“I’m back.”
Jimmy Butler, through his agent, dropped that phrase — the one Michael Jordan used to announce his return from his baseball sabbatical — then echoed it, showing up to Friday night’s Miami game against the Nuggets in a Jordan jersey.
Butler was indeed back, scoring 18 points in 33 minutes in a Heat loss to the Nuggets, where Denver was comfortably in charge most of the night. Nikola Jokic had a 24-point triple-double to lead Denver.
There was no disruption or distraction, no quiet quitting — things seen from Butler in the past, things the Heat were worried about — just business as usual for Butler and Miami.
“This is basketball at this point,” Butler said, via the Associated Press. “I know what I’m expected to do while I’m here.”
How long Butler is “here” in Miami is the question. Butler has requested a trade from the Heat and, while he is frustrated at the pace of action on that front, Miami has not found a Butler trade that remotely interests them. While Butler is pushing for a trade — and his preferred destination, Phoenix, has a front office trying to find a way to make that happen — it is widely expected in league circles that no trade will be found before the Feb. 6 deadline and he will play out this season in Miami.
That worked for a night, everyone played nice. Can that continue through April (and possibly beyond)?
