MIAMI — Jimmy Butler didn’t bother to take one look back in the direction of his old bench, his old mates, or that old floor that he set afire for many a spring night.
The emotion of Tuesday night, his return to Miami after an electric and combustible five-and-a-half-year run, was more muted than overwhelming. It wasn’t even smoldering.
“It was behind me a long time ago,” Butler said. “As soon as I ended up a Golden State Warrior, everything that went on was dead.”
There was life somewhere, and the Miami Heat found it — the game meant more to them than it seemed to Butler, as the two franchises have gone in opposite directions since the shocking deal was made over a month ago.
The Warriors have been injected with new life since adding Butler, no longer feeling like fodder for the top of the West, and despite this modest two-game losing streak they believe they are as much of a contender as anyone this side of Oklahoma City.
Miami has been in a tailspin since giving Butler the trade he first requested, then essentially demanded — hence why the warm and fuzzies weren’t even on display in the short tribute video the franchise delivered upon his introduction.
Butler had no words for any of his former mates except Kevin Love in the pregame, and a dap to Alec Burks seconds before the opening tip. Nothing toward Erik Spoelstra, who would only go so far down memory lane in the pregame — no emotional hug or grab of the shoulders.
Nothing for Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro, although there was some extra physicality in their matchups as it seemed Adebayo wanted to guard Butler, starting out on him and trailing him through the night.
He certainly had nothing for Pat Riley, the Heat czar who brought him to Miami in 2019, the man whose words at the end of last season stung Butler to the core, the man who refused to give Butler the contract extension he desired.
“I got a lot of love for the city, the fan base here,” Butler said. “The video was nice. I won’t say there’s a lot of emotions. I came into this thing levelheaded.”
After a franchise altering trade, former Heat teammates Jimmy Butler and Bam…
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