Spoelstra, Heat players reflect on Butler era and assess each of the team’s new players
Friday’s post-practice Heat media session on the banks of the East River in Manhattan delivered a blend of reflection about the end of the Jimmy Butler era and a sense of excitement about the possibilities ahead.
“We were able to bolster our roster in a way that was really creative,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after the team’s morning shootaround at the Basketball City recreation center, a day after Miami finalized a five-team trade that sent Butler to Golden State and former Warriors forwards Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson and ex-Raptors point guard Davion Mitchell to Miami.
“We like the players we added,” Spoelstra said, offering praise to general manager Andy Elisburg and president Pat Riley while speaking hours before team played at Brooklyn. ““Andy just did a tremendous job. Obviously Pat with this vision of all this stuff. And to be able to get a draft pick, we were able to do a lot of different things. We have clarity now. This could have looked a lot worse if you had to go through a lot of different changing situations. All things considered, it’s a good spot for this stretch run. We feel good about turning the page of the direction of our franchise. It’s exciting. [And] Jimmy will be in a great place in Golden State.”
Tyler Herro said he’s “super happy to have the new guys, get past everything going on the last six to eight weeks. It’s kind of refreshing. It’s good to get new energy, new life into the building.”
Here were thoughts offered Friday morning from Spoelstra and several Heat veterans on the players Miami snagged and Butler’s memorable 5 ½ year Heat tenure that included two NBA Finals appearances, three deep playoff appearances, and volatility, drama, three suspensions and a trade request in his final weeks with the franchise.
On Butler
▪ Asked if he felt sadness or disappointment about how the relationship ended, Spoelstra said: “I don’t have to completely understand how we got to this point, but what I can have is a sense of gratitude completely. It was a great partnership and corroboration for five years. Some deep core memories. I’m grateful for them and grateful for the time of being able to coach a player like Jimmy.
“Every once in a while, I flip through my journal from the bubble and get goose bumps when I take myself back to that experience. It’s so intense. From a competitive standpoint, to have a team come together in unique adverse circumstances and to have that real sense of a team and a spirit, those are indelible memories I will treasure the rest of my career and my life. Nothing lasts forever.”
▪ Bam Adebayo, framing Butler’s 5 ½ seasons here: “Obviously, it ended not the way everybody expected it to. But for the five years, we did a lot of things and overachieved and did some things people thought we couldn’t do. We’re all grateful for that.”
▪ Herro, on what he will remember about his time with Butler: “I think it was a great five or six years to be able to play with a guy like that. I came in as a rookie. He took me under his wing.
“I took some things from him and reinvented my own way to help lead this organization in my own way. I thought it was a great five, six years of what we were able to accomplish, obviously not being able to win a championship with him. It’s a new chapter and we feel like we are headed in that direction again.”
Was Herro bothered that Butler’s camp said he felt like he took an undertalented team to the Finals?
“I guess that’s how he feels. He’s done a lot for this organization, great player. Happy he got what he wanted.”
▪ Duncan Robinson, on his podcast: Thank goodness there is a trade deadline because I felt like this would have dragged on forever. A big takeaway of mine is the unfortunate nature of how it all went down. Anyone who is able to look at it objectively would say Jimmy had an incredible stint in Miami. If it wasn’t the best basketball of his career, it was damn near.
“We had some great runs, [teams] that overachieved. There have been great moments, there have been challenging moments. That’s sort of what you get when you get someone as competitive, spirited as he is. He’s a ruthless competitor....
“He’s the only player I’ve seen—or the player who does it the most—where his competitive spirit and will are what separate him. You look at his game, and yeah, he has skill. Obviously, he’s got good footwork, he’s athletic, but there’s nothing extraordinary about anything he does other than his competitive spirit and will. I learned a lot competing with him.”
On Wiggins
▪ Spoelstra said the fact a scout told The Miami Herald that he can play well - and blend in - with anyone is a “beautiful compliment. That should be printed for every player coming into the league that you can play with anyone on both sides of the floor and make it work and be winning basketball. Everything we heard about him from Minnesota to Golden State, he made such a positive impression. And he’s a champion.
“His scoring, putting pressures on defenses, defensively, he’s such a unique, dynamic versatile defender. Fits right into how we defend.”
▪ Robinson: “He’s a super dynamic player. Defensively as someone who’s guarded me in the past, his ability to get deflections. His athleticism and length are really unique. Offensively, his ability to play with the ball, off the ball, cut, offensive rebound, all sorts of things. He’s going to be fun to play with.”
▪ Adebayo: “The athleticism [stands out]. Somebody who’s a champion. He knows what it takes to get there.”
▪ Herro: “He’s obviously a top tier defender. His length, athleticism, offensively a great guy who can catch and shoot and cut and play make with the ball in his hands, can do a little bit of everything. Will help our offense and help us a lot.”
On Mitchell
▪ Spoelstra: “Davion is somebody we’ve been a fan of. You never think you would have an opportunity to get him because he’s a lottery pick. His toughness, competitive spirit is something we admire and respect that out of him. It fits in how we want to play.”
▪ Adebayo: “Mitchell picks up 94 feet [defensively]. He’s going to fit right in with the culture.”
▪ Herro: “Just going up against him, you know the edge and spirit he’s going to bring on that side of the ball. Really competitive. Gets into the ball, gets steals, guards 94 feet and we don’t really have a guy like that that can get in the game and impact the game just on defense.”
▪ Robinson: “He’s a little pit bull, not somebody you want to match up with. It’s going to be fun watch him crawl into guys” defensively.
On Anderson
▪ Spoelstra: “Kyle Anderson is one of the unique role players in this league. I studied him a lot when he was coming out of the draft. His love [for the game], the way he competes and how smart he is. It’s hard to find guys who think the second, third, fourth layer of a situation. His IQ is off the charts. He’s been part of a lot of winning teams; it’s not a coincidence.”
▪ Herro: “I’ve been a fan of him since I’ve first seen him in middle school.”
▪ Robinson: “Matched up with him a bunch. Super high IQ. Has a unique rhythm and pace to the game. Defensively, super active with his hands, deflections and getting his hands on the ball.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 12:40 PM.
