MIAMI — Jimmy Butler is back in Miami for a few days.
Golden State’s schedule is quirky right now — the Warriors played Saturday night in Atlanta, arrived in Miami around 2 a.m. Sunday, play the Heat on Tuesday and the team won’t leave South Florida until Thursday afternoon since its next game isn’t until Friday in New Orleans.
Tuesday’s game will be Butler’s first in Miami since the Heat traded him to the Warriors in early February, ending a months-long saga of him wanting a trade and getting suspended by the Heat three times before a deal could finally be worked out.
‘‘Another game for me,‘’ Butler told reporters after Golden State’s loss in Atlanta on Saturday night. ‘’Another game that we’re expected to win, for sure, though.‘’
The Warriors are 16-3 with Butler in the lineup since the trade. The Heat entered their game Sunday against Charlotte on a 10-game losing streak and with a 4-17 record since Butler got moved in a deal that brought Andrew Wiggins to Miami.
The Heat, as they have done with many former All-Star caliber or championship players in their first games back in Miami as an opponent, are planning a tribute to thank Butler for his accomplishments during his 5 1/2 seasons with the franchise. Miami went to the NBA Finals twice during Butler’s time with the team.
‘‘We was all right,‘’ Butler said of his Miami years. ‘’We didn’t win like we were supposed to. We made some cool runs. We had some fun.‘’
Butler left a mark in Miami over his 5 1/2 seasons — eighth in team history in points, eighth in assists, eighth in steals, all of that in just 313 appearances. And in the playoffs, he was exceptional: There have been 18 games of 40 or more points in team postseason history and Butler is responsible for eight of them, including a record 56-point night against Milwaukee in the 2023 playoffs.
