Hate it or Love it: Jimmy Butler

[UnFadeable21]

Hate it or Love it, Jimmy Butler is a dog and a winner.

He left the Wolves and we suck.

He left the Sixers and they got swept in the first round.

Miami Heat swept the Pacers and just beat the reigning MVP and the bucks.

[Style]

Gonna go with Hate It.

[witljon]

Gonna go with Hate It.

Gonna go with Good for him, but don't care.

[bubu dubu.]

Miami was a good fit for Jimmy. A place where he could go and be undisputed as the leader. The rest of that roster has really fallen in line too. That whole roster is a bunch of underdogs with chips on their shoulders. Outside of aging vet Iguodala, I believe the highest drafted player on that team is Herro at #13.

[SHAFA]

Miami was a good fit for Jimmy. A place where he could go and be undisputed as the leader. The rest of that roster has really fallen in line too. That whole roster is a bunch of underdogs with chips on their shoulders. Outside of aging vet Iguodala, I believe the highest drafted player on that team is Herro at #13.

Yep.

[T_J]

Miami was a good fit for Jimmy. A place where he could go and be undisputed as the leader. The rest of that roster has really fallen in line too. That whole roster is a bunch of underdogs with chips on their shoulders. Outside of aging vet Iguodala, I believe the highest drafted player on that team is Herro at #13.

Yep.

+2.

He's in the perfect situation. Great coach, Pat the Goat, hungry young guys....he knew KAT and Embiid were both soft. Bam is better than both of them.

[somuchyummy]

but don't factor out the number one dog thing. everyone makes a big case about KAT and simmons and embiid being soft - they're also young. and maybe could have used a mentor? butler IMO is more interested in being recognized as the number one dog than he is in maybe the harder, less glamorous work of bringing along young talented players the right way. in minny, KAT was above butler on the totem pole. butler hated that. in philly, ditto for simmons and embiid. butler doesn't accept that well. in miami, everyone knows he's the number one player - so butler can sleep at night. as tough as he is on court, this also points out how fragile he is off it. gotta be the man - or he's not in.

[RubeTube]

but don't factor out the number one dog thing. everyone makes a big case about KAT and simmons and embiid being soft - they're also young. and maybe could have used a mentor? butler IMO is more interested in being recognized as the number one dog than he is in maybe the harder, less glamorous work of bringing along young talented players the right way. in minny, KAT was above butler on the totem pole. butler hated that. in philly, ditto for simmons and embiid. butler doesn't accept that well. in miami, everyone knows he's the number one player - so butler can sleep at night. as tough as he is on court, this also points out how fragile he is off it. gotta be the man - or he's not in.

Kat and Embiid were considered the "Big dogs" by their franchises even with Butler on the team. Yet you are telling me Butler needs to be responsible for mentoring them?!? Can't. Make. It. Up.

[HeHateMe]

He finally found the team where he can have the biggest ego and no one else there has one. I like Miami's roster make up. They needed an alpha like Butler to surround with shooters and a big defensive beast in Bam.

Dragic has been kind of a forgotten piece in the regular season... forget how at times he could carry teams offensively.

[Mplsfonz]

Don't hate it or love it.
I respect Butler on the court, but he is such a funky ass DIVA off the court. His look at me attitude makes me sick. I love the Wolves more than any individual player. (With the exception of KG) So for all of the drama he caused in his short time here, makes me dislike the guy. And for those who say he should NOT have to be a mentor to KAT, Embiid etc, he absolutely should if he really cared about winning. Calling out players and coaches is a sh*tty ass person. And then going on ESPN to do an interview and taking it outside the locker room. And for that reason I hope he fails.
But....HATE is a strong word and should not be used lightly.

[thinktank]

It’s one game.

Philly was missing Simmons.

Jimmy really didn’t play all the well against the Raptors last year. He shot 44%. He had a nice game 6 tho.

I reserve judgement.

