the Heat’s only All-Star representatives this year.
“It’s just one of gratitude,” Spoelstra said at All-Star Media Day on Saturday afternoon after leading Team Durant through a practice at Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. “The longer you’re in this business, the more you just constantly are reminded and realize how difficult it is. It’s hard to win in this league. It’s hard to be at the top of the conference at any time. You don’t want to take those moments for granted.”
Butler, 32, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“It’s an incredible blessing to be able to be on the court with all of these superstars and crazy talented players,” Butler said Saturday. “I think you’re just thankful that you get the opportunity to play basketball again because it’s not promised to anybody. [This weekend] is a lot, but I don’t complain about it. I think it’s an honor to be able to be an All-Star and go out there and compete with these guys.”
This marks the second All-Star Game that Spoelstra has served as a head coach in, as he also earned the honor in 2013. Butler has been named an All-Star six times during his NBA career, with his first appearance in the showcase game coming in 2015.
Both have come a long way since their All-Star debuts.
Spoelstra, 51, is now married with two children. His wife, Nikki, and their two sons, 3-year-old Santiago and 2-year-old Dante, are with him in Cleveland for his second All-Star appearance.
Santiago and Dante were on the court with Spoelstra for part of Team Durant’s practice on Saturday.
“I don’t want to let these moments pass,” Spoelstra said. “This is a big part of my family’s life is our business. The life of a coach for a family is not the easiest career. The travel, pressure, criticism, all of the above. Our kids are young, so as much as we possibly can, we want them to be a part of this world. As you can see them running around at half court, it’s quite different than my All-Star experience nine years ago.”
Butler has moved around to three different teams since he made his All-Star debut, as his relentless competitive drive rubbed some the wrong way during his previous NBA stops. But he has found a home with the Heat, as he signed an extension this offseason that keeps him under contract with Miami through the 2025-26 season.
“Everybody knows there where that comes from,” Butler said of why he fits with the Heat. “I just want to win like everybody else. Nobody takes anything personal. I think you can always tell the truth no matter what it’s about.
“I never was the bad cop. I was just the truthful guy. People didn’t like the truth because the truth hurts sometimes.”
As Butler answered questions from reporters on Saturday, he stopped and looked at his phone to check a group text thread involving his Heat co-stars Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry.
“Those guys are getting on my nerves,” Butler said. “They’re so happy that I get to be here in Cleveland while it’s snowing and everybody else is in the sunshine. So Spo, this is my sacrifice. You’re always talking about sacrificing, and this is it.”
Spoelstra is making the same sacrifice as he spends All-Star Weekend in snowy Cleveland.
“They all told us that before we left, kind of letting us know where they were going to be and working on their sun tans, which I hope they do,” Spoelstra said with a smile when asked if he has received any photos from his players or staff relaxing on a beach during the break. “We’ve worked extremely hard this season and there’s been a lot of adversities, a lot of things that have been unpredictable. I want our guys to unplug, come back with a major sun tan and get ready for a great push and final run before the playoffs.”
SUPPORT FOR HARDAWAY
Former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway was among the 11 finalists named Friday for possible induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2022 class.
Hardaway, 55, was also a finalist for the Hall of Fame last year but not get in.
During Hardaway’s 13 NBA seasons, he was selected for the All-Star Game five times and also earned All-NBA honors five times. He spent six seasons with the Heat from 1996-2001, averaging 17.3 points while shooting 41 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from three-point range, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals 367 regular-season games.
“I am hopeful,” Spoelstra said of Hardaway’s chances of getting into the Hall of Fame this year. “He has been knocking on the door a few times and I think TMC is being recognized. But Timmy had a Hall of Fame career over the course of his entire career. [Golden State’s] TMC teams were must-see NBA TV and he was a major part of that. Then with us, he really put the Miami Heat, along with Pat and [Alonzo Mourning], on the map and changed the culture.”
The entire Class of 2022 will be announced on April 2 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Hall of Fame.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Of playing against Spoelstra and his staff in Sunday’s All-Star Game, Butler laughed and said: “I’m glad I get to be with a real coach like coach Monty Williams. It’s going to be fun. I’m going to talk some trash to him and I can’t get in trouble for it because he is the enemy for at least this weekend. So I’ll definitely take advantage of that.”
Spoelstra joked that he’s going “to throw the kitchen sink” at Butler with “box and one, triangle and two, full-court press and some things that I probably can’t even think of right now.”
▪ A large chunk of Spoelstra’s staff was involved in the Rising Stars event that helped kick off All-Star Weekend on Friday night. Heat assistants Chris Quinn, Caron Butler, Malik Allen, Eric Glass and Anthony Carter, and video coordinator Dan Bisaccio coached in the four-team tournament.
