Jimmy Butler, When Asked If He Can Find On-court Joy Again In Miami: 'probably Not'

Jimmy Butler says he needs to find joy again on the basketball court. And when asked if he can find that joy in Miami, he had a two-word answer.

"Probably not," he said.

The relationship between Butler and the Heat - a talking point for weeks now - seems to have further deteriorated. The Heat lost to Indiana 128-115 on Thursday night, Butler scoring exactly nine points and playing exactly zero seconds in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game. It also happened Wednesday in a win over New Orleans.

"What do I want to see happen? I want to see me get my joy back from playing basketball," Butler said. "Wherever that may be - we'll find out here pretty soon - but I want to get my joy back. I'm happy here, off the court, but I want to be back to somewhere dominant. I want to hoop and I want to help this team win. Right now, I'm not doing that."

Butler has not asked for a trade - ESPN reported on Christmas Day that he would prefer a trade by the Feb. 6 deadline - and the Heat took the rather unusual step last week after that report of saying that they will not be trading him.