"Butler not embracing them" - NBA fans react to Heat player welcoming Jimmy Butler with open arms despite rift in relationship with Pat Riley

The Miami Heat and disgruntled star Jimmy Butler have been at odds since January, following executive Pat Riley’s public remarks about their differences. With the trade deadline just over 24 hours away, the Heat may not find the best possible deal for Butler yet, making him stuck with the franchise for the rest of the season.

However, Heat insider Ira Windermann said the team is expected to welcome Butler back despite his tumultuous relationship with the organization. He cited one anonymous player’s remark that the team would embrace Butler if he's not traded by the deadline.

With the newest development in the Butler saga, NBA fans quickly jumped to social media to react to that one player’s remark. Some fans quipped that if Butler does not get traded in the next few hours, he would be unhappy with the team regardless of the players’ attempt to welcome him back.

“Better with him than without, so I would too,” one fan tweeted.

Meanwhile, some fans speculated that the anonymous player the report referred to was the Heat backup center and former NBA champion Kevin Love, who was known to be a nice teammate in whichever team he played.

“Kevin Love such a good guy man,” one fan tweeted.

“100% Kevin love,” another fan tweeted.

“Most obvious Kevin Love quote,” another fan tweeted.

Butler is serving an indefinite suspension imposed by the Heat after he walked out of the shootaround last week. Butler’s exit reportedly stemmed from a rotation change that would relegate him off the bench as a reliever for Haywood Highsmith.

Jimmy Butler is “obsessed” with getting traded to the Phoenix Suns.

Ever since the Butler drama in Miami, the Phoenix Suns have been his preferred destination out of the Heat. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Butler has been obsessed with a trade to the Suns, burning his bridge with the Heat while blocking other potential teams that could get him.

"Butler's obsession with getting to the Phoenix Suns is bizarrely admirable … He has torched his relationship with the Heat and hurt the team's season. He has also blocked trade options that would be good fits, where he could have potentially gotten paid and been on a contender,” he said.

Butler will be a free agent in the coming summer, so trading for him will be risky for other teams besides the Suns since he could only play for half a season. He reportedly declined a trade to the Golden State Warriors after telling them he would sign with the Suns in the long term.

The aging Butler also wore Suns-themed sneakers in a game last January to emphasize his desire to be traded to Phoenix.