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By Robert Read
Life & Trends Reporter
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Basketball talk was hardly the highlight from the Miami Heat's media day.
Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler arrived at Kaseya Center on Monday donning a new straightened hairstyle, piercings—on his lip, nose and left eyebrow—and black-painted fingernails. Butler accompanied his new look with a trench coat and black boots. This marks the second straight media day that Butler has shown up debuting a new hairstyle.
The 34-year-old sported dreadlocks last year as opposed to his usual look. Butler clearly continues to have fun with this running gag.
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"Don't make me break character right now," Butler said walking up to the podium for his press conference. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up ... I'm very emotional right now. This is my emo state and I like this. This is me. This is how I'm feeling as of late."
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Butler didn't expand much more on his media day look, or if it would carry its way into the regular season. The 6-foot-7-inch forward's dreadlocks were captured in his media day headshot a year ago, and Butler requested it be used the entire season. Multiple Heat employees were captured cracking up at Butler's latest change in appearance, with one asking, "Again?"
Heat players Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were in tears laughing after seeing Butler's look for the first time.
"That is not real," Adebayo said, via the NBA website. "... That is [expletive] hilarious."
If Butler is in an "emotional state," that's probably because it has been an up-and-down few months in Miami. Butler and the Heat went on an NBA Finals run last season despite entering the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat eventually lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets. Coming off a lengthy playoff run, it seemed as if Miami was poised to get even better by making an offseason splash.
The Heat had been considered front-runners to acquire All-Star point guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. But Miami lost the Lillard sweepstakes when the Trail Blazers sent him to the Milwaukee Bucks last week.
Butler said Monday he's "happy for Dame to be somewhere he is wanted," even if that isn't with him in Miami. And Butler had a stronger message for the rest of the NBA.
"It's a new year," Butler said. "It's a new season. We came up short. I didn't do my job. We didn't do our job as a whole last season. But it's a new season and I'm excited for it. We'll see y'all in the Finals in June. This is our year. This is the one. And this one's gonna feel real good.
"I know what I'm capable of. I know what my guys are capable of. We'll continue to play basketball as a unit, as a team. And somehow, someway, end up in the Finals. This time, we're going to win it."
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