4 Franchise-altering decisions the Heat have to make this offseason

4. Do you extend Jimmy Butler?

Last but not least, do you extend Jimmy Butler? Butler is due for another extension. As mentioned earlier, Butler will be 35 next season, and it is felt that Miami has gotten the most out of the Butler era, making three conference finals appearances and two finals appearances during his first five seasons with the Heat.

Butler desires that the Heat be the "last jersey he would wear," but at the end of the day, the NBA is a business, and do you really want to give Butler a two-year, $113 million max extension and pay him over $56 million when he is 37?

Miami has loved what Butler has done for them, but you can't just look at the short and long term and think that resigning Butler is the answer, considering Miami has been in the play-in tournament for two years in a row.

If you do extend Butler, you have to have a plan to get back to the top of the East. Miami can not simply run it back another year. The problem is, if you do not give Butler a max extension, will he make things ugly and force his way out of Miami as he did with the Timberwolves in 2018? Whichever way this decision goes will be franchise-altering and determine the direction Miami will go in the following years.