Nearly two months have passed since a trade finalized the messy breakup between Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, but the ugly ending to their time together will be a popular topic of conversation for the next few days.
That’s because Butler is set to return to Miami to face his former team for the first time since the Heat traded him to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 6, as the Heat hosts the Warriors on Tuesday night at Kaseya Center.
With Tuesday’s contest marking the Warriors’ only game during a five-day span, Butler will be in Miami for a while. The Warriors arrived in Miami early Sunday morning and don’t leave Miami until Thursday.
“Another game for me, another game that we’re expected to win, for sure,” Butler said to reporters Saturday night following the Warriors’ loss to the Hawks in Atlanta, downplaying his return to Miami.
But considering the feud between the Heat and Butler played out publicly before the trade, there will be intrigue on how the Heat welcomes Butler back to Miami and how Butler handles his return to Miami.
The Heat suspended Butler three times over the span of a month before trading him to the Warriors in early February. Miami acquired Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick from Golden State, and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors in the deal.
One of the defining moments of Butler’s breakup with the Heat was when he said he lost his “joy” on the court and essentially made it known that he wanted to be traded in early January. Butler was suspended for the first time soon after.
Butler’s first suspension lasted seven games, his second suspension lasted two games and his third suspension lasted five games before he was dealt to the Warriors.
According to multiple sources, Butler’s relationship with the team took a turn last offseason when Heat president Pat Riley publicly challenged Butler to be available for more games and the Heat declined to give Butler a two-year, $113 million contract extension.
“Not really,” Butler, 35, said when asked by reporters Saturday night whether he’s curious to see how the Heat and the South Florida fan base will welcome him back Tuesday. “It don’t make no difference. I’m a member of the Golden State Warriors. I love that fan base. They showed me a lot of love while I was there. But I’m there to win now. I’m on the opposing team.”
As part of the move to Golden State, Butler signed a two-year max extension worth $111 million with the Warriors — the same extension that he once wanted from the Heat. This extension will pay Butler $54.1 million next season when he’ll be 36 years old and $56.8 million for the 2026-27 season when he’ll be 37 years old.
Butler has averaged 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game in his first 19 games with the Warriors. Golden State has posted an impressive 16-3 record when Butler has been available since the trade, but the Warriors could face the Heat without 11-time All-Star guard Stephen Curry.
Curry missed Saturday’s loss to the Hawks with a pelvic contusion that he suffered on Thursday and his status for Tuesday’s game against the Heat is up in the air.
“We have to understand how hard it is to win in this league, home or away, and how even more hard it is to win without Steph,” Butler said Saturday. “We just got to be real with ourselves and not mess around with the game. And like I said after the game, we got to play some damn near perfect basketball without 30 [Curry] out there saving us every night.”
Meanwhile, the Heat has been among the NBA’s worst teams in the league since Butler’s departure. Miami entered Sunday night’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets at Kaseya Center on a 10-game skid and with a dismal 4-17 record since the Butler trade was finalized.
“Whatever jersey I get the opportunity to wear, when I step foot on the court home or away or neutral site, I’m expected to win,” Butler continued. “We’re expected to win. This is no different. Yeah, I was traded from there. Yadda yadda yadda, yeah it didn’t end the way people wanted it to, yadda yadda yadda. But that’s so far behind me now, I don’t even think about it. I don’t pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad.”
The ugly ending to their relationship doesn’t change the fact that Butler established himself as one of the greatest players in Heat history despite never winning an NBA championship during his time in Miami.
Butler, who was traded by the Heat in the middle of his sixth season with the franchise, helped lead the Heat to three Eastern Conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances after joining the team during the 2019 offseason. He was selected for two NBA All-Star Games and made an All-NBA team three times during his first five seasons with the Heat before being dealt to the Warriors this season.
“We were alright,” Butler said Saturday of his time with the Heat. “We didn’t win anything like we were supposed to. So I don’t know. We made some cool runs. We had some fun. But that’s all we did.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat’s leading duo of Bam Adebayo (left knee sprain) and Tyler Herro (left hip contusion) are both listed as questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Hornets at Kaseya Center.
The Heat has already ruled out Josh Christopher (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Dru Smith (left Achilles surgery) and Isaiah Stevens (G League).
The Hornets are without Damion Baugh (G League), Tre Mann (disc herniation), Brandon Miller (right wrist ligament repair), Josh Okogie (left hamstring strain) and Grant Williams (right ACL repair) for Sunday’s game in Miami.
Miami Herald
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Anthony Chiang covers the Miami Heat for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and was born and raised in Miami.