Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem Explains Altercation With Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra

Haslem clears the air about argument with Butler

Miami Heat veteran Udonis Haslem isn’t known for his outbursts, so it shocked the NBA world to see him involved in an argument with Jimmy Butler earlier this season. 

The clash occurred on the sideline during the Heat’s 118-104 loss against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were without Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green. 

The Heat’s underwhelming performance against a limited Warriors squad flared some emotions within the team. In a recent interview with sports journalist Cari Champion, Haslem spoke about the exchange with Butler.

“We both said we going to kick each other’s a**,” Haslem said. “I mean, it was just a situation. It’s an up and down last couple games, a lot of frustration, a lot of tension. We just trying to get the solution on how to win. I just wanted all of us to be on the same page, and as the captain, as a leader, it was just a situation where it could’ve gone either way. I could’ve been a little more coolheaded, Jimmy could have been a little more coolheaded. But I don’t think either one of us regret that situation because you look at the basketball we’re playing now.”

As Haslem stated, the Heat were in an emotional state because of the losing streak the team was coasting on. However, Miami was able to figure things out, and locked up the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference during the final stretch of the regular season.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.