Heat circle of life provides Caron Butler with unique playoff vantage point in series vs. Bucks

There was a moment Saturday, as he glanced across the court at Fiserv Forum, when Caron Butler was transported back to when he was a Miami Heat rookie, nearly two decades from this playoff moment as a first-year Heat assistant coach.

As he sat there, in the Milwaukee Bucks’ new home, he reflected on a previous time, Nov. 19, 2002 to be exact. That was when his family had made the trip from his nearby hometown of Racine, Wis., to watch him play as a professional for the first time in Milwaukee, on a night he scored 20 points in a four-point victory while coached by current Heat President Pat Riley.

“I had one of those moments where I was sitting back,” Butler said of the opener of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series against the Bucks, “and I’m looking across, and I’m looking at Riles, like The Godfather, he’s right there, and looking to my left, my mom’s up there.

“And it just kind of like took me back, because there was a game when we were playing in the Bradley Center, and Riles was my coach, and I’m looking at my grandmother over there and mom is holding my son up on her shoulders and saying, ‘My Dad Rookie of the Year.’ "

That son is now a junior at UC-Irvine.

“So it’s crazy how life works,” he said. “And it’s crazy how things come full circle and I just had a ‘wow’ moment right there during the game. It hit me hard. It hit me hard. I was like, ‘Damn, I’m exactly where I need to be.’ "

This was not the easiest of decisions for the father of five, serial entrepreneur, social activist, broadcaster, to, at 40, move into coaching.

And yet, as his first season on an NBA coaching staff draws toward completion, the 2002 Heat first-round pick rarely has felt better about a decision.

“Of the things I had on my bucket list, coaching was one of ‘em,” he said ahead of Monday night’s Game 2 against the Bucks. “And I’m learning so much, that I think it’s safe to say I’m going to be in this space for quite some time. I love the thrill. I love the constant challenge of it. I love cracking the code of dealing with so many different personalities and the challenges of that, as well.”

While only two of his 14 seasons were with the Heat, Butler said that initial NBA tenure not only set him up for what followed, it also set him up for moments like this, at the side of Erik Spoelstra.

“Even though I was only here two years, I felt like I was here a lifetime,” he reflected. “Because everything that the Miami Heat culture is about, whether it’s being consistent, determined, always playing with a sense of urgency, being the best version of yourself at all times on the court, off the court, those were the qualities that provided me a strong foundation to go through the duration of my career.

“Pat Riley tore into me early, and then I was able to handle the challenge to play with possibly the best player to play the game of basketball, Kobe Bryant, with his mindset and his mentality. But I was used to that, it wasn’t foreign to me, because I already got it from the Miami Heat organization. So that was something that was ingrained in me early, and stuck with me early.

“And now you see the same thing . . . it still remains the same.”

But it also now is viewed through a different prism. Butler said he appreciates how former Heat teammate Udonis Haslem believes his voice resonates differently as an active player in the locker room.

“Now,” Butler said, “once you’re on the other side, you’re definitely trying to cater to the needs of the players, not the wants, and you’re making sure that you’re always giving them the next challenge.”

For the Heat’s young players, Butler said, it is about teaching. For the veterans, “sharpening their iron.”

“It’s all different, unique ways that I try to challenge all the guys and teach them in real time,” he said, “but it always comes from the top, Pat Riley, Spo, and it trickles down for us.”

Considering how far he has come from putting on that Heat cap on draft night on June 26, 2002 to now trying to cap his first coaching season with Heat playoff success, the sense of accomplishment endures.

“I think,” he said, “I’ve held my own.”