Butler working sidelines
Ex-Heat forward will be TV reporter for broadcast of Heat-Cavaliers game
MIAMI — One of the most beloved figures in the Miami Heat’s 30 seasons will be back at American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. LeBron James will be there, too.
With the arrival of the Cleveland Cavaliers comes TNT’s “Players Only” broadcasting franchise, included in that group is former Heat forward Caron Butler, who will work the game as a sideline reporter.
The irony is that Butler nearly came back to stay, a finalist to become the successor to television analyst Tony Fiorentino, a role that will go to radio analyst John Crotty starting next season.
Even now, 14 years removed from his final game with the franchise, Butler’s ties to the Heat run deep, to this day still texting with Heat President Pat Riley, considering Heat owner Micky Arison as family, and essentially making Dwyane Wade family, with Wade the godfather to Butler’s daughter Ava.
In advance of his Tuesday assignment for TNT’s broadcast, Butler, 38, spoke with the Sun Sentinel on a variety of Heat-related topics, including his belief that the Heat should not shy away from a potential first-round playoff series against James and the Cavaliers, even with Cleveland again at the top of its game with the return of Kevin Love.
Q: Let’s start with your audition to become the Heat’s next television analyst. Was that process like?
Butler: “It was a great process because the Miami Heat opened the door for me to learn more. I had done all the stuff before, like going to the Syracuse broadcasting program and the prep I had with ESPN, where I was able to do the draft combine. But this was like the real deal, you’re in the fire, you’re in the bigs. You’re going up against people who are big time. You’re with the legendary Eric Reid. It’s the whole thing. You’re learning how to trim your thoughts, going through that process.
“So it was an educational experience. It was a learning experience for me. And I’ve learned a lot from it. I think I’ve been able to become more successful from that experience.”
Q: Was it disappointing to come up short?
Butler: “I love Miami. It would have been wonderful to come back there. But everything happens for a reason. A lot of other things have opened up for me.
“When I found out I was one of the finalists, that was amazing. It’s like when I was playing — I work on my reps, I work on my consistency. It was the same thing from that experience.”
Q: You only played two seasons for the Heat and they traded you in 2004 for Shaquille O’Neal before they won their first title, yet you consistently have spoken about the Heat as if you spent an entire career with the team. Where does that come from?
Butler: “The seeds they planted in your life last forever. Micky Arison and the Arison family have been amazing to me and my family, still to this day. I saw him on Rodeo Drive All-Star Weekend and gave him a big hug.
“I saw Pat, as well. He still sends me text messages and we stay connected. Dwyane is godfather to my middle child, Ava. So we’ve got a connection that’s forever. It really is. It’s real family.”
Q: You arrive for [today’s] game at an interesting time. The Heat are one of several teams that can finish as the No. 6 seed in the East and likely face the revitalized Cavaliers. But the Heat also can finish No. 7 and likely wind up with the injury-riddled Celtics, now that Kyrie Irving has his knee issue. Should the Heat be playing the seeding game?
Butler: “You can’t do that. You have to be playing your best basketball going into the playoffs. I don’t think Miami will take that approach. I don’t think they fear being a six seed and playing and the Cavs. I actually think that they will welcome that challenge, because there’s so many story lines there.
“And if you’re Miami, the attitude and disposition that you have as players and that organization has always had is that, ‘Look, we can outwork anyone.”
Q: Tuesday also features the storyline of Dwyane again facing the Cavaliers as a member of the Heat, after starting this season with them. You were there when he started his Heat career. What’s it like to see this comeback?
Butler: “This past summer me and Dwyane had dinner and we talked about it, when he knew he was going to be getting his buyout from Chicago. We talked about playing in OKC with [Russell] Westbrook, Paul George and ‘Melo [Carmelo Anthony]. I told him, ‘You’re the king of Wade County.’ I felt like him being back in Miami would be the perfect ending. It’d been a huge void since he left and now he’s back and he’s filled it perfectly.”
Q: Speaking about finding one’s place, the Cavaliers seemed to have found theirs. With Kyrie ailing in Boston and Steph Curry out for the Warriors, has this become about LeBron again?
Butler: “I think your best shot, if you’re going to face the Cavs is early rather than late. Because once they have a rhythm, it’s going to be hard to stop them.”
Q: But you will be impartial Tuesday, right?
Butler: “I’ll continue to show my personality, have fun and report what is needed to be reported. It’s always an emotional experience whenever you return to places where you have so much connection. So first I’ll go in and give my hugs.”