Tag Archive for: Jimmy Butler

Pat Riley: “Jimmy Butler is a top 10 player”

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Pat Riley weighed on the new Miami Heat players right after Jimmy Butler’s introductory press conference.

For him, and for many of us, Butler is a top ten player in today’s NBA.

But he talked a lot about many other things.

Check out his most relevant quotes from today’s appearance:

 

Join us on Monday September 30th when we cover the Miami Heat Media Day at American Airlines Arena. Five on the Floor and Cinco Razones Deportes Network members will be there bringing you the highlights of the day we were all waiting for, since the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Marlins are just terrible nowadays. Do not worry. Your Miami Heat coverage is right here!

The best quotes from Jimmy Butler’s Press Conference

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The Miami Heat finally gave us a chance to hear from Jimmy Butler in Miami.

Here are some of his best quotes during the Press Conference:

 

The Miami Heat season is getting closer and closer, and as we said goodbye to Dwyane Wade, now we have a new star in the block. Butler is coming to try to win, and Five Reasons Sports Network will be there for you to bring you the fun of watching and listening sports back to South Florida. Buy your Ji mmy Canastas t-shirt here!

Live: Jimmy Butler’s Introductory Press Conference

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The Miami Heat is finally doing a formal presentation of Jimmy Butler, after months of being part of the active roster via trade from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Right before the beginning of the Miami Heat Camp in West Palm Beach, after both Butler and Pat Riley figured out a way to be in Miami at the same time.

Are you ready for Jimmy Canastas and his Buckets to Biscayne?

Watch it live here:

Courtesy of MiamiHeat.com

ESPN underrates Jimmy Butler… as expected

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ESPN came out with its top 100 players in the NBA list and the Miami Heat’s prized addition, Jimmy Butler, was listed at 21.

Of course.

After Sports Illustrated had him 11th.

For context, Butler is lower than Donovan Mitchell (20), Kemba Walker (17), Ben Simmons (15), Rudy Gobert (14) and CJ McCollum (13). In my humble opinion, Jimmy Butler is an all around better player than all of the players previously listed. However, it is not a surprise to me that Jimmy Butler was ranked lower than less talented players. If you’re asking why, well, the answer is simple: Jimmy Butler plays for the Miami Heat.

Yeah, this guy….

The national media hates the Heat, and has ever since LeBron James said he was taking his talents to South Beach. Sports media made Pat Riley and the Heatles the villain of the NBA because they believed they cheated the system. But why the hate now? Well, this is because the Heat just got Jimmy Butler– with absolutely no cap space. So, after the national media ranted and raved about cap space, flexibility and max slots, Pat Riley got his man without it. In the national media’s eyes, Pat Riley and the Heat cheated the system again. Therefore, the hate returns.

However, hate isn’t always a bad thing; the Heat, along with their loyal fans, are used to being the villain. In fact, Heat fans eat it up. There is something deep inside each and every Heat fan known as “The Cocky Heat Fan”, of which has been dormant for awhile. Now that Jimmy Butler is here, The Cocky Heat Fan has awoken from its long slumber. So bring on the Miami Heat hate, ESPN and national media…

We Heat fans thrive on it.

Also welcome back Cocky Heat fans, I missed you.

The Heat’s Jimmy Butler, 11th in NBA?

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Ever since the Miami Heat began to seriously pursue Jimmy Butler, there’s been a debate about exactly what he is. A star? A superstar? Something in between?

The general consensus put him roughly 15th in the NBA, with Butler getting credit for being one of the league’s few true two-way players, along with Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and Paul George – and certainly not James Harden.

Sports Illustrated thinks higher of him, however.

In their rankings of NBA players, they have him 11th, and it’s hard to argue with the classification. A few guys beneath him have a case (Kyrie Irving when healthy, engaged and reasonably happy), but really, it looks like Jimmy Butler belongs about where he is.

And the Heat need that, because only one other player (Bam Adebayo, #93) made this list. Josh Richardson (#71) is gone, Goran Dragic is coming off a season in which he tailed off some when available, and Justise Winslow apparently hasn’t captured the national imagination yet.

Jimmy Butler is actually the third guy on the list, behind just Giannis and Joel Embiid. And he’s a surefire All-Star, returning to Chicago for that weekend.

