Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green finally broke his silence on the Jimmy Butler messy situation with the Miami Heat.
Green revealed he had known for quite some time that Butler’s time in Miami was nearing its end.
“I think they definitely are at the end of the rope,” Green said on the January 7 episode of “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.” “I’ve actually been hearing for the last couple of years that they were kind of tired of Jimmy, Jimmy was kind of tired of them. I think Jimmy was kind of a little more so just enjoying living in Miami.
“I’m not one of those media people that make up stories. I’m not saying ‘enjoying living in Miami’ like Jimmy’s a partier, Jimmy doesn’t go out. So I’m not saying that, but living in Miami is a beautiful thing. And so I think he just more enjoys his life and what comes with him being the face of the Miami Heat.”
Before the Heat suspended Butler for seven games without pay, the disgruntled star said he had lost his joy on the court but maintained he’s happy living in Miami.
“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball,” Butler told reporters. “Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon. I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now, I’m not doing it.”
‘Jimmy Butler Wants to Win a Championship’
Butler took offense against the suggestion he wasn’t playing hard over his last few games with the Heat since he returned from injury.
Green believed Butler. So when he said he was enjoying his life in South Beach, he didn’t mean the Heat star was slacking off on the basketball court.
“Again, Jimmy’s a very serious guy,” Green said. “[He] takes his craft very seriously, works his ass off. So I don’t want this to come off the wrong way. I just think he had a good thing there where he’s going to the NBA Finals, he’s the man in Miami, and I think all of those things made what he was going through bearable. That’s what I’m trying to get at.
“And I think it’s just reached a point now where you’re like, ‘What do I have left, three more years, maybe? I’m going to live in Miami for the rest of my life after three years anyway.’ And so I think you start to get to that point, where I think Jimmy also — Jimmy’s as competitive as they come — wants to win a championship.”
Draymond Green Offers Two Likely Outcomes
Green and the Warriors with franchise star Stephen Curry are also facing the same question. At the backend of their primes, Green and Curry are no longer the dominant forces they were during their four championship runs. They are having a hard time carrying the Warriors, who are just one game above .500.
But the Warriors are not inclined to mortgage their future to bring in Butler, according to multiple reports. So Green doesn’t see Butler ending up in Golden State.
“What I believe the outcome is going to be, everybody’s like ‘Jimmy’s going here, Jimmy’s going there’ … I think Pat Riley is Pat Riley, y’all have heard the stories of who Pat Riley is and how Pat Riley is, just like I have,” Green said. “I can see two things happening: I can see Pat Riley sending Jimmy Butler to a team, an organization that he absolutely hates, that’s garbage. I can also see Pat Riley saying, ‘Hey, go home for the rest of the year. Just go home, we’ll pay you. It’s fine, go home. We’re not trading you anywhere.’ And I can see that scenario as well.”
‘End of the Road’
Butler is due for $48.7 million this season but his seven-game suspension would cost him $2.4 million of his salary. His camp already made teams known that he will decline his $52.4 million player option for next season to test free agency.
With the Heat receiving lowball offers, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, they have been preparing for the likelihood of Butler’s return after his suspension. But Green sent a chilling warning.
“But the scenario I don’t see, I don’t see just Jimmy back in good graces with them and Jimmy being who Jimmy is, I don’t see that, I think it’s too far past gone,” Green said. “When stuff starts getting to the media, when stuff starts getting public, it’s no longer in your control anyway. It’s completely taken over by public opinion, and it’s just hard to make it work. I think they’ve reached the end of the road.”
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Warriors Star’s Brutally Honest Take on Jimmy Butler Trade Rumors