Jimmy Butler didn’t quite say the four-year, $184 million extension was secondary, but after signing off on the agreement Saturday, Butler said the Miami Heat made it easy to sign on the dotted line.
“It was easy,” he said. “They allow me to be me here. They love who I am as a person, as a player. I love the guys that I get an opportunity to play with, and I think we’re going to be a really good team.”
The deal, when factoring in the $36 million due this coming season before the extension kicks in, has Butler under contract for $220 million over the next five years, through age 36.
“It’s never about money,” he said. “After my first max deal, I knew I was going to be good [financially] for a very long time.”
If the money wasn’t motivation enough, there now also is the long-awaited opportunity to play alongside Kyle Lowry, with the veteran point guard Friday signing a three-year, $85 million deal with the Heat.
“He’s been a very good friend of mine for years and years now. It’s not just basketball between me and him,” Butler said. “So it’s great to have a genuine friend that you can have the tough conversations with. I’m going to tell him the truth; he’s going to tell me the truth. And more than anything, he’s a Miami Heat guy, too.”
Which, Heat president Pat Riley said is also what defines Butler.
“Jimmy is the anchor and face of our franchise along with Bam [Adebayo] and Kyle,” Riley said. “With Jimmy, we get an All-NBA player, an All-NBA Defensive player, tough as nails and a complete player across the board.
“He’s very deserving of this contract as he continually puts himself at the top of the league at his position. Having him in the Heat organization has been a great, great coup for us.”
For Butler, the bittersweet part was losing Goran Dragic to the Toronto Raptors in the sign-and-trade for Lowry, with the two having grown close during their two seasons as Heat teammates. Precious Achiuwa also was sent to the Raptors.
“He wanted everybody to be successful. He’s a winner through and through,” Butler said of Dragic. “It was one of the hardest FaceTimes I’ve had to do in a long time, to have to say we won’t be teammates anymore.”
He then quipped about the teams’ first matchup.
“I’m calling him up for the switch,” Butler said. “I’m going to post him up. I’m going to run him over. I’m going to get an offensive foul. I’m going to sit the ball down right next to him. But it’s like, ‘I love you, you’re not on my team anymore.' "
Tucker deal done
The Heat on Saturday also finalized their two-year agreement with veteran power forward P.J. Tucker.
“P.J. Tucker is the perfect addition to this team,” Riley said. “He brings both shooting and, most importantly, the ability to defend a lot of perimeter players. We love his versatility in order to put a defensive team on the court, where all five guys can defend, while also having enough shooting and scoring to win games.”
