The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler have had a falling out, and all indications are that the relationship could be beyond repair. A new piece by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne explains how things got to this uncomfortable place. At one point she cites Pat Riley and the team's brain trust's attempt to find a new leader after Udonis Haslem departed before the 2023-24 season and their decision to land on Bam Adebayo.
Butler, who had just completed his fourth season in Miami and led the team to two NBA Finals, wasn't upset by this choice, sources close to him said, but it did serve as validation. He might be the Heat's best player, but it wasn't truly his team. Adebayo and young guard Tyler Herro were the Heat's future, not him.
The disconnect only grew. On the court, Butler began to believe that the Heat were prioritizing Adebayo and Herro over him, sources close to Butler said. They were the hub of the offense, and he was just supposed to run down to the corner and be ready to drive or shoot a three-pointer.
It's perfectly understandable why this situation would not sit well with Butler, who for a few years made quite a habit of putting the Heat on his back and elevating them deeper into the postseason than they had any business playing.
And eventually it led to what sounds like a realization that if he's going to serve in such a role, it might be better if he's third wheel to a more formidable scoring duo out West.
Ostensibly the Heat had made these adjustments because Butler had missed 26% of the team's regular-season games, and every team in the NBA is focused on shooting more, which is not Butler's strength. While he's shooting 37.5% on threes this season, he's attempting just 1.5 three-pointers per game, his lowest mark since he was a reserve in Chicago. But Butler didn't like what he believed was a reduced role in the offense—how it felt or what it represented.
"If they're doing this transition to Bam and Tyler, Jimmy's like, 'Fine, do your transition,'" a source close to Butler said. "If [he's] going to be the second or third wheel, [he'll] be that in Phoenix to Kevin Durantand Devin Booker."
The Suns being an attractive landing spot for Butler is not necessarily a revelatory thought. To see someone in Butler's camp get the idea into print, though, could reflect a change in the belief about how realistic a reconciliation could be in the future.
The thing is, Phoenix is not exactly dominating the league. They sit at 20-20, good for 10th in the Western Conference. The Heat, meanwhile, are 20-19 and would be the No. 8 seed in the East if the season ended today. Considering the advancing age of both Butler and Durant, the Suns making this happen would represent an all-in immediacy. And it sounds like it might be what Butler wants after all the smoke settles.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jimmy Butler Prefers to Join a Pair of Superstars With One Western Conference Team.
