Jimmy Butler has been burning bridges with the Miami Heat organization with his antics and it would appear his teammates have had enough of him as well. During an appearance on Open Floor: SI’s NBA Show, Rachel Nichols revealed that Butler’s teammates have had it with him and feel disrespected.
“Jimmy — if he wanted to be traded from Miami — had all of the incentive in the world to be fabulous the last couple of months,” Nichols said. “To be a team guy, to have the right attitude, to play through injuries, to show up, increase his trade value, increase the number of teams who wanted him, and get out of town.
“If that is what he wanted because he wasn’t going to get this extension, he had every single personal selfish incentive to do that,” Nichols continued. “Instead, not only has he been such a problem for management — I talked to guys in that locker room, and to say they have had it is an understatement, because he has disrespected them so much.
“The way he’s been in and out,” Nichols added. “… The way he’s been acting toward people in their locker room, I mean staff or other people like that, and then the stunt with making them wait for hours on the tarmac?”
The last part that Nichols was referring to, was the Heat plane having to wait for multiple hours on the tarmac for Butler. The 35-year-old hadn’t told anyone where he was and if that’s indeed true, then you can understand his teammates being upset. He was being very disrespectful towards them by not even having the courtesy to tell them he wouldn’t be joining them.
Butler previously stated that he had beef with the Heat’s front office, not his teammates. The six-time All-Star stated they are his friends but his actions are speaking louder than his words.
Nichols feels Butler’s antics should make teams think twice about trading for him. He has repeatedly shown he won’t hesitate to cause problems if he feels he has been wronged in some way. This is the third team he is parting on bad terms with, having had messy exits from the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves as well.
Stephen Curry And Steve Kerr Don’t Think Jimmy Butler Is A Good Fit In The Warriors’ Locker Room
Nichols isn’t the only one to think along these lines when it comes to Butler, who is averaging 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game this season. NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor claimed that Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr are concerned about Butler’s fit with the Golden State Warriors.
“My league sources state that Stephen Curry specifically has concerns about Jimmy Butler’s fit in the Warriors locker room. And Steve Kerr shares those feelings. Golden State’s indecision about Jimmy Butler seems to be largely tied to Steph and Kerr’s worries about the personality fit there.”
Well, getting back to Nichols’ point, if Butler had acted like a model citizen, perhaps Curry and Kerr would have been more open to bringing him in. They are seeing the problems he is causing and seem to have decided they do not want this headache in their locker room.
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