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The Miami Heat were one of the NBA's premier teams during Jimmy Butler's tenure. While they never won a title, qualifying for three Eastern Conference Finals and two separate NBA Finals appearances in just over half a decade in South Beach is the kind of success most people would revel in. After all, playing into late May and early June in the NBA is nothing to sneeze at.
Well, unless you're Butler, apparently.
As Butler prepares to return to Miami for the first time since his trade to the Golden State Warriors, he weirdly downplayed his Heat success to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. He seemed fixated on a "win or take all" mentality, meaning nothing matters if you're not the last team standing. That's all well and good for a professional athlete excelling at the highest levels. On its face, it seems kind of silly to tell someone like that how they should feel about their accomplishments.
But given Butler's recent history poking the bear (Pat Riley), it sure seems like he was more intent on trolling them rather than sharing any completely earnest thoughts about a very bright time in his career.
More from Ira Winderman and the Sun Sentinel:
C'mon, man. Let's be serious. I know Butler is probably rightly focused on maximizing his time with Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. And he should be. The Warriors might be a sleeper NBA title contender with Butler in the fold. Everyone there should be locked in on the task at hand. Dwelling on what was and wasn't only bogs down that mission to an extent.
Nonetheless, Butler downplaying his Heat success as if it was all just a blip on the radar in his stellar career still doesn't sit right with me.
Butler's Heat were a powerhouse. At a certain point, the expectation every year was that they would make a deep playoff run, at minimum. They routinely pushed the Boston Celtics to their limits in the East. They'll deny it forever, but you'll never convince me that the Celtics didn't fear them to their core. They gave it their all in respective Finals losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. That mattered to people in the organization and Heat fans. Those are memories everyone tethered to the Heat will cherish forever. It doesn't matter if they fell short of the ultimate goal. This isn't black and white.
Maybe Butler is being diplomatic and refusing to wax poetic in public. Still, talking about all of his Heat success as if it was just a pit stop on his NBA journey feels way too insincere.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jimmy Butler disingenuously downplayed his Heat success before Miami return
Continue reading...
Well, unless you're Butler, apparently.
As Butler prepares to return to Miami for the first time since his trade to the Golden State Warriors, he weirdly downplayed his Heat success to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. He seemed fixated on a "win or take all" mentality, meaning nothing matters if you're not the last team standing. That's all well and good for a professional athlete excelling at the highest levels. On its face, it seems kind of silly to tell someone like that how they should feel about their accomplishments.
But given Butler's recent history poking the bear (Pat Riley), it sure seems like he was more intent on trolling them rather than sharing any completely earnest thoughts about a very bright time in his career.
More from Ira Winderman and the Sun Sentinel:
C'mon, man. Let's be serious. I know Butler is probably rightly focused on maximizing his time with Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. And he should be. The Warriors might be a sleeper NBA title contender with Butler in the fold. Everyone there should be locked in on the task at hand. Dwelling on what was and wasn't only bogs down that mission to an extent.
Nonetheless, Butler downplaying his Heat success as if it was all just a blip on the radar in his stellar career still doesn't sit right with me.
Butler's Heat were a powerhouse. At a certain point, the expectation every year was that they would make a deep playoff run, at minimum. They routinely pushed the Boston Celtics to their limits in the East. They'll deny it forever, but you'll never convince me that the Celtics didn't fear them to their core. They gave it their all in respective Finals losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. That mattered to people in the organization and Heat fans. Those are memories everyone tethered to the Heat will cherish forever. It doesn't matter if they fell short of the ultimate goal. This isn't black and white.
Maybe Butler is being diplomatic and refusing to wax poetic in public. Still, talking about all of his Heat success as if it was just a pit stop on his NBA journey feels way too insincere.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jimmy Butler disingenuously downplayed his Heat success before Miami return
Continue reading...