[somuchyummy]

but don't factor out the number one dog thing. everyone makes a big case about KAT and simmons and embiid being soft - they're also young. and maybe could have used a mentor? butler IMO is more interested in being recognized as the number one dog than he is in maybe the harder, less glamorous work of bringing along young talented players the right way. in minny, KAT was above butler on the totem pole. butler hated that. in philly, ditto for simmons and embiid. butler doesn't accept that well. in miami, everyone knows he's the number one player - so butler can sleep at night. as tough as he is on court, this also points out how fragile he is off it. gotta be the man - or he's not in.

Kat and Embiid were considered the "Big dogs" by their franchises even with Butler on the team. Yet you are telling me Butler needs to be responsible for mentoring them?!? Can't. Make. It. Up.

make it up?!? i'm just pointing out their ages. of course, they're the big dogs on their teams because their franchises are already paying them that money in the hopes that they live up to their potential. doesn't mean that they are there yet - and doesn't mean that getting paid a lot of money suddenly makes them "not young". yes - number one players on their teams who still needed mentoring. it happens. jimmy doesn't do that apparently, that was clear. but it's what those teams needed. jimmy took the contracts, didn't like what he saw, said fuck this and left. and yes, that speaks to his team character and to his me first character. i think he's strong in many ways - but in that particular way, he's weak as they come. he's the schoolyard kid who doesn't like how the sides got chose, so he leaves and takes his ball home.

[YBBR]

Don't hate it or love it.
I respect Butler on the court, but he is such a funky ass DIVA off the court. His look at me attitude makes me sick. I love the Wolves more than any individual player. (With the exception of KG) So for all of the drama he caused in his short time here, makes me dislike the guy. And for those who say he should NOT have to be a mentor to KAT, Embiid etc, he absolutely should if he really cared about winning. Calling out players and coaches is a sh*tty ass person. And then going on ESPN to do an interview and taking it outside the locker room. And for that reason I hope he fails.
But....HATE is a strong word and should not be used lightly.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. Clearly a great player with the crunch time DNA. It's his own fault for getting the majority of the team and fan base against him. How can you encourage or support that kind of behavior? Especially to the lengths Butler decided to go to get traded. You can't. If he pulled that shit against Popovich or someone like that, Jimmy Butler would be 6 feet under right now.

[shoteh]

Not worth the headache

[somuchyummy]

watch jimmy start to kick up some bullshit in miami if giannis goes to the heat.

[Mplsfonz]

Don't hate it or love it.
I respect Butler on the court, but he is such a funky ass DIVA off the court. His look at me attitude makes me sick. I love the Wolves more than any individual player. (With the exception of KG) So for all of the drama he caused in his short time here, makes me dislike the guy. And for those who say he should NOT have to be a mentor to KAT, Embiid etc, he absolutely should if he really cared about winning. Calling out players and coaches is a sh*tty ass person. And then going on ESPN to do an interview and taking it outside the locker room. And for that reason I hope he fails.
But....HATE is a strong word and should not be used lightly.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. Clearly a great player with the crunch time DNA. It's his own fault for getting the majority of the team and fan base against him. How can you encourage or support that kind of behavior? Especially to the lengths Butler decided to go to get traded. You can't. If he pulled that shit against Popovich or someone like that, Jimmy Butler would be 6 feet under right now.

[Mplsfonz]

watch jimmy start to kick up some bullshit in miami if giannis goes to the heat.

What makes you think this? Just asking. Are there rumors? If so, I hope they trade Butler to the Bucks. That would make me LOL.

[HeHateMe]

Someone with the athletic subscription can post this... mine expired in August... didn't renew because I read maybe an article or two a week.

[somuchyummy]

watch jimmy start to kick up some bullshit in miami if giannis goes to the heat.

What makes you think this? Just asking. Are there rumors? If so, I hope they trade Butler to the Bucks. That would make me LOL.

no rumors at all. just past history. jimmy does best when he's the undisputed top dog on a team. and if giannis goes to miami, he will immediately become the undisputed 2nd dog. other times when that has happened is when butler starts to ramp up the bullshit behavior.

