The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler deal is done, again, but this time it’s complete. While there are expectedly detractors and doubters, it was the right pairing.
The Miami Heat landed a big fish on Sunday evening, as the NBA Free Agency Moratorium period opened up at six o’clock. Miami Heat Nation all thought, believed and watched it happen, but we weren’t the only ones with skin in the game.
While there were many people that estimated that Jimmy Butler would stay in Philadelphia, there were even talks that he could eventually end up out west with one of the Los Angeles based teams. Only a few thought that he would actually end up in Miami, as they not only lacked the essential cap space to sign him outright, but they were pretty much tapped out before it all even began.
Well, Pat Riley did it again. As apart of a finally finished sign and trade agreement, one that includes four teams, Jimmy Butler is now a member of the Miami Heat for what amounts to a four-year maximum pact of $142 million dollars.
After the deal was announced to the world, the haters started to emerge. There were all types of notions being spewed, which has been continuously going on since Sunday evening up and through the time of this piece.
The Twitter trolls were out, saying things such as “he is only going there to party”, or that “he should have stayed in Philly”, but that doesn’t matter because the Miami Heat got their guy. On top of the lesser known trolls, there was one of the more famous variety that even had a thing or two to say.
— All U Can Heat (@AllUCanHeat1) July 1, 2019
In this video, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith basically says that Miami won’t love Jimmy Butler the way that Philly loved him. That is “blasphemy”, as tweeted.
Not only will the city love and embrace him, but he will eventually become the city’s if they haven’t completely adopted him already. As far as the team and the fanbase, well, that was a wrap before the deal was.
Not only did this fanbase clamor, hope, wish, pray, and everything else they thought would help make it happen, they campaigned in every which way they could. Whether it was the social media calls, the many profile photos of him already in Miami Heat attire, or the literal cry’s for Jimmy to sign with the Heat, the people were speaking.
Jimmy Butler is the prototypical and thus perfect Miami Heat player. He embodies the definition of the term “Heat Culture”. Not only is he going to work his tail off every day, but he expects the same and nothing less from those around him.
Stephen A. Smith did get one thing right though, which is the fact that Jimmy is a tried and true Pat Riley type of guy. The Miami Heat must have been his type of team as well. Welcome, Jimmy Effin Buckets to the Miami Heat, he’s for the #HeatCulture.