NBA: Butler arrival delayed, new-look Herro as Heat gather for media day

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks during a news conference at the NBA basketball team’s media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

MIAMI — Tyler Herro had a new haircut for media day. Jimmy Butler’s hairstyle was, to the disappointment of some, normal.

And with that, the Miami Heat season started in predictably unpredictable fashion.

Butler was not at the start of Heat media day on Monday morning, after his flight back from Paris was delayed — travel issues — and he didn’t arrive in South Florida until early afternoon, a few hours behind schedule. Everyone else was there for the start of the season, including Herro, who sported a new, simple buzzcut to start the year and said he’s keeping it all season.

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— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) September 30, 2024

“It’s all business,” Herro said.

Media day is the annual prelude to the start of training camp and Butler made a splash last year by showing up basically in costume — new hairdo, some facial piercings and a look that went viral immediately. It was his “Emo Jimmy” phase, he said. And he did something similar in 2022, going through media day with dreadlocks in another switch from his usual look.

This year, Jimmy was just Jimmy. Social media was wondering what he’d come up with this year, and perhaps to the chagrin of those posters, he kept things simple.

“I’m here. Normal hair,” Butler said. “No shenanigans. … I’ve been running around trying to make it back here. I’m just happy that I’m here.”

Butler is expected to be with the team for its first practice on Tuesday when training camp opens in the Bahamas. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Butler is “in a good place coming into camp and he’s prepared himself for this camp.”

“He’s at a point now where he needs me to really coach this team at a high level,” Spoelstra said. “He needs me to coach him at a high level, push him to higher levels and I need him to be at his highest level as a player, as a leader and the same goes for everybody else.”

Butler was in Los Angeles last week for the premiere of the Netflix docuseries “Starting 5,” which followed him and four other NBA stars — the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis — throughout last season. From there, he went to Paris and was seen at Fashion Week events along with a Paris Saint-Germain soccer match on Friday night. Butler makes no secret of his PSG fandom.

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This also is no secret: The Heat haven’t been thrilled by how many games Butler has missed in recent years. He was eligible for an extension this summer that could have netted him up to $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, but no deal was put together. Butler could leave after this season as a free agent if he chooses, or a new deal in Miami could be struck in the interim.

The 35-year-old Butler has missed 100 regular season games in his five Miami seasons, sitting out for injuries, rest or other reasons nearly 26% of the time. He suffered a knee injury during the play-in tournament last season and missed Miami’s five-game Round 1 playoff loss to eventual champion Boston.

Heat President Pat Riley said last spring the team was facing “a big decision” on offering Butler any extension, particularly one that would have cost the team more than $55 million a year.

“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night,” Riley said after last season. “That’s the truth.”

Butler didn’t seem bothered by the lack of an extended deal.

“I guess I’ve got to go and hoop,” Butler said. “I’ve got to prove that I am a major part of winning and rightfully so. I’ve done it before. This is no different. … That will take care of itself.”

Spoelstra gave no indication that Monday’s delayed arrival was troublesome. It’s obvious that Butler will start, alongside captain Bam Adebayo, and Spoelstra strongly suggested that point guard Terry Rozier (who is full-go for camp after his 2023-24 season ended early because of a neck injury) and Herro also are entering the year with starting spots.

Herro has been a Sixth Man of the Year and has said in the past he wants to be a starter. This year, with the new haircut, he had a new approach: He said he’ll take whatever role Miami wants him to have.

“Honestly, I’m just going to leave it to Spo and Pat. Whatever they say I am, that’s what I am,” Herro said. “I’m a starter, I’m off the bench, we’re going to let the best coach in the league decide, we’re going to let one of the best GMs or presidents ever to do it decide if I’m starting or coming off the bench. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship.”