[Mplsfonz]

watch jimmy start to kick up some bullshit in miami if giannis goes to the heat.

What makes you think this? Just asking. Are there rumors? If so, I hope they trade Butler to the Bucks. That would make me LOL.

no rumors at all. just past history. jimmy does best when he's the undisputed top dog on a team. and if giannis goes to miami, he will immediately become the undisputed 2nd dog. other times when that has happened is when butler starts to ramp up the bullshit behavior.

I guess I meant who said Giannis is headed to Miami?
I know Jimmy can't be second fiddle on the team, that's why Miami is perfect for him. That is why he will never win a title.

[somuchyummy]

can't remember who - but it was speculation by a fairly prominent source that, if the bucks get bounced in the 2nd round by the heat - he's the target riley would be after in the offseason - and that's where giannis would likely opt to go.

[Hoop Dreams]

can't remember who - but it was speculation by a fairly prominent source that, if the bucks get bounced in the 2nd round by the heat - he's the target riley would be after in the offseason - and that's where giannis would likely opt to go.

Good! Keep him in the east. We don't need the west getting any stronger.

[HeHateMe]

can't remember who - but it was speculation by a fairly prominent source that, if the bucks get bounced in the 2nd round by the heat - he's the target riley would be after in the offseason - and that's where giannis would likely opt to go.

And what will Pat Riley entice Milwaukee with at this point? You'd think Golden State with multiple firsts would have a head start...

[somuchyummy]

can't remember who - but it was speculation by a fairly prominent source that, if the bucks get bounced in the 2nd round by the heat - he's the target riley would be after in the offseason - and that's where giannis would likely opt to go.

And what will Pat Riley entice Milwaukee with at this point? You'd think Golden State with multiple firsts would have a head start...

probably. the package being discussed player-wise is bam adebayo, tyler herro, andre iguodala and duncan robinson. i don't know if the heat have any earlier first rounders in their pocket other than their own late first round picks coming up. in terms of established and very promising players available to trade, miami has the leg up on GSW. who would any team rather get in a trade as a primary piece - wiggins or bam? that's an easy one.

[HeHateMe]

can't remember who - but it was speculation by a fairly prominent source that, if the bucks get bounced in the 2nd round by the heat - he's the target riley would be after in the offseason - and that's where giannis would likely opt to go.

And what will Pat Riley entice Milwaukee with at this point? You'd think Golden State with multiple firsts would have a head start...

probably. the package being discussed player-wise is bam adebayo, tyler herro, andre iguodala and duncan robinson. i don't know if the heat have any earlier first rounders in their pocket other than their own late first round picks coming up. in terms of established and very promising players available to trade, miami has the leg up on GSW. who would any team rather get in a trade as a primary piece - wiggins or bam? that's an easy one.

Bam is a decent starting point... the rest? meh. Heat gave up some picks I think for Dragic to Phoenix but I'm assuming those are closed to paid up? I don't know if Wiggins is the focal point of the deal with Milwaukee... perhaps there is a way they try to ship Wiggins to a third team for placeholders and the picks are the main piece of the deal.

[somuchyummy]

And what will Pat Riley entice Milwaukee with at this point? You'd think Golden State with multiple firsts would have a head start...

probably. the package being discussed player-wise is bam adebayo, tyler herro, andre iguodala and duncan robinson. i don't know if the heat have any earlier first rounders in their pocket other than their own late first round picks coming up. in terms of established and very promising players available to trade, miami has the leg up on GSW. who would any team rather get in a trade as a primary piece - wiggins or bam? that's an easy one.

