Jimmy Butler was an easy get for NBA Finals-bound Heat
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) ā It was June 30, 2019. The Miami Heat had an evening all planned out for their recruitment of free agent Jimmy Butler, down to every detail. They greeted him with music from Irish singer Dermot Kennedy, one of his favorites. A buffet dinner was set up, tables overlooking the water of Biscayne Bay. They had players-turned-executives Shane Battier and Alonzo Mourning there to talk about what itās like to be part of the Heat.
And then it was time to go inside, break into a smaller group, get down to business and give him the sales pitch. Butler never let Heat President Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra even get started. There was no need. Heād already picked Miami. He just hadnāt told them yet.
āI was like, āIām home,āā Butler said.
The machinations of a sign-and-trade followed before things could be official, but just like that, the Heat had a new star and newfound hope. Season 1 of the Butler era in Miami will end on a stage that heās never been before ā the NBA Finals. The Heat are Eastern Conference champions and play the West champ Los Angeles Lakers in a title series that starts Wednesday night.
āTo be able to get somebody like Jimmy Butler was one of the most amazing recruiting visits weāve ever had,ā Spoelstra said. āLast June, it was so conversational, and you just felt like after 20 minutes that we were so aligned in how we viewed competition and work and culture, everything. We never even got into a pitch with him. We really just had dinner.ā
Butler was Miamiās leading scorer in the regular season, made the All-NBA team and is averaging 20.7 points through the first 15 games of this postseason ā 0.2 behind Goran Dragic for the team lead, which couldnāt be of less consequence to Butler. He doesnāt just tell teammates that he doesnāt care about getting credit for things. He demands they claim the credit, want the credit, step up and take big shots.
āHe came in and bought into the system,ā said Heat center Bam Adebayo, who led the way in the East-clinching Game 6 win over Boston on Sunday night with 32 points and 14 rebounds. āHe didnāt care if he scored. You know, youāve got to think about that. A lot of max players, they donāt have the ball, they get upset. I appreciate Jimmy because at the end of the day, we feed off each other.ā
Butler is, for lack of a better word, difficult. Heās headstrong. Heās driven. He likes things his way. The Heat have not, and will not, try to change that. He fits perfectly into what Spoelstraās calls the franchiseās DNA, its fabric, its mantra of not apologizing for who and what the Heat are and what the program that Riley built stands for. With some teams, Butler hasnāt been an ideal fit. With Miami, the biggest problem Spoelstra has had with Butler is when he was luring teammates to the gym too early for workouts; turns out, even for the hard-work-loving Heat, a 3:30 a.m. session before a training camp practice is frowned upon.
āBut you want to run a practice and compete, Jimmy is going to make sure that thatās going to go to a different level,ā Spoelstra said. āBecause he canāt do anything without competing fiercely ā and doing whatever it takes to win.ā
Longtime Miami star Dwyane Wade is close with Butler, and Wade's retirement at the end of last season left an obvious best-player-on-the-team void to be filled. Heād been filling Butlerās head for years with talk about how the Heat way ā the ācultureā that they love speaking of ā was the perfect fit for him. Wade is a Marquette guy, like Butler. They were teammates briefly in Chicago. Butler doesnāt trust many people. Wade has his trust.
Butler never doubted that Wade would be right. The fit was perfect in Miami.
āWhat this whole thing comes down to is being wanted, being appreciated for what you bring to the table,ā Butler said. āAnd as Iāve said time and time again, as Spo constantly says, weāre not for everybody. Iām not for everybody, but here I am.ā
Butler carried a ābad teammateā label in Minnesota. His stay in Philadelphia ā sent there early last season ā didnāt last long, and the Heat convincing the 76ers to do their part in the sign-and-trade that brought Butler to Miami after that waterside dinner was not difficult. (Finding other teams to help facilitate the deal was, but the Heat got it done.) In Miami, they laugh about the notion that Butler is a locker-room problem.
Dragic and Butler will talk about soccer all day; Butler has even learned a little Slovenian, his point guardās native language, just to show him that he cares. Rookie guard Tyler Herro had a 37-point game earlier in the East finals; Butler showed up for work the next day wearing Herroās high school jersey. The Heat had a little party early Monday morning to celebrate making the finals; Butler showed up for that in a University of Portland jersey bearing Spoelstraās name on the back and the No. 30 that he wore there as a guard 30 years ago.
This is what he wanted. The NBA Finals are his reward.
āI always just wanted to win, do whatever it took to win,ā Butler said. āNobody is taking it personally because we all have the same agenda. Itās not for stats. Itās not for fame. Itās not for none of that. Itās to win a championship. My leadership style, it works here.ā
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