Grading a trade that would have the Miami Heat trading Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster proposal.
I don't think there would be much pushback with the idea that this season was a complete failure for the Miami Heat. In fact, you can argue that was the case since the offseason when Miami missed out on Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal. That disappointment very much carried into the season and the Heat could never get back on track.
In the end, the Heat backed into the playoffs as the 8th seed and were humiliated by the Boston Celtics in the first round. Heading into the offseason, it could point to some big changes on the horizon. While there's an assumption that the Heat are going to pursue an All-Star to complement Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, there's been recent speculation that perhaps the team could end up moving Jimmy instead.
The question is, would it be that outrageous of an idea?
Why the Miami Heat could reverse course and trade Jimmy Butler this summer
As Jimmy continues to age, there's an argument to be made that trading Jimmy this summer might make more sense than trying to find a complementary All-Star for the Heat to acquire. Simply put, the Heat aren't likely to have the assets to get such a deal done. If they couldn't close the deal last summer, in which Lillard demanded a trade solely to the Heat, good luck to the front office getting it done this offseason in a much more challenging trade market.
If the Heat were to trade Jimmy, there is one natural landing spot - the Philadelphia 76ers. Could the two sides find a deal that makes sense? We explore one hypothetical deal that could work.