Star forward Jimmy Butler recently became the latest star player to end his stint with the Miami Heat on a sour note. After he requested a trade out of Miami and was suspended multiple times by the organization, the Heat granted Butler his wish and dealt him to the Golden State Warriors earlier this month.
Former Heat star guard Tim Hardaway may or may not have been talking about Butler directly, but he recently made some interesting comments about players who leave the franchise. He said that every time somebody leaves the Heat, he realizes the error of his ways and that he should have stuck around.
“You gotta have a mind,” Hardaway began on what separates Heat culture from the rest of the NBA. “You gotta have a strong mind for Heat culture. You gotta understand that this is not playtime, it’s serious time. When you walk into that arena, all that other bulls— is out the door. We here for business. We here to win. Pat [Riley] — you’ll come into practice, and you know it’s just serious. But see, me personally, I like that. I like to be prepared. I like to be ready. I like structure. I like that.
“And every time somebody leaves, they be like, ‘Damn, you know what? I f—– up. I should have shut my mouth up and stayed because I’m missing this structure.’ But it’s not like he instills it in you because when you get there, you already know it’s about business, and it’s about paying attention to detail. I just love going to practice. I love how he went about his business around there.
“And it’s gonna be his way. It’s not gonna be your way. It’s not gonna be your way. It’s gonna to be your way. Now, if you got one foot in and one foot out, it’s not gonna benefit you, okay? You gotta be all in. If you all in, you could deal with all that other s—. But if you one foot in and one foot out, you gonna always be skeptical, and you gonna always — you not gonna win, basically. And you not gonna get what you want. And you not gonna be out there playing for a great organization.”
The retired five-time All-Star didn’t mince words when reflecting on the Butler trade saga earlier this week. He referred to the 35-year-old forward as a “crybaby.”
Hardaway spent five-plus seasons of his playing career with the Heat and earned a pair of All-Star nods as a member of the team. He was part of a deep playoff run as Miami’s starting point guard as well, as the Heat reached the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals after they won 61 games in the 1996-97 regular season.
Butler’s trade out of Miami marked the continuance of perhaps a disturbing trend of great players departing the team.
Guard Dwyane Wade, forward LeBron James and big man Shaquille O’Neal stand out as three of the more impactful players in the history of the franchise, but they all had exits from the team at some point.
O’Neal didn’t even last two full seasons after he helped the Heat win their first title in 2006, as he was traded to the Phoenix Suns midway through the 2007-08 campaign.
As for James, he was key to Miami winning back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013, and Miami reached the NBA Finals in every one of his seasons with the team. Still, he rejoined the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency after the Heat came up short against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals.
Wade, meanwhile, was thought by many to be someone who would spend the entirety of his pro career in Miami, but that didn’t come to fruition. He signed with the Chicago Bulls after he was a member of the Heat for more than a decade. He did eventually return to the franchise before retiring.
