Things between Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra appear to be reaching a boiling point.
Last Wednesday, in a loss to the struggling Golden State Warriors, Butler and Spoelstra had a particularly frosty exchanging midgame that immediately went viral.
Since then, speculation has been running rampant regarding the status of their relationship.
This week, some clarity emerged on the topic.
“The Jimmy Butler-Erik Spoelstra thing, ya know, Jimmy Butler grinds on his teammates,” ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst said on his podcast this week.
“I mean, he brings a lot to the table. There’s been several organizations that have been like, ‘We are ready for him to be out of here.’ And there’s been organizations where he’s been ready to be out of there. There is not a long history of harmonious marriages there for Jimmy.
“So, when I’m seeing Spoelstra and I’m seeing Spoelstra saying to him, and I know it’s heat of the moment, ‘I always knew you were crazy.’ I think he’s speaking from his heart there, I think he does mean that.
“So I wonder, not only about this season, I wonder about Jimmy Butler long term in Miami, especially since he’s right on the edge there where his age and he’s been banged up a little bit, I just, I wonder about that.”
Butler is an extremely talented player. In his first year with the Heat he led the team to the NBA Finals. This year, his 21.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game have been pivotal in getting Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference.
That said, this isn’t an isolated incident. He often comes with a lot of drama.
Be it the weird rumors surrounding him and Rachel Nichols or his issues with other players or now this thing with Spoelstra – it just feels like one headache after another.
That said, for the time being, it feels like Spoelstra wants to make amends with Butler.
Spoelstra and Butler have also spoken frequently since the “sideline incident” about a number of issues, on and off the floor. The conversations are characterized by multiple sources as “productive” and “healthy” after the 2 have struggled with direct communication this season…
— Five Reasons Sports (@5ReasonsSports) March 29, 2022
There have been other issues behind the scenes this season that did not involve Butler, but the team believes it has a handle on those also…..
— Five Reasons Sports (@5ReasonsSports) March 29, 2022
It will be interesting to see where this situation goes from here.
Obviously if the Heat win a title or come close to it this year, a lot of this will just become water under the bridge.
Yikes. https://t.co/GofMmj1UP0
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 29, 2022
Should the issues persist, though – this could get interesting in a hurry.
Watch this space. Miami may come back looking very different in 2022-23.
Related: Louisville Star Hailey Van Lith’s Postgame Interview Goes Viral
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