Bam is a decent starting point... the rest? meh. Heat gave up some picks I think for Dragic to Phoenix but I'm assuming those are closed to paid up? I don't know if Wiggins is the focal point of the deal with Milwaukee... perhaps there is a way they try to ship Wiggins to a third team for placeholders and the picks are the main piece of the deal.

at this point, iggy is just an expiring - but it's 15M. and for a league going with more and more shooting, both robinson and herro are pretty good at it - robinson elite. bam is, of course, the centerpiece - and a pretty nice one. in any deal involving a player of giannis' caliber, you're never getting back one guy who matches that - so in some ways, every deal seems deficient.

[SHAFA]

Someone with the athletic subscription can post this... mine expired in August... didn't renew because I read maybe an article or two a week.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — No one is living their best bubble life quite like Jimmy Butler.

Even before the Miami star was dropping a career playoff-high 40 points on Milwaukee in Game 1 win of the Heat’s second-round series — making Pat Riley look like a basketball genius (again) while putting the uncomfortable spotlight squarely on the Bucks’ reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, heading into Game 2 on Wednesday — the wins were piling up in all sorts of other ways.

There was the Michelob Ultra commercial shot at his home, which celebrated the NBA’s restart and was a smashing success (and, as it turns out, which he essentially directed and designed). There was the $20-per-cup coffee business outside of his room that lightened both the mood and his teammates’ wallets — “Big Face Coffee,” he deemed it (though he now has competition). There was the first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers, featuring Butler’s archnemesis, T.J. Warren, that put a one-sided end to their entertaining feud.

But none of this would have happened if Butler hadn’t found the perfect organization to partner with last offseason. After all that turmoil in Minnesota left his reputation in tatters, and the Philadelphia chapter came so close to panning out before his mysterious exit in free agency, Butler and the Heat might be basketball’s best marriage.

The five-time All-Star discussed it all in a sit-down interview with The Athletic on Tuesday at Heat practice, where his favorite part of this celebrated Heat culture was on display throughout the 20-minute conversation: The work ethic. All around us, Butler’s teammates were competing in the kind of way that will always make him smile.

The Heat, true to form, have yet to take a day off and may be the only team here that uses the entire three-hour practice window that it’s allotted. And Butler, whose 3:30 a.m. workouts have become the stuff of legend, couldn’t be happier about it. He was the unofficial sideline analyst of the pick-up game in front of us, shouting and yelling at teammates whenever a play drew his attention while reflecting on the past and present in his always-candid and colorful way.

So I hear you have competition on the coffee market here now — charging half as much?

Yeah, it’s that asshole over there by the wall. (Heat trainer) Brandon Gilliam, the idiot – the bald one by the wall (laughs). He came over to my shop today. He got a vanilla latte over at Big Face this morning. Listen man, I don’t know. I think that’s fun, and funny at the same time.

(Programming note: It was at this point when there was the first of many brief interruptions in which Butler would spontaneously scream out to the court in response to the game that was going on. Those moments will all be in italics)

Dunk! Dunk! Damn! And one…

Um, I think (the bubble coffee shop market) is fun. That’s just the way we do shit here. We compete at everything, and for him just to take time out of his day just to work on the craft that I love so much of making coffee.

I didn’t know you loved it like that…

I really do. We talk about it. He asks about the ratio of this to that. I don’t know. It’s just fun. Yeah, I’m real serious about it.

Where did that start from?

Me and my trainer, James Scott, we go and get coffee all the time. We get coffee together every morning, when I’m not here in the bubble obviously. One of the coaches, ‘Coach O’ (Octavio De La Grana)…we go and get coffee all the time. It’s a way for us just to humanize ourselves and talk about what’s going in our lives outside of this basketball. And then, before you know it, I’m thinking, ‘Damn, I really like this coffee from Brazil, and I think I’m half Brazilian anyways.’ (laughs) It just became a thing.

So I feel like you’ve got this bubble life figured out more than anyone, and it looked that way even before you got here in that Michelob commercial. Is what I heard true that you basically grabbed the steering wheel on that project and said ‘Let me shoot this thing’ (while completing it in approximately 45 minutes)?

