Players come and go with every NBA franchise, but rumors that start to involve superstar talent should not be taken lightly. That’s where the Miami Heat are with Jimmy Butler, as top insider Shams Charania put the internet in a frenzy following his recent report that Miami is officially open to trade offers for Butler.
These uncomfortable conversations were bound to rise sooner or later, as the All-Star forward is due for a new contract following the end of this season. In what will likely be Butler’s last chance to secure a major payday as he ages into his late 30s, the Heat have some important decisions to make. The team has finally started to click as of late with their current three-game win streak.
Their most recent underdog victory against the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers has reminded the fanbase that this core is still good enough to compete with the best. And Butler has been a major part to this recent success. The contract situation is naturally similar to another heart breaking time in Heat history.
Dwyane Wade’s 2016 departure to the Chicago Bulls never felt right.
Miami allowed Wade to walk in the 2016 offseason following lowball contract offers to the organization’s greatest player of all-time. Being that he was entering the later part of his 30’s at the time, Pat Riley was reluctant to offer the financial resources needed to bring Wade back as he entered free agency. How did that work out for the Heat?
Well, they instantly dropped out of the playoff picture the following season, and didn’t make it back until Wade returned at the 2018 trade deadline. The franchise remained in mediocrity with no clear direction up until Butler came aboard.
His arrival instantly made Miami a contender again for the first time since the big three era in 2014. Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals in his first season, and followed it up with another deep playoff run and second Finals appearance in a five-year span. He has done the most with less and defied all expectations as a true playoff riser.
Luckily, the reports from Charania could easily be misinterpreted.
The Heat can’t afford to let another franchise player bolt out of town. If it comes down to paying Butler his money or letting him play elsewhere, the front office should do all that they can to take care of their star. He has brought the Heat back to relevancy for the first time in over a decade and has done more than enough to prove his worth.
This is still an incredibly high IQ, All-Star production caliber player that can impact winning, even in his late 30’s. And Butler seems much more physically capable than Wade did during his later years.
The grass is not always greener—and Wade’s departure proved so.
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Fake heat fans want Jimmy gone just don’t know this team won’t be getting nowhere yall some real 🤡s Jimmy never asked out an the heat never said they were trading him
The voice of ultimate knowledge has spoken! Lmao!
“So let it be written So let it be done.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYNVzgUhnMw
Haha, the great YB!
Hope Heat wins a ton of games before deadline with Jimmy leading several Ws. Its going to mess things up more. haha!
Question: what would be the amenable deal for both sides for Jimmy to stay if he agrees to a much lower $$$ and not a max?
That’s it. He can’t expect a max extension when his skills, availability (and frequently his efforts) are declining. A 10% discount, at minimum, sounds reasonable for 2 years. After all, state individual income taxes in California are 13% at his income level. Florida doesn’t have individual income taxes.
Any discussion regarding a Butler extension would need to consider the following:
I respectfully disagree with the premise of this article. Comparing the Wade and Butler situations is, to me, apples and oranges. Wade was our greatest player and draft pick. He led the team to 3 championships. Butler has been a revelation here, but he played for 3 different teams before arriving here. He has not, despite some super human games, led the Heat to a championship. Giving him the max extension he wants will likely hamstring the Heat for the duration of his contract. It will delay the much needed transition to becoming a younger, more athletic team.
I also disagree with the notion that the 3 recent wins shows this core ‘can still compete with the best’. I was in Heat heaven these last 3 games, but each of those teams were missing key players. Let’s see what the rest of this year and early January brings. If the team plays consistently well against quality opposition, let’s reevaluate at that time. The first key date is December 15, when several contracts become eligible to be traded.
yeah this article is not going to be popular in the comment section. Aside from the obvious difference between the two players and the two teams that surrounded them, there is also the question of what would have happened if the Heat had give D-Wade a max contract instead of letting him walk. D-Wade was clearly in decline, and was never a relevant player for the Bulls or the Cavs. By the time he came back to the Heat, he was coming off the bench.
I think a better comparison is the Shaq trade. Shaq was a great player that had great success with the Heat. But two years after winning the title, the Heat were no longer a contender. So they sent Shaq to a team in the West that could compete for a title, and started planning a rebuild. What happenend next? Two years later, they had max cap space, and used it to sign Chris Bosh and LeBron James. That wouldn’t have happened if they gave Shaq a max extension instead of trading him when it was time to move on.
Wade already started a decline, when left Miami. Butler could be on the same timeline.
I believe that was good for the Heat back then, but not that good for Wade.
Butler can follow exactly the same path.
I agree RC. This is the time to evaluate how well Butler and the Heat play over the next several weeks,
After watching OKC tonight, the Heat’s game vs OKC on Dec 20th should tell us a lot about what kind of team we have this season. The Thunder is the number one team in the West and the number one defensive team in the league. The team is very young, very athletic and very deep. Although OKC was the number one playoff seed in the West last year, they lost to Dallas 4-2 in the second round. They brought in Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso over the summer to bolster their defense and add veteran leadership. They handled Dallas tonight 118-104.
After OKC, the Heat will play Orlando twice, Brooklyn, Atlanta and Houston to close out 2024. Fortunately for the Heat, Orlando’s two best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner may still be injured for both games with torn right obliques.
Maybe we should wait to see how things look at the beginning of January before speculating on what Miami might/should do next.
I believe not only OKC, but also Dallas and 3-4 more teams in the west are better then anything in the east but Boston.
But OKC played great defence, limited both Luka and Irving.
Yup, the West is gonna be a dogfight this year (Pit Bulls). East will be a cat fight (small cats).