Jimmy Butler did not have a standout series in the Golden State Warriors' 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. At least not in the way the Warriors hoped he would when they traded for him in February. This morning on ESPN multiple talking heads were ready and waiting to discredit Playoff Jimmy after he scored 17 points and took just 11 shots in an elimination game. Among them was Udonis Haslem who is the vice president of basketball development for the team that traded Butler to the Warriors, the Miami Heat.
Haslem made the case that Butler is not one of the most elite players, but often gets put in that conversation because of the "Playoff Jimmy" moniker.
"I've seen guys guard D-Wade. No matter what you do, he gets his. Jayson Tatum, he gets his. ... Jimmy Butler is not that unstoppable guy like those guys."@ThisisUD spoke about Jimmy Butler's game in the NBA playoffs 😳 pic.twitter.com/aVAtDvI4id
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 15, 2025
"What I'm going to say about Jimmy is, as great as Jimmy is, the Playoff Jimmy thing has put Jimmy Butler in a conversation with guys that maybe are a little bit above Jimmy Butler," said Haslem. "And sometimes the expectations of Jimmy Butler are the Playoff Jimmy Butler expectations all the time and that might not necessarily be who Jimmy Butler is. Jimmy Butler is a very talented basketball player but he'll tell you I'm not the most talented. I'm not the fastest."
"I think Jimmy Butler gave what he gave but Jimmy Butler didn't have anymore to give against that team," Haslem continued. "And that's what you see the difference is between other guys and Jimmy. Because I've seen guys guard LeBron and no matter what you do, he gets his. I've seen guys guard D-Wade. No matter what you do, he gets his. Jayson Tatum, he gets his. Jaylen Brown, he gets his. Those guys get his no matter what you do. Jimmy Butler is not that unstoppable guy like those guys."
Asked by Monica McNutt if Butler had lived up to Haslem's expectations, he had a rather unique perspective.
"I was on the other side of the trade so you wanna hear what my expectation was," Haslem asked. "I wouldn't give a damn what he did over there. I was worried about the side of the trade that we got."
It's not exactly breaking news that Haslem has an affinity for the team that signed him in 2003 and he played two decades for, but to hear him say "we" while discussing the trade you're reminded that he literally works for the team and he's on ESPN critiquing a player that the franchise traded away after an acrimonious breakup just a couple months ago.
It's certainly a distinctive opinion to hear on ESPN.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith, Heat Executive Udonis Haslem Call Out Jimmy Butler on 'First Take'.
