Marion and Butler have history in South Beach

It would be a bit of poetic justice, NBA style, if Dallas forwards Caron Butler and Shawn Marion won their first championship by beating the Heat.

Butler and Marion have history in Miami. They were with the Heat during some tough times, the rebuilding periods that bracketed the Shaquille O’Neal years. In fact, both were traded for O’Neal — Butler was in the deal when Shaq joined the Heat in 2004, and Marion was in the deal when Shaq left the Heat in 2008.

Marion, a four-time All-Star, will have a direct impact on this year’s NBA Finals against Miami as the Mavericks’ starting small forward. He took over the starting job when Butler sustained a knee injury on New Year’s Day. A defensive specialist, Marion has already defended Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Thunder forward Kevin Durant in the playoffs. Now he gets perhaps the toughest job of all, Heat forward LeBron James.

"It is what it is," Marion said of the tough defensive assignments.

Butler, drafted No. 10 by the Heat in 2002, hasn’t played since sustaining that knee injury five months ago. Although he hasn’t been medically cleared, he contends he’s healthy enough to play even though Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said it’s "unlikely."

"It’s frustrating not being able to participate from the jump," Butler said, "but I will have some type of effect on the series."

Butler has deeper ties to Miami than Marion. Guard Dwyane Wade is Butler’s good friend as well as godfather to Butler’s daughter, Ava.

"I consider him family," Butler said of Wade.

And Butler considers the Heat family. Before Monday’s practice Butler exchanged pleasantries with Heat owner Micky Arison. He regularly keeps in touch with Wade via text messages. But no part of him wants the Heat to win the title.

"It’s tough," Butler said. "You want Dwyane to do well, but I still want him to lose."

Butler, who averaged 15.4 points a game during a 25-67 rookie season in Miami, was once part of an exciting young Heat foundation. In his second season in Miami he teamed with Wade, a rookie, and forward Lamar Odom, and together this dynamic trio finished 42-40, earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the second round of the 2004 playoffs.

Their energy and excitement re-energized a franchise struggling to recover from the glory days of Pat Riley, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.

But Butler and Odom were packaged and shipped to the Lakers in exchange for O’Neal in the summer of 2004. The Heat won the title in 2006.

But things went south soon afterward. When Marion arrived in Miami in February 2008 from Phoenix — Marion and guard Marcus Banks were included in a package that shipped O’Neal from the Heat to the Suns — he asked why everyone was so down. It was because the Heat were losing.

Losing was foreign to Marion, but it was becoming familiar to that 2007-08 Heat team. Wade was out with shoulder and knee injuries, and forward Udonis Haslem went down with an ankle injury. A collection of other injuries meant Marion spent much of that season playing alongside D-League callups Stephane Lasme, Blake Ahearn and Kasib Powell as Miami limped to a 15-67 finish.

The Heat did OK the following season, earning a playoff berth, but in February 2009, Marion and Banks were shipped to Toronto in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon. Marion missed the postseason appearance.

"When I came it was on a trade to one of the worst seasons the franchise ever had," Marion said, "but when I left we were in playoff contention. The guys were cool. The organization was great. Everything was cool. It was just bad timing."

That was true for both Marion and Butler during their days with the Heat.

 A championship would make it all better.