There may be a Jimmy Butler dilemma in South Beach. He's arguably one of the top three players in Heat history—up there with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Alonzo Mourning. Many originations would pay their franchise pillars big money at an older age—see Kobe Bryant at the late stages of his Lakers career—but the Heat have been known to do the opposite.
The great Dwyane Wade fell victim to the Heat's 'What have you done for me lately' business model. Wade wanted big bucks at age 34 in 2016, and Pat Riley said no, sir, you'll take what we'll give you, basically. Wade went on to the Bulls that offseason over the financial disagreement; could Jimmy Butler suffer the same fate?
Riley claims he wants to win with Butler on the roster, but he might not be comfortable paying Butler a two-year, $113 million max extension when the Heat struggle to make it out of the play-in tournament annually. Butler has been playing about 58 games yearly since arriving in Miami. You can't formulate good habits with your best player playing that little. Contrary to the improbable runs, you must take the regular season seriously to have true postseason success.
If no agreement is reached, a trade may be inevitable. Eric Pincus from Bleacher Report suggests a rare four-team trade that is beneficial from all angles.
Heat gets fresher with younger stars
Heat get:
Donovan Mitchell (via Cavaliers)
Kyle Kuzma (via Wizards)
$13.4 million trade exception (Jimmy Butler)
$2.5 million trade exception (Nikola Jović)
$2.3 million trade exception (Tyler Herro)
Cavaliers get:
Tyler Herro (via Heat)
No. 15 pick (via Heat)
2026 Phoenix Suns second-round pick (via Wizards)
2028 LA Clippers first-round pick (via 76ers)
2030 first-round pick (via Heat)
$6.4 million trade exception (Mitchell)
$2.6 million trade exception (Ty Jerome)
Sixers get:
Jimmy Butler (via Heat)
Wizards get:
Paul Reed Jr. (via 76ers)
Nikola Jović (via Heat)
Ty Jerome (via Cavaliers)
No. 16 pick (via 76ers)
2026 (TBD) first-round pick (via 76ers)
$23.5 million trade exception (Kuzma)
Why would any of these teams do this trade? Let's dive in.
Why the Heat would do this
Pairing Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo with an electrifying scoring guard like Donovan Mitchell is the goal this offseason. You'd love his attack attack attack mentality alongside Butler and company, but he'd still be a perfect fit even with Butler's departure.
Mitchell has the offensive talent to get the Heat out of purgatory. The Heat offense has mightily struggled over the last two years; adding a 30 point-per-game-type player heals many wounds. The addition of Kyle Kuzma would also up the Heat's pace.
Kuzma has been a chameleon with the different roles he can play. He can be a glue guy on a championship-level team and has shown he can get his own shot and create offense when the ball is in his hands. He's always been an impressive rebounder, but his playmaking and decision-making improved a ton playing in Washington.
Losing Tyler Herro and Nikola Jovic would be a big blow, but business is business, and you must give up something good to get something great.
Trade grade for the Heat: B+
Why the Cavaliers would do this
Since Donovan Mitchell landed in The Land, there have been questions about his desire to stay in the Midwest. One of the looming questions is whether he wants to go to a bigger market. Some NBA executives think it's championship or bust for Mitchell to stay in Cleveland. They are not going to win the title this year, so Tyler Herro may be the best player you can get with Mitchell on an expiring deal.
Herro would fit with Darius Garland, as DG would return to the lead guard role. He hasn't played his best basketball in the last few months, but putting the ball back in his hands would resurrect his career. He and Herro would be a deep-shooting, flame-throwing backcourt that would torch teams in the central division for years to come.
Not to mention the draft capital Cleveland would acquire in this deal, a nucleus of Garland, Herro, Evan Mobley, Jarret Allen, and draft capital is appealing.
Trade grade for the Cavaliers: B
Why the Philadelphia 76ers would do this
We've seen the Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid movie before. 2019 was Embiid's best shot at a conference finals appearance, as the Sixers trotted out lineups full of star power surrounding the two alphas. Pairing them together again would signal two things. The Sixers are going all in to capitalize on Embiid's talents and move into championship-or-bust mode.
A move like this is putting all your chips on the table. If this roster plus Jimmy Butler can't get it done in the postseason, then it would be time to play this whole thing up in Philly. This isn't 2019, though, as Philly has a budding superstar in Tyrese Maxey. Maxey averaged 30 points and seven assists while shooting 40% on nine 3-point attempts per game in the postseason. He's arrived; adding Butler to the party shows how serious the franchise is.
Trade grade for the 76ers: A
Why the Washington Wizards would do this trade
Trading Kyle Kuzma further solidifies Washington's rebuild. For years, they were stuck in mediocrity. Floating around this area of decent to good, this trade reiterates that they want to get younger and position themselves for a brighter future.
Nikola Jovic is the gem of this trade. There is no telling what his ceiling could be. He can potentially be a 6-foot-11 lead playmaker if his handle improves. His lights-out shooting and passing are next level for someone who still can't legally drink in America. He's shown he can play winning basketball. The Wizards would be elated to land this blue-chip prospect in return for Kyle Kuzma.
Getting an energizer bunny in Paul Reed would be ideal, too. He can help set the hard work culture an organization is trying to cultivate. The two draft picks are good throw-ins, too, even though the Wizards have a shaky history in the draft recently. This move keeps their franchise on the right track. They will keep losing before it gets better, and that's okay. At least they have a direction and aren't sitting on the fence of good/average.
Trade grade for the Wizards: A-