Here’s the impression Butler has left on Miami Heat teammates. And an Olynyk update

The Heat’s indoctrination to life with Jimmy Butler has begun in earnest, and the experience already has left quite the impression.

For rookie guard Tyler Herro, it meant getting to the gym by 4 a.m. last week to make sure he wasn’t late, by Butler standards.

For all of the Heat’s young veterans, it has meant being ready to be challenged to improve, and not taking it personally if the message is delivered forcefully.

And for coach Erik Spoelstra, it has entailed several dinners and phone calls with Butler this summer, because, as Spoelstra says: “The relationship between the highest paid player and the head coach is the most important one in this building.”

Heat center Meyers Leonard’s suspicions about Butler’s work ethic were reinforced last week when “I got here at about 6:05 one morning, and Jimmy’s in a full sweat, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Damn, I thought I was going to be the first guy working out.’

“I was with a couple of the young guys. That’s impressive to me. That’s a superstar and a guy you can count on and is clearly ready to put the work in and carry the load.”

Leonard was also struck that “Jimmy says hello to everybody when he comes in. People think, ‘he’s whatever, rough around the edges or too tough on people.’ [But] it’s about winning. It’s a business.”

For Herro, the 4 a.m. workouts have been “just like a noon workout,” he said. “Jimmy treats it as a normal time of the day for him. He’s intense. He just wants to win. He’s not a bad guy like everyone thinks he is. He’s a really good teammate. For him to take me under his wing early on just means a lot to me. He’s a really good guy.”

Swingman Derrick Jones Jr. said this group of players is well-equipped to react favorably if Butler challenges them in workouts, as he’s famously known for.

“We’ve seen that already; I love it,” Jones said. “That’s the type of team we are. We all talk. We never take anything personal. If somebody says your jump shot is broke, it’s not to say it maliciously. Somebody is saying that to get in your head [to improve]. If you need somebody to push you, he’s going to push you. And we’ll push him. Adding Jimmy was the piece we need. It’s going to be great.”

Bam Adebayo said Butler “has really challenged” Herro in pickup games before Herro was guarding Butler, and Butler said he likes that Herro talks back to him.

“I guess that’s who I am,” Herro said. “But for Jimmy to be able to take that, knowing he’s not soft-skinned either is good.”

As far as what they’re getting on the court with Butler, “he’s top 15 in this planet, has proven himself to be one of the elite two-way players in this league,” Spoelstra said in his first public comments about Butler since he agreed to terms June 30.

“He’s one of the underrated playmakers in this league. [His nickname] Jimmy Buckets sells him short. He’s not just a bucket maker.”

The biggest components Butler brings? “That two-way mentality,” forward Kelly Olynyk said. “That fire he brings is going to ignite everybody around him.”

Said guard Dion Waiters, who joined one of those 4 a.m. Butler workouts: “He’s going to raise that competition level. He brings a different type of energy. You know he’s going to challenge you. We need that.”

Will Butler be the Heat’s leader? “He better,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not just about the paycheck.... When we first went to dinner, he told us, ‘Man, we hated you.’ I said the thing you underestimated about us, ‘We hated you, too. Seriously.’ “

THIS AND THAT

▪ Olynyk will miss the start of camp with a bone bruise on his right knee — an injury sustained playing for Team Canada in August — but said he hopes to “get back at the end of preseason. Hopefully a couple weeks.”

Olynyk said he believes “our pieces will fit together the best they have since I’ve been here.”

▪ Justise Winslow reiterated that he would love to play point guard but will do whatever is asked of him said he doesn’t want this portrayed as a Winslow vs. Goran Dragic issue, noting they’re friends.

And Dragic said he wasn’t bothered by Winslow’s comments: “That’s not a big deal at all. I know as a person how he is. He just wants to win.”

Said Spoelstra, of Winslow’s role: “Will the ball be in his hands? Yes. But you better believe Goran Dragic will have a big impact on the ball. That’s what he does best, and that’s where he’s been an All-Star.”

▪ On his four-year contract extension, Spoelstra said: “I take this responsibility very seriously. I’m honored about it and can’t wait to get to work with this team.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 4:15 PM.