Yes. ‘We can do it,’ (he said when approached about it). Darryl Campbell, who has done everything for me on the social media side and content wise, was like, ‘Yo, I’ve got some ideas.’ So I was like, ‘Man, I’m gonna tell them that we can do this. We can film this in my home. You can do it. They can have their say in it and look at it and make sure that everything is going great, and from what I’ve heard, all good things have come (out of it). I’m telling you. All good things.

It’s great, because it humanizes you. You’re just a hooper who’s packing for a long work trip.
Yeah, that’s it. That’s it.

You made that?! That’s tough. That’s tough.

Uh, dog, yeah. But that’s what I try to get everybody to understand. I am a fierce competitor. I am everything that you could possibly think because I want to win, but outside of that I’m a normal human being man. I love to watch movies. I like to play cards. I like to drink coffee. I like to drink wine. I’m that, and I think that commercial definitely helped portray that. My YouTube channel helps portray that.

Oh, watch it! Good move, though.

Just me being a person.

Last night, I was right by you when you saw Pat (Riley) and he was upstairs…. (As I wrote on Monday night, Riley and Butler had a mutual admiration society moment after Game 1)

No, man. I love that guy. They call him the Godfather, the OG, all of those good things, man, but he cares. He cares, and it’s like I always say: Here (with the Heat), I’m wanted man. And that’s all you ever want as a human being, as a basketball player, as anything is to feel wanted. I’m wanted. I’m welcomed here. And I couldn’t be in a happier place, or around better guys. Look at this shit!

(Butler points out to the court that is filled with players)

Everybody is out here working on their game. Everybody’s always asking me, ‘Are there nerves to this?’ Never. Look at this. Look at this. Like, you can’t be nervous when you’re working out like these guys are working out, staying ready because they never know when their number is going to be called. They’re down there working on — look at this! Think about how many times we’re gonna do this tomorrow (in Game 2). … It’s all a part of what we do here, how we’re so different. This is me. This is what I do.

Let’s go down that road, then. I can’t think of another example of a player whose reputation has gone from up to down to up like this in such a short amount of time. You and I sat there rapping in the middle of the Minnesota shit show. You had the black hat on. And then the Philly thing…

If you don’t understand, you’ll never know.

Good move, boy!

If you’re not there, and you don’t know what’s really going on. You can only go by what you read or what somebody else says happened. I’m not one to always just tell you what happened, because I don’t give a damn what you think anyways, regardless. If me working hard makes people feel a certain way about how I go about things, I wasn’t meant to be there. Like here, I work incredibly hard. And everybody knows, so I don’t have to say it. But when one of these guys ain’t working as hard as they can, I see it, and I can I tell ‘em. I say, ‘Yo, you’re not doing your fucking job.’ And I say it just like that. And they look at me like, ‘You’re right. Alright, move on. Let’s go. Next play.’ It’s never like, they go on another team and be like, ‘Yo, Jimmy’s an asshole.’ They’re not doing that. That’s not what we do here, because everybody knows I want to win. Just like I know that everybody out here wants to win. Everybody who’s gonna come here is going to have to want to win. And I’m telling you, they understand me, I understand them. I know the way things are supposed to be done, and that’s why we are who we are.

Did you see Jo’s tweet? (Minutes after Butler’s epic performance in Game 1, the Sixers’ Joel Embiid tweeted “If…” and NBA Twitter went crazy with the fair assumption that it had everything to do with the what-might-have-been reality of Butler’s exit)

They told me about it. I don’t be on social media like that.

How did that hit you?

That’s my guy. Outside of basketball, I love that man to death. He knows that. I tell him every opportunity I get, and I appreciate him for making me a better player, a better leader, better at understanding so many different things. I talk to him all the time, and I tell him, ‘I wish you were still in the playoffs, because you deserve a championship.’ Because he works. He works at it, and that’s just my guy. Yeah, I saw it, and I know that he still wanted me to be on his team. And I still wanted to be teammates with him. Let’s not get that misunderstood. But here, with these guys, I’m not trading that for the world either.

