Jimmy Butler nearly came to blows with his 41-year-old Heat teammate, whom he once called the 'embodiment' of the team
- Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem got into a skirmish on Wednesday and were separated by teammates.
- Haslem has a unique role on the Heat, as a 41-year-old mentor who rarely plays but commands respect.
Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem may have gotten into a skirmish on Wednesday, but nobody knows better than Butler how important Haslem is to the Miami Heat.
Tensions boiled over on Wednesday as coaches and teammates had to separate the two players.
A video taken by a fan showed Butler and Haslem exchanging words, with Haslem threatening to beat Butler up. Butler also appeared to be arguing with head coach Erik Spoelstra. When Butler stood up, teammates got in the way and redirected Butler.
Butler and Spoelstra continued arguing on the court as teammates got in between them. They then continued a passionate conversation as the Heat took the floor again.
After the game, members of the Heat chalked it up to emotions getting the best of a fiery squad during a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors.
"Our guys really want to win basketball games, and we have guys that work extremely hard," point guard Lowry told reporters afterward (via ESPN). "The passion comes out. The fire and the emotions come out sometimes. But like I said, to us it's nothing."
Despite the skirmish, Haslem commands the respect of everyone
The marriage between Haslem and the Heat is one of the most unique in the NBA.
At 41, Haslem is the oldest player in the league. He's in his 19th year in the NBA, all spent with the Heat. He has played just 55 games over the past six seasons, making more than $16 million in that span, according to Spotrac.
But the Heat continue to bring him back each year, as long as he's willing to continue filling a veteran mentor role.
Former NBA center Channing Frye said on JJ Redick's podcast, "The Old Man and the Three," that Haslem is the "seatbelt" of the Heat.
"Nobody ever cares that there's seat belts in a Ferrari, but Udonis Haslem is the seatbelt — if anything goes wrong, he locks them up ... He is the guy when Jimmy Butler or Victor Oladipo wanna act crazy, he brings them back into the seat."
In October, Butler himself told Insider that Haslem commands respect from everyone, calling him the "embodiment" of all things Miami.
"UD's presence is unmatched," Butler said. "Obviously he's been playing this game for a long time. He is the embodiment of Miami. Not just the Miami Heat; Miami as a city, as a culture. He's just hard-nosed, shows up, brings it every single day, cares about any and everything Miami and the people here and wants the city to flourish."
Butler added: "You respect any and everything that he has to say, because he's going to tell you how it is, not holding anything back. And that's why he always has a place in this organization. His jersey is for sure going up in the rafters."
Heat forward Duncan Robinson told Insider that Haslem is a "pillar" of the locker room.
"He's huge. Just his voice, you know," Robinson said. "He's done it at highest level. He's won championships. So to have somebody who's seen it all in this league just be a pillar of our locker room, you really can't put a value on it."