Now look at the rest of that list…

Blake Griffin is No. 19. Bradley Beal isn’t on it, though you can certainly say he should be.

If the Heat can land either, with the No. 11 player in the league, and this coaching staff?

This rebuild — or reload — may lead to repeat appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. At least.

 

Buy your Jimmy Canastas Cinco Razones t-shirt clicking here! 

 

The Heat have their Hero and Herro together

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The Hero and Herro.

Well, this was refreshing.

As the Dolphins tank away everything but their toilets at the Davie practice facility, we’re getting closer to the no-tank team in town getting rolling again.

The Miami Heat open training camp on October 1st.

The Dolphins will likely have lost four games by then.

So it was a welcome sight to see new alpha Jimmy Butler back in the United States after his extended European vacation — and even better to see him working with the Heat’s new kid hope, Tyler Herro.

Warm and fuzzy yet?

And no, that’s not Dion in the middle, as some suggested.

What is the best part of this photo, other than the Heat’s present and future together?

The attitude.

I have high hopes for the Heat season, and we have the Hero and Herro.

A Heat team with an uncluttered roster and a chip on its collective shoulder?

Sign us up.

Especially in light of what’s happening with South Florida’s other pro teams.

Need something to wear?..

Go to our merchandise section and check out our no tanking tee.

 

The Miami Heat seems to be the only Miami professional team that is not tanking (the Panthers are from Broward, so do they count?), and we will definitively be very close to the team, as usual, but this time, going very often to the arena, to provide you with interviews, live analysis before and after games and a lot of Alf complaining. Please check out Five on the Floor and Cinco Razones Deportes Network (for Spanish listeners). We will have a blast!

Miami Heat

Why are 76ers fans acting so stupid?

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There’s a reason for the Miami Heat to have a rivalry with many of the teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

The Knicks…. naturally, though that’s now going back more than two decades to any real relevancy.

The Pacers, because of all those times Paul George fell short in South Florida, after his stops at Tootsie’s.

The Magic? Well, everyone wanted this to be something, but it never was, since Orlando has had Mickey Mouse front offices for so long.

The Celtics? Yeah, f— Paul Pierce. Forever and always.

The Bulls? For a while, for sure. And the sight of Joakim Noah still makes you wretch, wherever he is stealing money these days.

And of course, the Cavaliers, because of that whole LeBron thing. Heat 2, Cavaliers 1.

But the 76ers?

How could anyone get worked up about the 76ers? They haven’t won a championship since 1983, five years before the Heat were born. They have faced the Heat in just two playoff series, one win apiece. They spent half a decade bottoming out, telling you to Trust the Process, and while they came out of it with Joel “Out-Due to Something” Embiid and Ben “Scared to Shoot” Simmons, they also botched a number of picks, from Okafor to Noel to Fultz. Oh, and Dion Waiters is from Philadelphia, and but it’s not clear whether Heat fans are reclaiming him again yet.

Now, though, the Heat and 76ers have made a trade for the first time since Miami sent Arnett Moultrie (who?) there. Jimmy Butler is with the Heat, or will be, once he stops partying in Amsterdam. Josh Richardson is with the 76ers, and he suddenly went from an entirely overlooked player to the greatest 3-and-D guy who has ever lived according to the anti-Miami national media.

And even though many believe Richardson will fit well, and even though Butler wasn’t in Philadelphia very long, 76ers fans just can’t get over Butler wanting out of their fair little city, and choosing no state tax, beaches and a winning organization instead.

Evidence: this cute little Players Tribune parody.

The title is Why I’m Retiring to Florida.

Here’s a clever excerpt:

A big reason all my teammates love me is my drive to win. Winning is literally the only thing I care about, so leaving a championship contender in Philly was tough. But the lifestyle that comes with being rich, famous, and retired in South Beach was just too good to pass up.

I couldn’t be more excited to begin my four-year retirement tour with the Miami Heat. Just look at how they treated Dwyane Wade last season! Although it was close, the Heat had more Wade nights than the Sixers did Iverson nights, and that ended up playing a big part in my decision. I fully expect a Wade level send off from these Miami fans, and I think Adam Silver might even give me an honorary spot in the next few All-Star games.

This is, um, confusing.

The 76ers have achieved the lofty heights of the second round of late.

Give them that.

But there’s a small issue with mocking Butler for leaving a winning situation for a non-winning one.

