Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a team that I’ve been circling all season long. Since their decision to stand pat during the offseason, I thought that this was going to be a team that deserves some attention for all the wrong reasons heading into the season. I thought that they would take a step back in the Eastern Conference, which is not surprising to see, but I didn’t think they would be in a fringe playoff team either.
And because of that, I believe that this team has some big decisions to make heading into the offseason. And no, the biggest decision doesn’t revolve around Kyle Lowry. Instead, it’s more about Jimmy Butler. There’s an important conversation that needs to be had during the offseason revolving around Jimmy’s future with the team.
Jimmy still has three years remaining on his contract and is actually playing quite well this season. However, it hasn’t mattered much. The Heat is still a fringe playoff team in the East and if it has gotten to the point where the team no longer believes that it can win a championship with Jimmy as its best player, it might be in the best interest of the team to try and trade him this offseason.
Jimmy’s trade value is likely only going to decrease over the course of his career, and if they truly want to get out from under his contract, this summer might be the perfect time to do so.