Spoelstra addresses Heat’s injury problem, expectations for Butler and more on exit interview day

The Miami Heat might have been one of the NBA’s most injury-riddled teams for the past two seasons, but coach Erik Spoelstra made clear the Heat isn’t a load-management team.

“To say that we did not philosophically take the regular season seriously, that’s totally off base,” Spoelstra said Friday afternoon at Kaseya Center just two days after the Heat’s season ended in the first round of the playoffs. “I can see why people would point to that because of the missed games. We’re not a load management team. There were things that happened and sometimes you just can’t control that.”

Exit interview day came and went Friday at the Heat’s home arena, with players, coaches and executives gathering for meetings before beginning their offseasons. But the day didn’t end without Spoelstra addressing the Heat’s injury problem that helped lead to its early playoff exit this season.

“We’re going to look at everything,” Spoelstra said when asked about player availability. “Because it’s not all apples to apples. I think what we do in terms of getting guys ready and in shape helps with soft tissue stuff. It’s the other stuff that we have to take a dive into. Two seasons ago, we were good. The last two seasons are a little bit skewed based on guys that missed the entire season that weren’t fully in our rotation. But that doesn’t also absolve it. We want to look at all the different angles on this.”

With the Heat among the most injured teams in the league this season, it set a new franchise record with 35 different starting lineups used this regular season.

In addition, the Heat’s leading trio of Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro were limited to just 27 games together this regular season, with the team posting a 14-13 record in those games. This trio also played in no playoff games together this year, with Butler missing the Heat’s entire five-game first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics because of a sprained MCL in his right knee.

The Heat was without Butler, Terry Rozier, Josh Richardson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. because of injuries in its season-ending loss to the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday. Also, Heat three-point shooting forward Duncan Robinson was available but limited because of a back issue.

“Everybody wants guys available all across the board leaguewide,” Spoelstra continued. “If you don’t have guys available, it does affect things. We don’t want to make excuses for that. So regardless, you have to find different ways to win. But it’s a hot topic right now, I get it. So we’re going to get away from it, we’ll have clear minds when we get back to it and we’re going to do everything we possibly can as an organization to find solutions in that department.”

One solution is simply to have Butler available for more games. Butler, the Heat’s best player, missed 22 games this regular season because of injuries and other reasons.

Butler, who turns 35 on Sept. 14, is expected to seek a maximum two-year contract extension worth about $113 million from the Heat this offseason, according to a league source. Whether Butler gets that extension or not remains to be seen, but Spoelstra expects him to be “extremely motivated” next season.

“Jimmy views things like us,” Spoelstra said. “He didn’t want to have our season end in early May. My expectation is at this place in his career and his age that he’ll come into training camp in the best shape of his career. I think that’s the goal, particularly when you get to that stage. To help fix a lot of things, Jimmy has a way of doing that when he’s playing at his highest level.”

While the uncertainty surrounding the extension has created some uncertainty surrounding Butler’s future with the Heat, Spoelstra spoke Friday as if Butler will be on Miami’s roster next season. Butler is under contract with the Heat for next season with a guaranteed salary of $48.8 million.

“This is like the sweet spot, the beauty when you actually get the opportunity to coach and work with somebody together for six years,” Spoelstra said. “It’s different than one year, two years. It’s something that most coaches and players don’t get to experience and certainly not anymore.

“When you’re working at that kind of intuitive togetherness, and not to say that we weren’t, but my experience is when you get to those later years, it just happens. It’s a symbiotic relationship. You’re driving and pushing in the same direction intuitively. I’m looking forward to that. It goes by fast. I remember my first meeting with him and now we’ll be heading into our sixth year working together. I think that’s a beautiful thing. It’s not something I take for granted. And I can’t wait, I can’t wait for training camp.”

But the Heat has plenty of important and potentially transformative decisions to make this offseason.

The only players on the Heat’s 15-man standard roster with guaranteed salaries for next season are Butler, Adebayo, Herro, Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Jaquez and Nikola Jovic.

Caleb Martin ($7.1 million player option), Kevin Love ($4 million player option), Josh Richardson ($3.1 million player option) and Thomas Bryant ($2.8 million player option) all have player options in their contracts to either return to the Heat or become unrestricted free agents this summer.

Orlando Robinson’s $2.1 million salary for next season is non-guaranteed.

And Haywood Highsmith, Patty Mills and Delon Wright are all set to become unrestricted free agents this offseason.

Then there’s also the fact that Adebayo and Butler both become eligible for expensive extensions this summer, which means the Heat will need to address both of their futures with the organization in the coming months.

The Heat also holds the No. 15 overall pick in the first round and 43rd overall pick in the second round of the NBA’s two-round draft, which will span two days this year from June 26-27.

“None of us want this to be over at the beginning of May,” Spoelstra said. “We don’t even know what to do right now. So you’re talking about making vacation plans and getting out of town, it’s like what. Your mind is not even wrapped around that possibility. You’re thinking you’re going to have to work the next few weeks. This is the best time of the year. You want to be in this competitive cauldron. If you’re watching the playoff games, that’s the environment. That’s what you want to be a part of, not sitting on the sidelines. So that’s the frustrating part.”

Following three East finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances in the previous four years, Heat coaches and players will have a much longer offseason this year. They will spend it trying to make sure next offseason is much shorter after needing to qualify for the playoffs through the NBA’s play-in tournament in two straight seasons.

“Our goal is not to fight for the play-in every year. We know the deal here,” Spoelstra said. “This league has a lot of parity. It is not easy. The reality is you spend the majority of your seasons striving for that, at least us in this building. We’re striving for the ultimate prize.

“But the reality is the majority of the time, unfortunately, you’re ending your season in a loss and that sometimes can send you into a maddening state because you don’t want to accept it. We won’t accept it. We’re going to keep on striving for that. But we just got to work and find ways that we can improve all across the board.”