It feels like Jimmy Butler has been gone from the Miami Heat for several years, but that's simply not the case. In fact, it's been less than two, and in reality, it hasn't exactly worked out for either the Heat or Butler.Â
The Heat at least made the playoffs with Butler, whether it was by way of the play-in or not. This season, however, without Butler, Miami didn't make it out of the play-in. At the same time, Butler's experience with the Golden State Warriors hasn't exactly gone swimmingly either.
Whether the split has worked out for both parties is largely debatable; that said, the Heat had to move on from Butler; it was the end of an era, and for good reason. Now, Pat Riley didn't necessarily take a shot at Butler during his season-ending press conference, but his comments do beg the question: Did the Heat actually get better after Butler?
Pat Riley claims the Miami Heat improved after the Jimmy Butler era
The short answer is no, the Heat didn't get better. At least, not in the immediate sense. In the long term, yes, the Heat are likely to become a much better team because, while Butler was a superstar, he wasn't a tier-one superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo could be in Miami should an offseason trade come to fruition.Â
Back to Butler, though, who left the Heat midway through the 2024-25 season; a season that saw the Heat go 37-45, but made it to the playoffs before getting bounced in the first round. This season, Miami went 43-39, winning six more games than the previous year. Had Butler remained in Miami the entire season last year, they likely would have surpassed 43 wins, although that's a "what if" game to play.Â
This season, the Heat struggled mightily all throughout and didn't get out of the play-in. So, whether the Heat were better off without Butler is debatable, at least as far as basketball is concerned, leaving the off-court drama to the side. However, Riley believes the Heat did improve this season, comparing last year's wins to this year's and mentioning Butler by name.
“Over the last 10 years, we’ve had one 50-win season. We won 48, we won 46, 44, whatever it is," Riley said to the media this week. "When you look back at what we did with Jimmy and that trade, winning 37 games last year for a lot of reasons, and then winning six more games this year, that’s an improvement. You have to look at the little things, even though it’s not good enough for a lot of people. So we did improve from that standpoint."
Six more wins isn't exactly a number that will quell the groaning of Heat fans across Miami, and again, they lost in the play-in. The "what if?" game favors the likelihood that Butler would have gotten them at least into the first round of the playoffs. Riley's argument regarding team improvement falls a little flat.Â
Either way, the Heat and Jimmy relationship needed a divorce
This is not an argument in favor of keeping Butler last season, because, again, time was up. However, one thing Butler did during his time in Miami was lead the Heat to the playoffs, and they had some epic playoff runs. Now, the Heat are watching those playoffs from home. Six wins are not the best argument to calm the storm in Miami right now.Â
Riley mentioned the "little things" in that quote, but the Heat need "big things" to happen this offseason. Riley has no option other than to swing big, whether it's aimed at Antetokounmpo or even Kevin Durant (Kawhi Leonard is likely off the table).
As for improvement after Butler, if the argument is for the regular season, then sure, the Heat improved only in win totals. As far as culture goes, perhaps not. Furthermore, as far as making it to the playoffs and being a contending team, definitely not.
With Butler, they were at least contenders. The Heat will need more than six wins next year if Riley really wants to put some real distance between his team and Butler.
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