With the Miami Heat trading away Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, it marks the end of an era for the organization after many years of success. As the Heat prepare for the next chapter without Butler, stars Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo speak about their long-time teammate's departure.
Herro, Adebayo, and Butler have been Miami's “Big Three” of this era resulting in two NBA Finals appearances with many exciting performances from the 35-year-old star. Herro spoke at Friday's shootaround morning before the game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night and talked about how Butler took him “under his wing” according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
“I think it was a great five or six years to be able to play with a guy like that,” Herro said. “I came in as a rookie. He took me under his wing.”
“I took some things from him and reinvented my own way to help lead this organization in my own way,” Herro continued. “I thought it was a great five, six years of what we were able to accomplish, obviously not being able to win a championship with him. It’s a new chapter and we feel like we are headed in that direction again.”
The Heat's first-time All-Star in Herro would also be asked Friday about his thoughts on the reports from Butler's camp about taking not a strong team to the NBA Finals.
“I guess that’s how he feels,” Herro said via The Miami Herald. “He’s done a lot for this organization, great player. Happy he got what he wanted.”
Heat's Bam Adebayo on being “grateful” to be with Jimmy Butler
As for the Heat's captain Bam Adebayo, fans have adored the duo of himself and Butler throughout the seasons where he had nothing but good things to say about his close friend. The word he would use is “grateful” for what Butler gave to the team while acknowledging the ugly nature of how it all ended.
Related Miami Heat NewsArticle continues below
“Obviously, it ended not the way everybody expected it to,” Adebayo said. “But for the five years, we did a lot of things and overachieved and did some things people thought we couldn’t do. We’re all grateful for that.”
Heat's Duncan Robinson on the type of player Jimmy Butler is
Another Heat star Duncan Robinson also spoke about Butler's departure, their relationship, and especially about the competitiveness of his now-former teammate. He would even mention how he's glad there is a trade deadline since it could have “dragged on forever.”
“Thank goodness there is a trade deadline because I felt like this would have dragged on forever,” Robinson said “A big takeaway of mine is the unfortunate nature of how it all went down. Anyone who is able to look at it objectively would say Jimmy had an incredible stint in Miami. If it wasn’t the best basketball of his career, it was damn near. We had some great runs, [teams] that overachieved. There have been great moments, there have been challenging moments. That’s sort of what you get when you get someone as competitive, spirited as he is. He’s a ruthless competitor.”
“He’s the only player I’ve seen—or the player who does it the most—where his competitive spirit and will are what separate him,” Robinson continued. “You look at his game, and yeah, he has skill. Obviously, he’s got good footwork, he’s athletic, but there’s nothing extraordinary about anything he does other than his competitive spirit and will. I learned a lot competing with him.”
Miami is 25-24 before Friday's game against the Nets which puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference.
