Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
As Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat navigate what has been an awkward partnership so far this season, details about the extent to which the team broke from their traditional rules for the six-time All-Star in the past are starting to come out.
Per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburnethe Heat gave Butler permission to fly privately or stay at different locations away from the team on road trips, including one instance in which he set up camp at a mansion 30 miles from the team hotel during the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
“That is not common at all,” one Western Conference general manager told Shelburne. “A superstar might stay at a different hotel but not at a mansion 30 miles away.”
Shelburne noted another way the Heat gave leeway to Butler included hiring his personal trainer onto their staff, which is described as a “common practice” for superstar players on other teams but not Miami.
One Heat source told Shelburne they “let Jimmy do more than we ever let LeBron or DWade or (Alonzo Mourning) do.”
According to Shelburne, the Heat’s reasoning for relaxing some of their methods for Butler dates back to the summer of 2014 after LeBron James went back to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They gave Chris Bosh a five-year extension, but used some of their remaining money to fill out other holes on the roster. This left Dwyane Wade to take a two-year, $31.1 million contract, even though his value at that point was still significantly higher than that.
One source close to Butler told Shelburne they “said all the time that DWade died so that [Jimmy] could live” with the Heat. Miami wound up acquiring Butler in a sign-and-trade deal in July 2019.
The partnership has been mutually beneficial, with Butler being the best player for most of his six seasons in Miami. The Heat have reached the Eastern Conference Finals three times and played in the NBA Finals twice since the 2019-20 season.
The Heat are currently eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 20-19 record. Butler is averaging 17.6 points on 55.2 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 22 starts this season.
