MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler said he needs to find joy again on the basketball court. And when asked if he could find that joy in Miami, he had a two-word answer.
“Probably not,” he said.
The relationship between Butler and the Heat, which has been a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks, appears to have deteriorated further. On Thursday night, the Heat lost 128-115 to Indiana, with Butler scoring exactly nine points for the second straight game and playing exactly zero seconds in the fourth quarter. The same thing happened Wednesday against New Orleans.
“What do you want to see happen? I want to see me get the joy back from playing basketball,” Butler said. “Wherever that is, we’ll see in a second, but I want to get my joy back. Off the court I’m happy here, but I want to get back to being dominant. I want to do that, and I want to help this team win. Right now, I’m not doing that.”
Butler has not asked for a trade — ESPN reported on Christmas Day that Butler wanted to be traded before the Feb. 6 deadline — and the Heat announced last week that they would not trade Butler. In response, we took some very unusual measures.
Thursday’s game was clearly not a typical Butler performance. He spent most of the possession primarily in the corner of the attack, taking just six shots in 27 minutes. He took five shots from the floor Wednesday. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra essentially put Butler at point guard for part of the third quarter to jumpstart things. It didn’t work.
“Obviously he’s frustrated because he’s standing in the corner,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said. “I mean, he has a lot going on in his corner. For us, as our coach always says, what’s important is what’s important. We’re trying to win. I’m playing and that’s all that matters.”
Butler said he felt focused and accomplished Thursday, adding, “At least what my job is now.”
“That’s not something I’m used to,” Butler said. “I haven’t had anything like that since my first, second and third year in the league. There I was just going out there and playing defense. I competed. I defended. That’s what I’m doing now. That’s what I’m doing.”
Butler was the best player on the Heat’s two teams that reached the NBA Finals. He was eligible for a two-year, $113 million contract extension starting last summer, but Miami has yet to offer the 35-year-old a new contract. Butler has a $52 million player option for next season and could leave Miami as a free agent this summer if he remains with the team past the trade deadline.
Spoelstra has said multiple times that he wants Butler to stay in Miami, and said he believes the nine-point loss in consecutive games was partly due to Butler missing nearly two weeks due to illness. Wednesday was Butler’s first game back after that stretch.
“It’s important to be aggressive,” Spoelstra said in response to Butler’s postgame comments. “We’ve got to figure it out. You know what? He’s got to figure it out. We’ve got to figure it out.”
Butler insisted he would continue to compete.
“Whether we score nine points or 29 points, we’re going to fight for the win either way,” Butler said. “I compete. That’s one thing I’ll say. I wouldn’t say I’m not playing hard. Because my usage is down and I’m not shooting the ball as much. It may seem that way, but we’re not going to sit here and say I’m not playing hard.”
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