In shocking postgame comments, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler openly admitted that he is unhappy with his current team and believes there is no way to “enjoy” playing in South Florida.
This comes after weeks of speculation that the Heat could trade the 35-year-old star, or that Butler could demand his transfer.
Butler only scored nine points on a 6-3 shooting line along with two rebounds, four assists and two steals in Miami's 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
But after the game, Butler said he wasn't happy at all about being a member of the Heat. Although he did not expressly say that he wanted to leave, he admitted that he wants to be happy again playing “wherever that may be.”
'What do I want to happen? “I want to bring back the joy of playing basketball, wherever that may be, we'll find out here very soon,” Butler said in a postgame press conference.
'I want to recover my joy. I'm happy here, off the court, but I want to be somewhat dominant again. I want to play and I want to help this team win. I'm not doing that right now.'
When asked in a follow-up question if he could recapture his Miami joy on the court, Butler matter-of-factly replied, “Probably not.” The press conference ended immediately afterwards.
After the press conference, a report from ESPN's Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst indicated that Butler demanded a trade from the team.
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