Amid Butler saga, Spoelstra delivers message to players. And players discuss impact on team
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra delivered a pointed message to his team amid the chaos and instability created by the ongoing saga involving disgruntled Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who is missing a road swing to Milwaukee and Brooklyn while serving a two-game team suspension.
The essence: You can’t allow this to distract you.
“The point I made to our team is get used to it,” Spoelstra said. “Get over it. This is the NBA life. This is the life we chose. If you think it’s just going to be predictable, you’re really mistaken. It takes a mental fortitude and commitment to focus on the task at hand. Nothing changes with what the task is. We have enough continuity. We know what our identity is at this point. You can make any excuses you want to. We get to do what we love.”
Are Xs and Os impacted by Butler’s availability?
“Of course,” Spoelstra said. “That’s part of the job. We’ve had this happen all season long. We know the exercise and what we need to do to make those adjustments.”
Reporters were again told by the team that Spoelstra would not be answering specific questions about Butler, whose name was not mentioned during the coach’s media availability after the team’s shootaround at Fiserv Forum on Thursday.
Tyler Herro, asked about the Butler saga, said: “We all know everything that’s going on. Not much to talk about.”
What’s it like bouncing between different styles of play, depending on whether Butler is available?
“What do you think?” Herro said. “It’s probably not the easiest to work with someone who’s in and out in any job.” But Herro quickly added: “We love Jimmy. We love for him to be here. I love Jimmy.”
Has the situation been disruptive? “I don’t think disruptive is the word,” Duncan Robinson said. “It is what it is at this point.”
Bam Adebayo indicated the team is dealing with it fine: “We keep the main thing the main thing. That’s between him and the management and we let that be that. The rest of us, we worry about how we get wins. Next guy up is our mentality. We’ve been preaching that for how long at this point?”
Kevin Love, one of the team leaders, said his message to teammates would be: “Whether he’s with us or not, focus on what we have here and put positive energy forward. Stay in the time we’re in now, stay present, don’t listen to the noise. Just focus on winning and pouring into the team.”
Love also maintained that the situation hasn’t been disruptive to players: “There’s a lot of noise in the world we live in now. You don’t escape that. It’s been a chance for us to get in a foxhole together and work toward winning games. Winning cures all.”
In administering Butler’s second suspension of the month, the Heat cited a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing [Wednesday’s] team flight to Milwaukee.” Butler was willing to fly separately, but the Heat told him not to bother, opting to suspend him instead.
The Heat continues efforts to try to trade Butler before the Feb. 6 trade deadline and discussions with multiple teams remain ongoing but nothing was imminent as of midday Thursday, per a source. There are teams interested beyond Phoenix, which has had difficulty putting a deal together because of the unwillingness of any team to take the contract of Bradley Beal.
Meanwhile, while the Heat traveled to Milwaukee on Wednesday night, Butler attended a social event, showing up unexpectedly to the Reserve Cup draft and dinner hosted by Moncayo Ocean Club at a private residence in Miami. The Reserve Cup is a competition for the world’s best padel players, and Butler is serving as the honorary chairman for a third time. NFL receiver Jerry Jeudy and former receiver Brandon Marshall also attended the event.
Herro back
▪ Herro said he plans to play Thursday against the Bucks after missing his first game of the season, due to a groin injury, on Tuesday against Portland:
“I should be able to go. Definitely ready to roll tonight. Just want to get back tonight and start a new little streak.”
▪ Spoelstra made clear that playing Adebayo and Kel’el Ware together does not “absolve the responsibilities of our perimeter players. Our perimeter players have to take the challenge in pick and roll basketball. That’s what this league is now. You can’t die on screens, leave it all to the bigs.
“When we really are at our best, our perimeter players are competing on the ball and doing their job.... Our defense is 12th right now. We need to get to another level.”
▪ Point guard Isaiah Stevens, on a two-way contract, joined the team in Milwaukee and was available for Thursday’s game.
Here are 12 notes and nuggets about the Butler situation.
This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 12:59 PM.