You talk about players, and those dynamics, but you’ve never really talked about (former Sixers coach) Brett (Brown). There’s the dynamic there that’s been talked about (The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Aug. 22 that Brown not wanting to coach Butler played in a part in the Sixers’ decision not to re-sign him). Whether it’s that or other factors, why aren’t you in Philly?

Why aren’t I in Philly? Because me and Philly didn’t work out. That’s why.

They didn’t want you to talk to anybody else, right? (Even with the Brown dynamic that was definitely a factor, sources say there was still a chance the Sixers would give Butler the max deal he wanted but demanded that he didn’t engage with other teams)

They did not. But I wasn’t worried about it. I’m here now, and I’m telling you. I don’t even think about what could have happened with Brett Brown. What could have happened… I don’t, because if I get too lost in that I’m not doing my due diligence for these guys. I’m so fucking locked in right now, and I will do anything that it takes to win man. I’m telling you. Like, I don’t want to have to come out and score 40. I don’t give a fuck. I’ll shoot the ball twice as long as you guarantee me that we get a ‘Dub.’ I don’t care (how he gets labeled as a player), I don’t. I couldn’t care less how anybody labels me. Just know that I do everything in my power to win. That’s what brings me the most joy, is that no matter what you think, or no matter what you might say, you’re never going to be able to say that I’m not a winner. I may not have won it, but you’re not going to say that I was a loser, that I played a losing style of basketball. You’ll never say that.

Where did (Game 1 against the Bucks) rank in your best games of all time?

Um, it’s up there. It’s up there. But the reason that it’s up there for me, is not because it was a career playoff high. It’s not because I joined elite company in D-Wade and LeBron (Butler, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Tim Hardaway are the only Heat players to score 35-plus points in the playoffs).

That’s pretty nice, though.

It is. But it’s because these guys – these guuuyyys – follow my lead. So when I’m coming out and I’m clicking on all cylinders and I’m locked in and I’m guarding the way I’m supposed to and I’m doing everything the right way, it makes me proud to know that I’ve got some guys who I know are going to follow suit. And I know one day, two, if not three or four of these guys, they’re gonna be able to do what I do way better than how I do it. Tyler (Herro). Bam (Adebayo). I’m telling you, man.

With Bam, you’ve been speaking that into existence all year long.

Bam can fucking play. Bam can play. And it’s hard for me….

No, no, no, no! No, no, no! No, you fouled him but he tried to show out. Who do you fucking think you are?!

(Adebayo) can fucking play man. And I’m happy for (New Orleans’ Brandon) Ingram, and (him) winning Most Improved Player (award, which was announced Monday). But I think Bam has been that for us. So on this team, he’s that for us. He’s the Most Improved. He’s everything to us. To think about what he has to do on both ends of the floor. Way harder than my job, especially in this series, because he’s got to guard everybody. He’s gotta start out on Giannis, switch out on (Khris) Middleton, switch onto whoever else, and he never, ever, ever once complains, man. Never. Never. You know, we’ve got to remind him, like, ‘Bam, I know you get tired of playing defense all the time, but you’ve got to be aggressive on offense.’ And it’s one of the hardest things to do, to play 100 percent on both ends of the floor man. I’m telling you, that is the definition of a max player. Spo (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) will tell you. I’ll tell you. Somebody that can impact the game in a winning way, on both sides, 13 for us.

Did (Adebayo) play a part in your choice to come?

Yeah, and we joke about it now. But I think he was in the trade to Minnesota. If I would’ve gotten traded from Minnesota to Miami, he would’ve been in it, so we always laugh and joke about it now. But he was a big part of me wanting to come here.

Did you have any relationship with him at all before?

