Step 1 – Shut Jimmy Butler down for the rest of the season
Because it’s going to take some time for the Miami Heat to accomplish this soft reset, this is the first move that needs to be done. Miami needs to shut Jimmy Butler down for the rest of the season. This could be done at the midway point of the season or before, but let Jimmy take the season off. This move would help on several fronts.
First, it would allow the Heat to silently tank without doing so blatantly. And that’s really the only way this franchise will do that. It will also allow this team’s young players to continue to grow on their own – namely, Bam Adebayo. But more on that later.
I know it doesn’t make much sense to essentially punt away a season in Jimmy’s prime. But because of the team’s inactivity the last offseason, this is the repercussions that they must receive. If the Heat wants any shot to compete for a title next season, this move is in the best interest of that.
Step one for Miami – shut Jimmy down.