Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The end of the Jimmy Butler Experience

Jimmy Butler finally complained his way out of Miami and ruined his reputation with the help of his agent Bernie Lee. The latter is a bully who even went as far as verbally attacking the ESPN reporter, Shams Sharania, to taint his credibility but failed.

Perhaps Butler will feel contrition in the future for his part in the Miami chapter’s ending. The partnership got a lot done together, but his ego is the size of Lake Okeechobee, so we’ll see.

His behavior let his teammates down and was reminiscent of James Harden quitting on the Nets to get out of Brooklyn.  The Heat had a good chance to be a surprise team again this year. The third star they desperately searched for emerged in Tyler Herro.  To boot, Bam Adebayo found his game as soon as Butler was exiled. How does that happen? It’s like removing the malcontent from the office; then vibes improve, and productivity increases.

Undoubtedly, Butler, the third-best player in franchise history behind Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, has cost himself a jersey retirement until further notice. Heat play-by-play broadcaster Eric Reid made a good point after the team’s win in Philadelphia, as the proverbial mushroom cloud was still in the air from the deal. “History and time will pass on. He will go down as one of the great players in franchise history, but it was a difficult, sad and sort of ugly ending. But it’s over now. That clarity is good for everybody.”

 Butler had an issue with Pat Riley telling him through the press to keep his mouth shut if he wasn’t playing. It wasn’t the wisest tactic from Riley, but that was a G rated version of the Godfather and nothing he wouldn’t say to Butler himself.  Yet, this secondary problem would have evaporated quickly if Butler got the desired extension.

It got ugly because it was about money, and Butler acted like the Heat didn’t do enough to put a team around him. Keep in mind, it was Butler who said at his introductory press conference, “The way that they go about everything [in Miami] is the right way,”

It was hyperbole, and one colossal mistake management made in his tenure was picking Precious Achiuwa in 2020 over Tyrese Maxey, Jaden McDaniels or Payton Pritchard.

But the team did right by him. They traded for Jae Crowder, a coveted role player at the time, and Andre Iguodala, a veteran with a few rings. They went to the Finals in that campaign.

The 2020-21 season was a waste mainly because the team had 72 days for an off-season after the bubble. Still, the Heat traded for Victor Oladipo, who was not close to an All-Star anymore but still a good player. He blew out his knee in his fourth game with the Heat. He never got back to what he was.

They signed his pal Kyle Lowry and gave him an extra year, plus got PJ Tucker for a season before he fell off. The Heat was the first seed immediately after and lost in Game 7 in Miami against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Then with Lowry in a lesser role, the Heat made the Finals as the first Play-In team and second eighth seed ever.

The Cavaliers thought their future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Love was washed, then the Heat swooped in and got him. He helped take the team to the 2023 Finals.

When Damian Lillard was the target, the Portland Trail Blazers refused to do business with them.  Herro and multiple first-rounders were on the table, but it wasn’t good enough.

Butler’s displeasure that Miami couldn’t attract the stars and keep his favorite role players -Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin- was the real smoke screen. Anyone who believed this nonsense probably thinks that Riley and his committee could’ve got a deal done for a whale by sending the scariest-looking goon to make an irrefutable offer

As soon as Butler was traded, he reportedly signed a two-year extension worth $121 million. He, soon-to-be 37-year-old Stephen Curry, and what’s left of Draymond Green aren’t long for the retirement community. Inconceivably, the Warriors failed to understand that declining athletes, reaching for every dollar under a crippling CBA are not team players.

They supplied the Heat with Andrew Wiggins, who guards the opposing team’s best perimeter player and scores 17 points per game. There are not 15 NBA players that do that so this makes the trade a home run for Miami. The multi-team deal also got them back Tucker, which is of little significance, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick from Golden State.

The conclusion to the Jimmy Butler experience should have been retiring a Heatle or an amicable parting. He left the team as third in playoff points (1,583), third in assists (362), third in made free throws (441) and seventh in rebounding (433). His highest moments in black were logging a 35-point triple-double in Game 5 of the 2020 Finals and 47 digits in Boston in Game 6 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, keeping the team alive in both.

At his best, he was an inspiring overachiever. At his worst, he was joyless while making $48 million to play a kid’s game.