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Miami Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler recently joined Sam Amick of The Athletic for a wide-ranging interview. As part of their discussion, the former Marquette Golden Eagle was asked about the time he spent with the Sixers and why he is no longer with the team.
Butler joined the Heat by way of a sign-and-trade with the Sixers in July of 2019. It was a four-team blockbuster deal. So far, the move is paying off for Miami in a big way.
With Butler leading the charge, the Heat have advanced to the second round of the 2020 Eastern Conference Playoffs, where they're facing off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. After a 115-104 victory on Monday night, Miami is leading the series, 1-0.
Jimmy Butler, who scored a playoff career-high 40 points in Monday's win, is never one to mince words. Right now, though, the former first round pick says he's too focused on the task at hand to concern himself with any previous tribulations.
After getting asked about his relationship with former Sixers coach Brett Brown and why he left Philly for Miami, Butler gave a blunt answer by stating things just “didn't work out.” As part of a follow-up, Butler said he's simply not worried about what happened with the Sixers and is locked in with the Heat:
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The Athletic: They didn’t want you to talk to anybody else, right? (Even with the Brown dynamic that was definitely a factor, sources say there was still a chance the Sixers would give Butler the max deal he wanted but demanded that he didn’t engage with other teams).
Jimmy Butler: They did not. But I wasn’t worried about it. I’m here now, and I’m telling you. I don’t even think about what could have happened with Brett Brown. What could have happened… I don’t, because if I get too lost in that I’m not doing my due diligence for these guys. I’m so fucking locked in right now, and I will do anything that it takes to win, man. I’m telling you. Like, I don’t want to have to come out and score 40. I don’t give a fuck. I’ll shoot the ball twice as long as you guarantee me that we get a ‘Dub.’ I don’t care (how he gets labeled as a player), I don’t. I couldn’t care less how anybody labels me. Just know that I do everything in my power to win. That’s what brings me the most joy, is that no matter what you think, or no matter what you might say, you’re never going to be able to say that I’m not a winner. I may not have won it, but you’re not going to say that I was a loser, that I played a losing style of basketball. You’ll never say that.
Jimmy Butler seems to be playing with real motivation in Miami. He had 15 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter of Monday night's game, finishing with a 13-for-20 mark from the field, 12-for-13 from the line and 2-for-2 from 3-point territory. Notably, Butler joined LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as the only players with a 40-point playoff effort for the Heat.
Game 2 between the Heat and Bucks is set to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with ESPN having live broadcast coverage.
Let's see if Jimmy Butler can maintain this same level of intensity throughout the rest of these playoffs.
