The return of Jimmy Butler cleared nothing up.
After missing seven games with a suspension that followed questions concerning his effort and his public trade request, Butler returned to a Heat team that might have expected fireworks.
Maybe there would be a locker-room incident if the team did not welcome him back; maybe Butler would quit on the court; maybe Butler would channel all that emotion into a dominant game.
Instead, Butler’s first action in over two weeks was nondescript, scoring a solid 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting while generally playing with energy in a 133-113 loss to the Nuggets in Miami on Friday.
Little said, before or after the game, shed further light on the awkward, frayed relationship between star and team. Before the suspension, Butler said he “probably” could not rediscover his joy while playing with the Heat and wanted to be somewhere he could be happy again.
In the weeks since, there have been behind-the-scenes reports, plenty of speculation and little heard from Butler. Butler himself does not want to separate the truth from the rumors.
“There was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth,” Butler told reporters following a defeat during which Heat fans cheered him. “So we’ll let people keep talking like they know everything, like they have all the answers. And then sooner or later the whole truth will come out.
“But until then, we’ll continue to let people talk, and if I’m here, I will get out there and play.”
An ESPN report cited a meeting in which team president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra anointed Bam Adebayo before the 2023-24 season, in which the center was appointed essentially the torch-bearer for “Heat culture” following the retirement of Udonis Haslem.
That meeting, according to the report, is when Butler knew the franchise did not belong to him.
Another ESPN report stated that following the suspension, Butler told Riley he would not sign a new contract with the team and would use his $52 million player option for next season only as a trade maneuver.
Butler did not want to correct or confirm any report.
“I expect for people to talk,” Butler said. “Half the reason is because don’t nobody ever really know what I’m doing, so [they] just make up stuff. Which is fine. And honestly, I really don’t pay any attention to it, but I’ve got people telling me, ‘Oh, they said this, they said that,’ and it’s like it’s really all good.
“I don’t have to clear anything up. So more power to you, keep talking, and we’ll see where we end up.”
