4 Potential Heat free agent targets with ties to Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler has played 13 total seasons in the NBA for his career. He has tenures with all four of the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, respectively. There are also six NBA All-Star team appearances under his belt, along with a 2016 USA team Olympic spot.

He has played with a plethora of different players over his career across all of those rosters. This includes superstars, stars, role players and bench players. There could be several free agents available this summer that have ties to Butler by playing with him in the past.

The most recent acquisition that falls in this category is Kyle Lowry, back in the summer of 2021. Lowry and Butler have a great relationship both on and off the court by playing together on that 2016 Olympic roster and some All-Star games over the years. There aren’t any Butler-tied marquee names this time around that could fit into the Heat’s financial budget, unless the team makes some moves.

But there are still a few role players that are former teammates with Miami’s superstar that could come aboard. 

Robert Covington 

Back when Butler forced his way out of Minnesota with the Timberwolves in 2019, he was traded to the 76ers, where he played for half a season. He was teammates at the time with Robert Covington, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Covington at 33 years old may not be the elite 3-and-D role player he once was, but he can still help a lot of teams.

Covington is listed at 6-foot-7 with a ridiculous 7-foot-2 wingspan. He can play either of those forward positions and still defend at a high level on the perimeter. His versatility on that end of the floor could be intriguing for Miami.

He isn’t the same player back when he earned that 4-year $46 million deal years ago. In fact, he played the least amount of minutes per game this season since his rookie and sophomore years. There have also been some injury problems over the last few seasons.

But as a career 36.2% 3-point shooter and length on defense, this could be a solid discounted free agent signing.