No, but I pay attention to people’s game and what they do when they get the opportunity. And it’s showing me, how when he wasn’t playing, and then you throw him into it. And it’s like, ‘Man, this kid can play.’ But this just goes to show you what he was doing when nobody was looking. He was working on his game. And then when that time came, and they was like, ‘Yo, Bam you in, you’re starting.’ He was killing. To me, that’s like, this motherfucker works. He works. Nobody knew he could do this, and now everybody knows and they’ve got an opinion on him. Ah, he’s got to do this, ah he’s got to do that. Where were you at when Bam was just the ninth guy on the roster? Nobody cared. And me and him talk about it: Just let everybody keep that same energy man. They don’t know. They don’t know me. They don’t know you, and they don’t know what you do every day. They don’t know that you’ve got to sit in this room (hooping), and me beg you to come get a $20 cup of coffee. They don’t know that Bam. But this is what we do, man. And we’re not letting no outside influences, no media opinions, none of that affect what we’re trying to do here man. And that’s why I fuck with them, man.

Were you surprised last night that Giannis didn’t pick you up (defensively in Game 1)? (If you somehow didn’t notice, this became a social media thing, so to speak, because of Giannis’ answer to a postgame question from our Bucks beat writer, Eric Nehm, about whether he had asked Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer if he had asked to guard Butler)

Uh, no. I’m not surprised. I look at it like this. He is one of the best help side defenders that there are in the league. And that’s what he’s been doing all year long. And I think you can’t get stuck on what we do. I think you’ve really just got to focus on what you do – you’ve been doing it all year. Nah, I’m not surprised. If he switches out…and he’s guarding me, you know we’re going to do what we have to do to still win. But I’m gonna tell you: You’re not going to be able to leave me, so then that’s taking away their weakside defense. So either way it goes, we’re gonna be in a good spot. We’ve got way more guys who can do what I just did last night better than I can do, so we’ll see.

You said when you came into the Bubble, and people laughed when you said it to (ESPN’s) Rachel Nichols, that you were here to win the whole damn thing. And now you’re up on the team with the best record in the NBA. Where are you at with that (goal)?

We’re in the same place. We haven’t done anything. We won a game. For us, that’s what we’re supposed to do. For us, we’re supposed to win in four. It may not be — everybody else may not think that, but for us, we’re in it to win it, man. We work too hard. Like, I can only keep saying that. We’re studying film like there’s no tomorrow. To me, we were built for this. We can do this.

(With that, the pick-up game comes to an end and the Heat’s Meyers Leonard is very upset. He walks by Butler, incensed about the way it all came to and with his team losing, and proceeds to pick up a nearby folding chair and lightly toss it to the side)

Y’all got a dub off of that? Wooooo! Woooo!

[SHAFA]

Did (Adebayo) play a part in your choice to come?

Yeah, and we joke about it now. But I think he was in the trade to Minnesota. If I would’ve gotten traded from Minnesota to Miami, he would’ve been in it, so we always laugh and joke about it now. But he was a big part of me wanting to come here.

[Hoop Dreams]

Did (Adebayo) play a part in your choice to come?

Yeah, and we joke about it now. But I think he was in the trade to Minnesota. If I would’ve gotten traded from Minnesota to Miami, he would’ve been in it, so we always laugh and joke about it now. But he was a big part of me wanting to come here.

I thought it had been confirmed that the deal was Josh Richardson and Kelly Olynyk for Butler, but Thibs asked for more at the last second which caused it to fall apart?

If Bam was in the trade then FML!!

[SHAFA]

Did (Adebayo) play a part in your choice to come?

Yeah, and we joke about it now. But I think he was in the trade to Minnesota. If I would’ve gotten traded from Minnesota to Miami, he would’ve been in it, so we always laugh and joke about it now. But he was a big part of me wanting to come here.

I thought it had been confirmed that the deal was Josh Richardson and Kelly Olynyk for Butler, but Thibs asked for more at the last second which caused it to fall apart?

If Bam was in the trade then FML!!

Who really knows. Bam was my absolute, undisputed option #1 though, and the thought of him here instead of Cov, as much as I loved him, makes me sad.