All good things come to an end. That’s what happened with Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, despite the six-time All-Star elevating the franchise into heights nobody thought was conceivable for five-and-a-half seasons.
After a two-month–no, seven-month-long–contract dispute, the Heat traded the disgruntled, “joyless” 35-year-old to the Golden State Warriors this week in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 top-10 protected first-round pick.
Now that the dust has settled, stories are coming out about the fallout between Butler and the Heat. In ESPN’s story Friday, one fascinating anecdote regarding Butler’s thoughts on Wiggins, his former Timberwolves teammate for two seasons (2017-19), was revealed from a 2019 meeting between Butler and Heat president Riley when Butler signed.
“Miami liked Golden State’s concept, which centered on Andrew Wiggins and the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick, which right now would land in the lottery. Wiggins was the kind of young, athletic, small forward the Heat would need to replace Butler,” the report read.“There was an irony to this. When Butler first came to the Heat in summer 2019, Butler was in Riley’s office celebrating the signing of the four-year, $142 million deal that landed him in Miami. The two men cracked open a bottle of Screaming Eagle cabernet from Riley’s personally curated wine cellar inside the Heat offices. Riley was telling stories, and he asked Butler who was his most talented teammate. Butler answered quickly: Wiggins, the 2014 No. 1 pick and his teammate with the Timberwolves.
“Riley was surprised, those who were in the room remembered, and joked that Butler might need to be cut off from any more wine. But Butler insisted. Wiggins’ talent was incredible. Five years later, they were traded for each other.
“Wiggins has gone on to become an All-Star and NBA champion, though his previous two seasons left the Warriors looking for an upgrade. From the Heat’s perspective, he didn’t need the ball as much as Butler, which Miami believed would make for a seamless transition on a team that has been led offensively this season by first-time All-Star Tyler Herro.“
While the article does not specify whether Butler meant from just his Minnesota tenure to his entire eight-year career up to that point, one could assume it was for the latter. And he played with plenty of talented teammates, including Derrick Rose, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns, to name a few.
Wiggins, 29, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and won the Rookie of the Year in 2015. Though his true two-way potential wasn’t unlocked until he arrived in Golden State midway through the 2019-20 season.
His counting numbers may have popped, but he was the second-most-important player on their Finals run in 2021-22, where he was consistently defending the opposing team’s top player while being a tertiary option on 54.4 percent true shooting.
The new Heat forward is still very gifted athletically with good size (6-foot-7, 7-foot wingspan). He’s been around 40 percent on spot-up 3s in four of the last five seasons while being an above-average rebounder and shot-blocker for his position.
Wiggins now enters a situation beneficial for him–he knows how to excel in a limited role. He’ll likely be a second- or third-option offensively with coveted versatility defensively, where he will help the Heat shore up arguably their biggest weakness at the point-of-attack. He’s the perfect ancillary role player, and it’s quite ironic and humorous how Butler’s comments may have resonated with the rest of the Heat front office.
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Have you seen what Portland is doing?. They are on quite a run.
I have been waiting for a win streak/breakout like that for a season and a half now. Why can’t we have what they have man
Because we didn’t stink for 20 years! 😆
Anyone watching our old friend in warrior’s debut? 😁😜