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MIAMI – The elephant in the room is playing on elsewhere. But Wednesday, without games to instead consider, created the first true opportunity for the Miami Heat to openly address the impact of the process that led to the departure of Jimmy Butler.
No longer with the singular focus on extending their season, the team’s season-ending media session allowed for greater candor when it came to Butler quitting on the team in January, the three team suspensions that followed, and ultimately the Feb. 6 trade to the Golden State Warriors that reshaped Erik Spoelstra’s roster in the midst of a desperate run to the postseason.
So two days after enduring the worst playoff loss in the franchise’s 37 seasons and in the wake of losing the most-lopsided playoff series in NBA history in the 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Spoelstra and his players from the podium at Kaseya Center offered their thoughts on what devolved into a 37-45 record and historic humiliation over the past two weeks.
“It certainly had an impact,” Spoelstra said of the six weeks that dramatically changed the course of the season. “We are an organization that prides ourselves on not making any kind of excuses. And even if we managed it perfectly, there’s second-guessing on what we could have done better, just to right the ship.
“It was turbulent waters.”
Just how turbulent came into far greater focus Wednesday.
“It was highs and lows trying to deal with different days, not really knowing what to expect,” said guard Tyler Herro, the final Heat player to address the media on Wednesday. “I think it was just like overall wondering: When is it going to end? That was kind of the main thing, when can we just focus on basketball?”
In retrospect, center Bam Adebayo said it was nothing he could have anticipated.
“You don’t realize it when you’re going through it,” he said.
In the wake of the Butler trade, the Heat found themselves in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, footing never truly regained.
Adebayo said it had him working overtime in his role as team captain.
“I would say trying to get everybody on the same page through the storm,” Adebayo said. “It was like I’ve said many, many times, you’ve got to understand that somebody still has to play the game. We still got to go out there and figure out how to win, if guys are in or out.
“This organization and this team could have let go through the rope a long time ago, going through what we went through this season, a lot of people would have just chalked it up and gone, ‘You know, we’re just going to start over.’ And that’s one thing I love about this organization, that we’re always trying to win no matter what.”
The chaos, as Butler remained away from the team in January and February, Adebayo said could have been far worse without the proper leadership.
“I feel like Spo tried to do his best to make the team focus on the main thing,” Adebayo said. “Obviously, it was a lot of noise going around, a lot of things happening, moving fast, not knowing who’s going to be in the lineup, if they were going to show up today or not.”
The dynamic amid the drama was far more than let on at the time.
“For the team, we just rallied around each other, whether he would be there or not be there,” forward Haywood Highsmith said. “He didn’t want to be here. It is what it is. He got what he wanted. We wish him the best.
“Obviusly, it was kind of weird at first.”
Forward Nikola Jovic, one of Butler’s closest friends on the team, on Wednesday offered similar sentiment.
“For me it was weird, because I haven’t really experienced anything like that before. It was a weird situation,” Jovic said. “He got what he wanted. He’s happy there.
“It was a weird stretch.”
Forward Alec Burks said Spoelstra helped calm the turbulent waters.
“I learned Spo can manage anything, can coach through anything,” he said. “We had a lot of things go on. I feel like he did a great job of bringing the locker room together.”
Wednesday also delivered clarity from Herro in regards to being quoted in The Athletic this past week as saying, “Obviously, I know I need Jimmy to win. If we had Jimmy right now, I feel like it’d be a completely different situation.”
Herro on Wednesday said the context was what he was feeling as the Butler drama played out at midseason.
“I was obviously taken out of context,” he said. “I don’t care if we’re 0-82. I would never come out and say I need someone else to win. That’s just my personality. I’m a competitor. I think I can do it.”
And, with that, with clarity and true sentiment expressed, finally something closer to closure . . . and least until Heat President Pat Riley addresses the media in coming days.
“When I look back on it,” Spoelstra said of the Butler kerfuffle, “I’ll look back on it the same way now as years from now – it was a good five-year run.”
Continue reading...
No longer with the singular focus on extending their season, the team’s season-ending media session allowed for greater candor when it came to Butler quitting on the team in January, the three team suspensions that followed, and ultimately the Feb. 6 trade to the Golden State Warriors that reshaped Erik Spoelstra’s roster in the midst of a desperate run to the postseason.
So two days after enduring the worst playoff loss in the franchise’s 37 seasons and in the wake of losing the most-lopsided playoff series in NBA history in the 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Spoelstra and his players from the podium at Kaseya Center offered their thoughts on what devolved into a 37-45 record and historic humiliation over the past two weeks.
“It certainly had an impact,” Spoelstra said of the six weeks that dramatically changed the course of the season. “We are an organization that prides ourselves on not making any kind of excuses. And even if we managed it perfectly, there’s second-guessing on what we could have done better, just to right the ship.
“It was turbulent waters.”
Just how turbulent came into far greater focus Wednesday.
“It was highs and lows trying to deal with different days, not really knowing what to expect,” said guard Tyler Herro, the final Heat player to address the media on Wednesday. “I think it was just like overall wondering: When is it going to end? That was kind of the main thing, when can we just focus on basketball?”
In retrospect, center Bam Adebayo said it was nothing he could have anticipated.
“You don’t realize it when you’re going through it,” he said.
In the wake of the Butler trade, the Heat found themselves in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, footing never truly regained.
Adebayo said it had him working overtime in his role as team captain.
“I would say trying to get everybody on the same page through the storm,” Adebayo said. “It was like I’ve said many, many times, you’ve got to understand that somebody still has to play the game. We still got to go out there and figure out how to win, if guys are in or out.
“This organization and this team could have let go through the rope a long time ago, going through what we went through this season, a lot of people would have just chalked it up and gone, ‘You know, we’re just going to start over.’ And that’s one thing I love about this organization, that we’re always trying to win no matter what.”
The chaos, as Butler remained away from the team in January and February, Adebayo said could have been far worse without the proper leadership.
“I feel like Spo tried to do his best to make the team focus on the main thing,” Adebayo said. “Obviously, it was a lot of noise going around, a lot of things happening, moving fast, not knowing who’s going to be in the lineup, if they were going to show up today or not.”
The dynamic amid the drama was far more than let on at the time.
“For the team, we just rallied around each other, whether he would be there or not be there,” forward Haywood Highsmith said. “He didn’t want to be here. It is what it is. He got what he wanted. We wish him the best.
“Obviusly, it was kind of weird at first.”
Forward Nikola Jovic, one of Butler’s closest friends on the team, on Wednesday offered similar sentiment.
“For me it was weird, because I haven’t really experienced anything like that before. It was a weird situation,” Jovic said. “He got what he wanted. He’s happy there.
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“It was a weird stretch.”
Forward Alec Burks said Spoelstra helped calm the turbulent waters.
“I learned Spo can manage anything, can coach through anything,” he said. “We had a lot of things go on. I feel like he did a great job of bringing the locker room together.”
Wednesday also delivered clarity from Herro in regards to being quoted in The Athletic this past week as saying, “Obviously, I know I need Jimmy to win. If we had Jimmy right now, I feel like it’d be a completely different situation.”
Herro on Wednesday said the context was what he was feeling as the Butler drama played out at midseason.
“I was obviously taken out of context,” he said. “I don’t care if we’re 0-82. I would never come out and say I need someone else to win. That’s just my personality. I’m a competitor. I think I can do it.”
And, with that, with clarity and true sentiment expressed, finally something closer to closure . . . and least until Heat President Pat Riley addresses the media in coming days.
“When I look back on it,” Spoelstra said of the Butler kerfuffle, “I’ll look back on it the same way now as years from now – it was a good five-year run.”
Continue reading...
