Heat’s Jimmy Butler on his approach entering season: ‘I want to play as many games as possible’

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler’s approach this season is simple: play in as many games as possible. But Butler won’t put a number on the amount of games that he hopes to play in this regular season.

“I want to play as many games as possible,” Butler said after practice on Saturday. “I’ll leave it at that. I don’t need to put a number on the amount of games that I play. I know the more games that I play, the more opportunities that my squad has of winning. I do know that.”

This approach has already been on display, with Butler logging 16 minutes in the Heat’s preseason opener on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets after not playing in any preseason games last year. Butler said Saturday that he also expects to play in the Heat’s second of five preseason games on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center (3:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun).

Butler finished his first preseason action since Oct. 12, 2022 on Tuesday with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 shooting on threes and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

“Go out there and compete, hoop, get comfortable, get acclimated with these guys,” Butler said of his goal this preseason. “I think everybody knows me, Tyler [Herro], Bam [Adebayo] and Terry [Rozier] haven’t played a lot of minutes together. So this is the beginning of what everybody is going to see this upcoming season. So get as many as minutes, whether it’s in practice or the preseason.”

This is welcome news for the Heat after Butler, who turns 35 on Sept. 14, missed 20 or more regular-season games for the third time in the past four seasons last regular season because of injuries and other reasons. He also was not available for the Heat’s short-lived five-game playoff run last season because of a sprained MCL in his right knee that he sustained during the NBA’s play-in tournament.

Butler can become a free agent this upcoming summer with a $52.4 million player option in his contract for next season. But he insists the potential for another maximum contract next offseason isn’t what’s fueling his desire to play in more games this season.

“If we’re being brutally honest, no matter what, nothing I do now is going to get me paid anymore money,” Butler said. “Even though I don’t care about the money. All-NBA, dah, dah, dah, dah, none of that is going to matter. I’m at a point right now that I got more than enough money. I’m just here to win.”

Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, five assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field, 41.4 percent from three-point range and 85.8 percent from the foul line last regular season. He has made an All-NBA team in three of his first five seasons with the Heat, but was not voted as an All-Star or All-NBA player last season.

“It means nothing to me,” Butler said when asked about the NBA’s requirement of 65 regular-season appearances to be eligible for postseason awards. “It means nothing to me at all.”

BUTLER’S REVIEW

Butler said Saturday that he was pleased with the way that Netflix’s NBA series “Starting 5” turned out, with the 10-part series released on Wednesday.

The Netflix show followed Butler, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings throughout last season.

Among the revelations from the show is how Butler dealt with the death of his father in February.

“I was very excited about it,” Butler said of the series. “I like the outcome. The whole process was really fun. … I think they did an incredible job of highlighting what they needed to highlight.”

INJURY UPDATE

Heat guard Tyler Herro and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. took part in practice for the second straight day Saturday and there’s a chance both players could be available for Sunday’s preseason matchup against the Pelicans.

Both Herro and Jaquez were held out of Monday’s “Red, White & Pink Game” intrasquad scrimmage and Tuesday’s preseason opener against the Hornets because of strained groins.

The only player on the Heat’s roster who has already been ruled out for Sunday’s preseason game is guard Josh Richardson, who continues to rehabilitate from right shoulder surgery that he underwent in March.