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Report: Jimmy Butler caused ‘discomfort’ in Heat locker room at times

On paper, the Jimmy Butler era was an incredibly successful time for the Miami Heat, even if it didn’t produce a championship. Butler starred for the Heat for five-plus seasons, and they reached a pair of NBA Finals in that span plus an additional Eastern Conference Finals.

Winning was a constant during the Butler era, but apparently, that didn’t always lead to a perfect locker room. Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan J. Skolnick, someone who’s long covered the team, shared that there was “discomfort” in the locker room at points throughout the Butler era.

“I’ll just say it — when I was in the locker room, there would be discomfort at times,” Skolnick said. “Jimmy controlled the music always, okay? Nobody else could touch it. And I remember being in Orlando for a trip that he didn’t take.”

Skolnick’s colleague Greg Sylvander then jumped in and acknowledged that Butler’s taste in music didn’t align with the rest of the team’s.

“They don’t listen to the same music, Jimmy and the team,” Sylvander said.

Skolnick responded.

“No, no, and finally there was hip-hop,” Skolnick said of the aforementioned Orlando trip. “Thank God, okay? I know you’re gonna be surprised that I say this, but I hate country music. But it’s ’cause Jimmy wasn’t there. It was like they were unleashed to be themselves and enjoy the music that they like and not have to worry about this guy controlling it.

“And I’ll just tell you in some ways, Jimmy was more controlling of that stuff than LeBron [James] ever was. And I know that LeBron, LeBron would get — they always had this battle about LeBron and Dwyane [Wade], who was gonna control the music and the locker room and all this sorta stuff. But it was more egalitarian at times.”

Sylvander noted that back when James and Wade were with the team, even if they were in charge of the music, they played songs that their other teammates liked.

Skolnick then took a seemingly playful jab at Butler’s taste in music and added a positive note about the current Heat.

“Jimmy had horrible musical taste, okay?” Skolnick said. “So, maybe that’s part of it, but — it’s the worst, although he turned me on to a couple of decent artists, but yeah, it was — this feels a little bit more like they’re all kinda in this together, and they’re growing together.”

Butler made it clear during the 2024-25 season that he wanted out of Miami, and by the time the trade deadline rolled around in February, he was no longer a member of the team he enjoyed so many of his signature NBA moments with.

The Heat acquired three players and a first-round pick in the Butler deal, and some of those players project to be key contributors in the coming season.

Miami decided to ink floor general Davion Mitchell to a new deal this summer after he came over in the trade, and with guard Tyler Herro set to miss time to start the campaign, maybe he’ll usher in the season as the team’s starting point guard.

Meanwhile, forward Andrew Wiggins is perhaps the best player the Heat acquired in the deal, and his championship pedigree could help them turn some heads in a weak Eastern Conference. Wiggins won a championship with the Golden State Warriors back in 2022 and was easily one of their best players during their championship run.

The other player Miami acquired in the deal was forward Kyle Anderson, who’s no longer with the team. However, the Heat used the first-round pick they acquired in the trade to pick up rookie Kasparas Jakucionis, who could certainly be a contributor this season and beyond.

Maybe the Heat will play with a newfound level of chemistry and camaraderie now that Butler is with them no longer.

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