Despite clear tension and a lingering trade cloud, Jimmy Butler made a shock return to the Miami Heat side against the Denver Nuggets.
Not only did Butler return from his seven-game suspension but he was thrown straight back into the starting line-up by coach Erik Spoelstra.
Butler scored 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists in the 113-133 defeat, and former Heat star Udonis Haslem has had his say on the trade noise surrounding the star.
While Butler is back in a Heat uniform, something that Lou Williams predicted, it answers very few questions about his future, with the star dropping a cryptic message about the ‘truth.’
While many will be shocked to see Butler back in a Heat uniform it doesn’t stop any of the trade noise that continues to surround the star.
The Indiana Pacers became the latest team to show interest in the wantaway star while the Toronto Raptors are also seen as an option.
Heat legend Dwyane Wade explained how LeBron James had similar issues at Miami as Butler, he explained that the team forces stars away.
Perhaps unsurprisingly many of the questions after the game were directed at Butler who was very coy about his future and what was going on with his Heat relationship.
Asked about the noise around him Butler said: “We’ll let people keep talking like they know everything, like they have all the answers and then sooner or later the whole truth will come out.”
Butler was asked if he still felt like he had a Heat future, and his answer gave nothing away: “I was told to say no comment, so no comment.”
Much has been said about Butler’s fractured relationship with Heat GM Pat Riley, but the people who matter are his teammates.
In Butler’s seven-game absence, the team went 3-4 with Bam Adebayo leading the side according to Tyler Herro.
ESPN insider Shams Charania recently revealed that the Heat locker room ‘haven’t had the distraction, the chaos’ while Butler has been away.
And Heat star Haywood Highsmith added: “We are just buying in, everybody is buying in. The vibes are great. Everybody is locked in.”
Asked about his relationship with his teammates Butler said: “As much as everyone may think I haven’t got a problem with these guys. These guys are cool they’re my friends, some of them tapped in, and some of them didn’t don’t think I don’t know that. My beef is not with them and never will be, never has been.”
The Heat will be hoping that no matter Butler’s future he can help them get back to winning ways in the short term, they face the tough challenge of Victor Wembanyama‘s San Antonio Spurs next.
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