Jimmy Butler Says “Beef” Is With Miami Heat Management, Not Teammates

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler was back on the court Friday night for the first time since he was handed a seven-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

Butler said he was excited to be around teammates but still hinted a rift remains between him and Heat management, mainly team president Pat Riley.

“It felt good to get out there and compete and actually run around with these guys,” Butler said after the Heat’s loss to the Denver Nuggets. “As much as everybody may think, I don’t got a problem with these guys. These guys are cool. They’re my friends. … My beef is not with them and never will be. Never has been. But it did feel good to get out there and play some basketball.”

Butler finished with 18 points on 7 of 15 shooting. The Heat and Butler have feuded since last offseason when Riley criticized Butler for talking about last season’s loss to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. Butler was sidelined for the series due to injury.

Things only got worse the Heat refused to offer a contract extension. It culminated with Butler requesting a trade earlier this month.

“I guess it’s basketball at this point,” Butler said. “I know what I’m expected to do while I’m here and try to do that to the best of my ability, but we are where we are.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our updates on Facebook

X: @ShandelRich