ESPN conducted their offseason survey of NBA team executives, weighing in on a variety of topics. Among them, best moves, including the Miami Heat trade that sent Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Part of NBA offseason tradition consists of ESPN’s annual survey of 20 coaches, executives and scouts, where they cover a variety of topics including the free agency period that was and the future of the league after the incredible upheaval that took place. Among the topics that were covered was the blockbuster trade that brought Jimmy Butler from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Miami Heat, but the execs didn’t like that deal so much from the Heat perspective as they did the Sixers.
Butler had the Sixers over a barrel this summer. The Sixers weren’t interested in paying him his max, he wasn’t willing to play in Philadelphia for less and wanted to go to Miami anyway, so they were able to facilitate a deal that sent him where he wanted to go, got a young talented player in the form of Josh Richardson in return and were able to do this at a significant discount.
Richardson will make about $32.7 million over the next three seasons, which is very close to just the first year salary of Butler’s contract alone. This discount allowed them to sign Al Horford which is another part of the overall deal that the survey respondents appreciated.
Across the board, the four-team deal turned out to be a win-win at face value for all involved. The Heat got their man in Butler, were able to move off Hassan Whiteside‘s contract to the Portland Trail Blazers who were in need of a big man, the LA Clippers were able to get Maurice Harkless and a draft pick which ended up being part of the deal that brought Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to town, and of course the Sixers made out like bandits in the process.
Among the other topics the respondents covered: Best player in the NBA (Giannis Antetokounmpo took this down handily), Eastern and Western Conference Champions and NBA Champion, and more.