The Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat saga will relived once again on Tuesday. The Golden State Warriors forward will take on his former team for the first time since the Heat traded Butler to the Warriors.
It ended a months-long feud between Butler and Miami team president Pat Riley. While both sides of the argument have been presented, Butler told Anthony Slater via The Athletic that he has a clear message to those who are against him.
“That’s too hard to do,” Butler said. “You can’t control grown men in this line of work. You can try, but I’m going to do what I want to do. I’m going to show up. I’m going to compete and I’m going to help us win.
“So you can be mad. You can paint a picture that is not entirely true. I don’t even need to get into that. They know what they’re doing. You have to paint somebody to be the bad guy. I’ll take being a bad guy. Makes no difference. I’m here now.
“I’m competing at a high level and I’m helping the Golden State Warriors win. They want me here. Hell, I’m cool with being a bad guy over there.”
Jimmy Butler sees the Warriors in favor of the Heat
One of the more interesting notes was how Miami wouldn't grant Butler some of his requests. While the Heat were micromanaged with certain aspects of the game, the Warriors weren't.
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An example would be a headband. It's only a microcosm of what the Warriors are about. They care about winning, camaraderie, and what impacts the game.
Something like a headband isn't that big of a deal. Although Butler's psychotic mentality fit the Heat, that was on the court. Off the court, he wanted to be his own man.
That was something that also caught Butler's attention since he's been in The Bay.
“It’s minuscule and it’s small,” he said. “But if I said I just don’t play well in a red headband, (the Warriors) would say then don’t f—ing wear the red headband. Wear a black one, wear a white one, wear a purple one. I don’t give a f—. Just win the game. That’s how they think.
“And it’s not (so I can) be different. It’s just like, man, this is what makes me feel comfortable. This is what I like. And you can express that, and they’ll be like, ‘OK, cool. Go win.’ That’s what it’s about.”
For Butler, this will likely be just another game. Without Stephen Curry though, there might be more of an incentive to play with more fire than he usually does.