Butler’s agent has message for Heat and Miami: ‘My hope is Tuesday is cathartic for everyone’
Jimmy Butler produced a lot of memorable moments at Kaseya Center during his Miami Heat tenure. Butler will be part of another memorable night at Kaseya Center on Tuesday, but this time as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
After Butler’s ugly breakup with the Heat resulted in a trade to the Warriors on Feb. 6, Butler returns to Kaseya Center to face his former team on Tuesday night for the first time since the move to Golden State. Despite the contentious ending to their relationship, the Heat is expected to play a tribute video to honor Butler when Warriors starters are announced just before tipoff between Miami and Golden State.
“My hope is Tuesday is cathartic for everyone,” Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, said to the Miami Herald ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup between the Heat and Warriors. “If you have some anger in your heart, get it out. Get it all out. But once that’s all released, my hope is we get to the next step, which is appreciation. Appreciation for a pretty incredible five years together.
“One unfortunate aspect of sports is the amount of change. Nothing ever stays the same and everything has a time limit. We hit ours, but once we get a bit of distance from the separation, what will hopefully remain is a really immense feeling of accomplishment and the profound connection Jimmy had with this city and community at large. He was the right person at the right time. And over time, I think more and more, we will all see and appreciate that.”
The Warriors definitely appreciate what Butler has added to their roster since acquiring him from the Heat. Golden State held a middling 25-26 record when the trade for Butler was finalized on Feb. 6, but the Warriors entered Tuesday’s game in Miami with an impressive 16-3 record in games that Butler has played in since the move was made.
“He has been amazing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Butler before Tuesday’s contest. “He’s one of the best players in the league. He has instantly transformed our team. We’re 16-4 since we got him. He’s a very unique talent. He’s a superstar, but he’s a subtle superstar. He doesn’t wow you with his leaping ability or shooting prowess or speed. It’s just his brute strength and his brain. He is one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. His ability to just generate open shot after open shot is impressive and he’s obviously a great two-way player. He’s a hell of a defender and we’re lucky to have him.”
Butler entered Tuesday’s matchup against the Heat averaging 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field in his first 19 games with the Warriors. He has already recorded two triple-doubles since being dealt to Golden State.
“I think the subtle nature of his game is more easy to appreciate when you see it every day,” Kerr continued on Butler. “So it’s the consistency of the effort, the energy, the style of play, the way he pulls his teammates aside to advise them, talk to them. The way he plays one on one with them after practice to try to help them get better. He’s an amazing teammate and he’s a pro. He’s ready to work every single day, so it has been a joy to coach him.”
Even though the Warriors’ offense is still built around the three-point shooting of 11-time All-Star Stephen Curry, Kerr made clear that the scheme has changed a bit since Butler arrived.
“Jimmy is analytically the No. 1 ISO player in the league, so we’re going to iso,” Kerr said. “We’ve never been an iso team, but we are going to iso because that’s what our personnel tells us we should do. So what we’re working on is spacing around Jimmy, making sure we’re in the right spots.
“Jimmy is a very unique iso player because of his strength. He’s just a brute force when he’s coming into the paint and downhill. His footwork is amazing — jump stop, pivot, bodies are flying around and then he finds shooters all the time. So spacing is paramount.”
It has worked out for the Warriors so far.
“As soon as [Butler] got here, we started winning,” Kerr added. “And it wasn’t anything about strategy, it was about the guys learning how to play around him. That’s what we have to focus on. It actually simplifies things, as long as we’re spaced well, just get him the ball and he’s going to get us a good shot.”
THE WIGGINS STORYLINE
The Heat acquired Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick from the Warriors, and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors in the Butler trade.
That means Wiggins and Anderson will also be facing their former team on Tuesday. While this was only Anderson’s first season with the Warriors, Wiggins spent parts of six seasons with Golden State before being dealt to Miami last month.
Along with playing a big role in the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship, Wiggins also made the only NBA All-Star Game appearance of his career up to this point during his time with the Warriors in 2022.
“We’re all thrilled to see Wiggs,” Kerr said. “Wiggs is one of my favorite guys. I wish we still had [to play] Miami in the Bay. So that will have to wait until next year. But Wiggs will get an enormous standing ovation when he returns to the Bay in front of our fans, both for his contributions and just for his humanity, who he is, what kind of person he is. He’s beloved in our locker room and throughout the Bay.”
COFFEE SHOP HERE TO STAY
With the Warriors’ schedule allowing them to stay in Miami from Sunday until Thursday, Butler has spent a lot of time at his BIGFACE coffee shop in the Design District this week.
Butler said Monday his first brick-and-mortar coffee shop in Miami will remain open despite being traded to the Warriors. The cafe’s grand opening was held in early December.
“The shop ain’t going nowhere,” Butler said. “Coffee, myself, being around the locals, that’s worldly. That has nothing to do with basketball.”
Butler added that he’s planning to open more shops around the world.
“Definitely in the Bay,” he said. “But we’re talking all around the world. We got some big things coming very soon.”
INJURY REPORT
Duncan Robinson will not play on Tuesday against the Warriors because of lower back pain. It marks the first game Robinson has missed since Feb. 12 and the fourth game he has missed this season.
The Heat also remains without Josh Christopher (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Dru Smith (Achilles surgery) and Isaiah Stevens (G League) on Tuesday.
The rest of the Heat’s roster is expected to be available to play against the Warriors.
The Warriors will be without All-Star guard Stephen Curry (left pelvic contusion) against the Heat on Tuesday.
The rest of the Warriors’ roster is expected to be available for Tuesday’s game in Miami.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 10:42 AM.
