For the first time in his career, Jimmy Butler was able to pick where he wanted to play this past summer, choosing to sign with Pat Riley and the Miami Heat.
Butler says “the sky just opened up” during his free agent meeting with Riley, the Heat's president and architect.
“We’re in this meeting, we’re in the room, and it’s just like … the sky just opened up. You know what? Easy. Easy. This is where you’re supposed to be at,” Butler told Seerat Sohi of Yahoo Sports.
“I just know how happy I was [to join the Heat], how it was a new start, how I got to pick where I wanted to go. I think that’s what I was thinking about more than anything: I’m choosing this. I’m in control of my immediate future moving forward.”
In the post-Dwyane Wade era, Riley has found his new franchise player. Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra are hoping Butler can lead the Heat back to promised land.
Miami missed the playoffs in 2018-19 but is well on its way to making it this season.
The Heat are 17-6 on the year, third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Butler is averaging 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 19 games. He is also shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from beyond the arc and 84.3 percent from the free-throw line.
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