Bam Adebayo 'Not Shocked' By Jimmy Butler Ignoring Heat Players in Miami Return
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo told reporters that he wasn't "shocked" Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler didn't acknowledge his ex-teammates upon his return to Miami last Tuesday.
“I’m not shocked. It is what it is,” Adebayo said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
“It’s a business at the end of the day. And he has a Golden State Warriors jersey on. We have a Heat jersey on. I don’t take it personal. We’re out there to do our job anyways. So if you don’t want to speak, we don’t speak and that’s fine. We’re going to get out here, we’re going to compete, win or lose the game and we move on.”
The Heat beat the Warriors 111-86 last Tuesday. Butler had a relatively quiet night with just 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Adebayo's remarks align with those by Heat guard Tyler Herro, who repeated, "no," five times when asked if he and Butler had a conversation before or after the game reflecting on their time in Miami.
Butler also clearly wanted nothing to do with Heat president Pat Riley during his return to town.
Butler played in Miami for five-plus seasons, beginning in 2019. He led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances and three Eastern Conference Finals berths. Overall, his time in town was a great success.
However, it ended just about as poorly as possible.
The Heat suspended him on three separate occasions this year: once for seven games (conduct detrimental to the team), once for two games (missing a team flight to Milwaukee) and once indefinitely ("a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services," per the team).
Butler was eligible for a two-year, $112 million max contract extension last summer, but Miami notably decided against giving it to him. The Warriors gave him that deal after adding to him via trade last February.
It appears both sides have moved on after a frosty relationship developed this year. Now the Warriors are trying to clinch a top-six seed, while Miami looks destined for the play-in.
