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It’s possible Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin ruined the Miami Heat’s era with Jimmy Butler, because of Damian Lillard’s unwillingness to get messy in his trade demands.
Throughout the history of player empowerment — and even the NBA in general — there have been so many instances in which I hear people wonder why a team gave into trade demands. The idea is the players are under contract and should be forced to play out that contract’s terms (i.e., agreed duration) before testing free agency. The idea of an employee bucking against an employer can certainly be alarming for some people, especially when it involves employees making generational wealth for a salary.
For the players who are willing to make things awkward and exist in that awkwardness, they engage in a game of chicken that executives and owners usually aren’t ready for. My favorite example of this semi-recently was when James Harden wanted out of Houston, where he turned into a superstar and historic player. He decided the Rockets were no longer the franchise for him, but he knew things had to get messy to force their hand early in the 2020-21 season.
He missed practice and was seen on video in a club. His comments about being part of the team and why he was missing team activities were confounding to basic logic. Harden posted on Instagram a clarification that he missed practice because his friend was “becoming a boss,” which is one of the unintentionally funniest excuses ever given.
There was even a point when the internet wondered if Harden had a fat suit on under his warm-ups to create an aesthetic of a professional basketball player so displeasing that the team wouldn’t want someone who was in such poor condition to be the face of the franchise. Imagine Professor Sherman Klump perfecting the stepback jumper on his way to 12 free-throw attempts per game. Less than a week after Harden was moved to Brooklyn, all that extra bulk was magically gone, like he was promoting one of those TikTok weight-loss gummies.
Lillard wasn’t willing to get that uncomfortable when he decided his time in Portland should end. He reportedly had a short list of preferred destinations, one of which was Miami. Joining Butler and Bam Adebayo would have created a formidable team in the Eastern Conference, especially after the Heat had just lost in the NBA Finals to the Denver Nuggets. Instead, Lillard was very reasonable in his public comments and the professional approach he took toward the entire situation. Cronin never really felt that pressure to move him to the Heat and refused to give in to the idea that Miami should be his trade partner. Lillard ended up in Milwaukee, as the dream of Tyler Herro as a main trade chip for an incoming star seemed to die out.
Since then, there hasn’t really been a path to the Heat doing their proverbial “whale hunting” as a front office, like when they traded for Shaquille O’Neal in 2004, signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010 or acquired Butler back in 2019. There had been rumors over the years of Kevin Durant or Bradley Beal or Giannis Antetokounmpo or Lillard, but nothing seemed to ever get near the finish line. Now, the Heat find themselves with a disgruntled 35-year-old Butler, who has a $52 million player option next season. Trade rumors have been ramping up since the summer, but Butler started to get real messy after Thursday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Two straight games of low rebounding numbers, single-digit points and limited shot attempts led to this exchange between Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press and Butler following the double-digit loss to Indiana.
oh dear. pic.twitter.com/NQvgFsENGO
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 3, 2025
This comes days after Butler responded, “That’s a good question,” when he was asked if he wanted to stay in Miami. Shortly after Thursday’s news conference, reports came out that Butler informed the Heat he’d like to be moved before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Here are the questions that immediately arise for me:
Do the Heat want to play hard ball with Jimmy? It didn’t work with Tom Thibodeau running the Timberwolves, but Riley is an entirely different animal when it comes to this kind of stuff. Riley is the Heat organization. If they get past the deadline and their season hasn’t been tanked by keeping Butler aboard, he could be playing for his next big contract to finish out the season. Butler will either pick up that option for over $50 million next season, or he’ll decline and enter free agency. Either way, Butler does need to perform, in theory, to get one more massive payday.
Who are the teams that should be interested in trading for Butler? I think it greatly benefits the Golden State Warriors (17-16, ninth in West) and Houston Rockets (22-11, third in West) to pursue him in a deal. The Los Angeles Lakers (19-14, sixth in West) could also go for him, but making that deal work without including LeBron James or Anthony Davis is entirely too complicated. The Phoenix Suns (15-17, 11th in West) seem like a logistical impossibility. It’s not an easy team-to-team deal to move a contract that large (Butler makes $48.8 million this year) in-season.
What are the complications in trading for Butler? Matching the money in the age of the collective bargaining agreement’s second-apron penalties is definitely up there. Even a deal with Golden State feels complicated when trying to work internet trade machines. You also might get strong-armed into giving him the massive extension for two years, or he could threaten to walk. So, are you committing to a rental with Butler or a potential three-year deal with massive, cap-crippling money?
What is the expected value of someone like Butler at his age and mileage? The value of what a team sends out for him gets fascinating from a negotiating standpoint. How many picks are you giving up for an All-Star who has missed 140 games over the previous seven seasons? One who can change your franchise but will turn 36 before next season with a bunch of Thibodeau minutes on his odometer? Can the Heat demand young players, a good veteran and picks? That seems unreasonable, but we’re also talking about Pat Riley.
Regardless, Butler knows what it takes to get moved. He’s done this before. When he didn’t want to be on the Wolves anymore, it seemed like Thibodeau refused to entertain the idea. Butler didn’t initially end up where he wanted to go when he was traded to Philadelphia. Miami was his preferred destination by many accounts. It just took an extra few months to find his way there.
We have less than five weeks until the deadline. Are we at the tip of the “trade me” iceberg? Will the content be tremendous? Will we get a quick resolution or a drawn-out battle? Can Butler, one of the most media savvy personalities out there, borrow that alleged fat suit?
(Top photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
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