Jimmy Butler heard all of the critics who questioned the Miami Heat's decision to give him a four-year, $142 million contract this summer, and he has to be quite pleased with how the team has responded thus far.
Through six games, half of which were played without the help of Butler as he celebrated the birth of his daughter, the Heat are 5-1 and 3-0 with Jimmy in the lineup. In a recent interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Butler shared his thoughts about the reactions to his free agency move and how he sees a little bit of himself in every one of the players on Miami's roster.
Says Butler, per Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes:
"Motherf--kers act like I'm not a good basketball player. Like for real. Just think about that. Like I can't come in and make a huge difference. I'm not going to say 'carry a team' because nobody can do it by themselves and I mean that. I'm not putting it all on myself, but I know what I'm capable of. I know what I bring to any and all situations, and the group of guys that we have is the group of guys that I want to play with.
"When I look down the line and as we're talking about it as an organization on this roster, I know what these guys are capable of. These guys are built like me. We're one in the same and so they're only going to get better and they're not going to get complacent. This is me. I see myself in every one of these guys around this locker room."
The Heat signed Jimmy Butler to a four-year, $142 million contract this off-season as part of a sign and trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. In three appearances thus far, the 30-year old All-Star is averaging 14.7 points, 7.3 assists, 7 rebounds and 4.3 steals per night.
Up next for Miami is a three-game road trip starting with a matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and then a back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.