Basically, it’s bullshit.

I’ll leave you with this, the same way Allen Iverson left Ty Lue.

 

 

Dwyane says hello, J-Rich says goodbye

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It’s not official official until July 6th, when the NBA’s free agency moratorium ends, but everyone knows Jimmy Butler is coming to the Miami Heat — including the guy most responsible for recruiting him here.

So Dwyane Wade, who had warm sentiments for outgoing players Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside on social media, went back to Instagram to let Butler know publicly what he’s surely been telling him privately.

With a little mockery of course.

Meanwhile, Richardson was at the Miami Pro-Am, watching his now-former teammate (but still close friend) Bam Adebayo and others.

Richardson received an ovation.

This came after Rook 2 thanked the Miami fans in a way they always wished that LeBron James had.

That was a little different from Whiteside’s departing thoughts — which the wife of new Heat center Meyers Leonard had some fun with.

Welcome to Miami, Elle.

 

 

El Miami Heat de Butler y Adebayo

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El Miami Heat ha estado muy activo en esta agencia libre.

Pat Riley nos volvió a engañar, y volvió a hacer de las suyas para armarle un equipo a la medida de Erik Spoelstra.

Cuando se pensaba que el Heat iba a ver los toros desde la barrera, nos hemos encontrado con mucho movimiento de parte de la gerencia encabezada por Pat Riley.

Jimmy Butler había dicho desde la temporada pasada que quería venir a Miami. De hecho, en uno de los episodios de Cinco Razones Podcast Stefano Fusaro, de ESPN, nos lo había confirmado.

El Heat pudo hacer malabares y conseguir a la estrella que deseaban, y se deshicieron de la pesadilla que se había convertido Hassan Whiteside.

Ahora, nos podemos concentrar a visualizar el posible quinteto titular del Miami Heat y la rotación que va a utilizar Erik Spoelstra.

En el episodio 43 de Cinco Razones Podcast nos encargamos de analizar ese equipo que se perfila hasta los momentos para la próxima temporada, a la espera de que termine el periodo de agencia libre en la NBA.

¿En qué posición terminará el Miami Heat en la temporada regular? ¿Podrían llegar a una semifinal de conferencia al menos con este nuevo roster?

 

Escucha todos los episodios de Cinco Razones Podcast haciendo click en este link. Ricardo Montes de Oca, Leandro Soto y Alejandro Villegas acuden constantemente a los juegos del Miami Heat en el American Airlines Arena. No hay máquina de helados como en el Marlins Park, pero igual se quedan hasta el final de los juegos, a veces, cuando no se van a Bayside… 

Miami Heat

Heat Show Resolve in Wild Open to Free Agency

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The voices of doubt crept into Heat territory after a few lackluster off-seasons.

Questioning of the Riley way.

Dismissal of Heat Culture as a burden not a springboard.

Those voices now must remain quiet, in order to catch their breath.

This team was deemed unsalvageable and lost by local and national media alike.

Now they have done this.

The mutual interests of Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat were an open secret.

In seasons past that smoke would not turn into fire.

Miami did their best to lure free agents such as Gordon Hayward to Heat Nation.

They just had something missing.

Fast forward to the present and Butler used his leverage to get out of Philly, despite new reports he had a 5-year max offer.

 

Butler wanted to be the number one guy, rightfully so.

The Heat needed that exact piece and made it happen.

It wasn’t smooth sailing by any means.

 

Dallas did not want to add Goran Dragic, instead vying for Derick Jones, Jr and Kelly Olynyk.

Meanwhile, J-Rich was already ditching Heat Culture for some cheese steaks (there’s a joke in here somewhere).

 

In the end it will be mostly forgotten, a slightly embarrassing footnote to an otherwise fantastic deal.

Which would eventually get done.

Within the same deal and lost in the Butler frenzy is a trade that Heat fans have been longing for since 2016.

Miami dealt Hassan Whiteside to Portland for Meyers Leonard and Mo Harkless.

They then flipped Harkless and a future first rounder to the Clippers to free up cap space for Butler.

Andy Elisburg is still the GOAT.

Dallas might regret losing Dragic, and he will be perfect for the same role next year as last.

If he isn’t traded next.

 

Regardless, the Heat have returned to relevance quickly, shedding bloat and keeping the young core mostly intact.

And they may not be done.