Ex-Heat teammate threatened Jimmy Butler after run-in with Erik Spoelstra: 'I was going to whoop his ass'

Udonis Haslem was not about to let Butler 'take down' the locker room

The muscle behind the Miami Heat's run of success under coach Erik Spoelstra, retired NBA veteran Udonis Haslem, nearly came to blows with former franchise superstar Jimmy Butler during the 2022 season when the guard became somewhat of a locker room cancer and disruptor to team goals.

Haslem, a three-time NBA champion in Miami who played 20 years with the Heat, intervened during one instance against the Golden State Warriors after Butler and Spoelstra got into a shouting match on the sideline ending with the Heat's coach slamming his clipboard.

"Yeah, I was going to whoop Jimmy's ass," Haslem said Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show. "It's OK. And I love Jimmy, that's nothing against Jimmy. But before I let one guy take down this locker room, I'll whoop your ass. It's 15 other guys here got the right mindset. Before I let one guy take down these other 15, I'll whoop your ass."

Butler signed with the Heat in the summer of 2019 as part of a four-team blockbuster trade, and his ensuing 4.5 years in Miami was tumultuous to say the least. The public sideline incident was the most notable, but Butler was later suspended multiple times for misconduct from team president Pat Riley.

From missing team flights to ditching morning shootarounds, Butler wasn't always a team player and easiest person to deal with during his tenure in Miami. He requested a trade in January after his third suspension in a multi-week stretch, and the wish was granted after the Heat shipped Butler to the Golden State Warriors.

Spoelstra said the franchise disputes with Butler was a lot to endure following the deal, not to mention the several weeks of speculation and rumors associated with his pending departure.

"I've had it with different teams," Spoelstra said in February. "I feel like it was less with this team, believe it or not. And that's not taking away from anything that the group had to go through emotionally the last several weeks because I really commend the group for just, you know, staying the course and focusing on the present moment. 

"But you do want to have empathy for guys when it gets close to the trade deadline because this isn't just fantasy sports. These are human beings. Having to move and change franchises midseason, that can't be easy. And then players not knowing leading up to the trade deadline, that is tough. But that's the business we chose. It's the part that people don't think about on the outside. But it's an amazing profession, it's not always the best business. But I'm grateful to be a part of it."

Butler later said he didn't find "joy" in playing for the Heat. Riley addressed the Butler trade last month following the end of the Heat's season, a disappointing 10th-place finish in the East.

"I don't want this to go out there that what happened with Jimmy, as ugly as it was, that I didn't appreciate him, that I didn't love this guy," Riley said. "Those things happen."