Miami Heat 1-on-1: Should the team take a chance on Jimmy Butler?

In this week’s AllUCanHeat Miami Heat 1-on-1, two contributors discuss if the team should trade for Jimmy Butler or not.

Okay let’s cut to the chase… do you want Jimmy Butler as a member of the Miami Heat?

Imran Ebrahim (@iebrahim81): One hundred percent. I actually referred to this earlier this month, prior to Jimmy Butler demanding a trade. I had said that president Pat Riley should make some type of effort to attain him at the trade deadline. I’m so glad that the timeline has moved up and that he has publicly made it be known that he would like to join the Miami Heat. I firmly believe he’s a top-20 player in the league and would completely fit the mold of what head Erik Spoelstra and management want from a prototypical Heat player. For him to want out of Minnesota because some players don’t take it as seriously as him, I think fits the Heat culture to a t. Most of the players on the team came from untraditional beginnings, whether it be the second round of the draft, the G-League, international play, etc. All they know how to do is hustle and it would be the ideal pairing to bring someone to the team that actually had top-level skill with the same mindset.

Lauren Gewirtz (@laurengewirtz): I would like Butler on the Heat, but not at the expense of Josh Richardson in particular. I would actually really like to see Butler play with Richardson because their playing styles complement each other. My concern with putting Richardson in a trade package for Butler is how much better that would really make the Heat. Yes, Butler is a good player, but will it pay off for the Heat long-term to sign him and give up key parts of the young core? I don’t think so, especially because the Heat would probably not be able to sign him to a max deal next summer. However, if Butler really wants to be in Miami, as was reported by Mark Stein of The New York Times this week, then he should be willing to make it work.